Daily Catholic Lectio
Mon, 26 Oct 2026
XXX Week in Ordinary Time
Eph 4:32–5:8. Lk 13:10-17
Seeking the Good of Others
We often become very strict about morality only when it concerns people we do not like. Our experience also tells us that, in life, people often define what is “right” according to the situation.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a woman who had been bent over for eighteen years because of a spirit of infirmity. The leader of the synagogue objects because Jesus performs this healing on the Sabbath. Jesus teaches him that the purpose of every day created by God is to seek the good of others, especially the good of human beings.
At the beginning of the passage, the woman stands bent over. At the end, after being healed, she stands upright.
The opponents of Jesus, who had stood upright claiming to defend the Sabbath law, end up bowed down in shame.
Jesus seeks the woman’s good in three ways. First, He calls someone who had been treated almost like an object not only “woman” but also “daughter of Abraham.” Second, He frees her from the power that had held her captive, liberating her from her long suffering. Third, He straightens the one who had been bent over, enabling a person whose vision of life had become restricted to look upward again.
The opponents of Jesus had one law for the animals in their homes and another for human beings outside. In the end, they are ashamed of their own behaviour. The people, however, rejoice at the mighty deed and teaching of Jesus.
Our traditions, laws, and prejudices must lose their power when we stand before a vulnerable human person. In every situation, we must seek the good of the person before us.
In today’s first reading, Paul tells the Church at Ephesus: “Be kind to one another and compassionate.” To ask, “What will I get if I do this for this person?” is business. To ask, “What will happen to this person if I do not act?” and then respond immediately is compassion.
Let today’s good work be this: not only in our family or workplace, but also towards people we do not know, let us seek their good both in thought and in action.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
Image courtesy: Author Unknown
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