Sunday, October 25, 2026 · Year A
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The two great commandments
Asked which commandment is greatest, Jesus joins two: love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor as yourself. The whole Law hangs on them.
The Readings
- First Reading Exodus 22:20-26
- Responsorial Psalm Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
- Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
- Gospel Matthew 22:34-40
Open the readings on USCCB.org →
First Reading Exodus 22:20-26
God tells his people to protect the stranger, the widow, the orphan and the poor. He hears their cry, because he is compassionate.
Psalm Psalm 18
The psalmist calls the Lord his rock, his fortress and his deliverer. You can lean your whole weight on him.
Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10
Paul praises the Thessalonians for turning from idols to serve the living God. Their faith had become an example to everyone around them.
Gospel Matthew 22:34-40
Asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus joins love of God with love of neighbor. Everything else in the Law hangs on these two.
Step Into the Story
The first reading comes from the oldest law code in the Bible, given at Sinai. Its care is touching: a poor man's cloak was his only blanket, so if it was taken as a pledge it had to be returned by nightfall. God's heart reaches all the way down to who sleeps warm tonight. Paul rejoices that the Thessalonians turned from many idols to the one true God.
Jewish teachers counted 613 commandments and often discussed which was greatest. Jesus answers with two texts every Jew knew by heart: the Shema, prayed each day (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). In his answer, the whole Law becomes a single call to love.
Meet Christ
The lawyer steps forward with a test question. Jesus could have dismissed him. Instead he answers with the words every Jew prayed each morning: love the Lord your God with all your heart. Then he adds a second, and binds them together like two beams of a cross.
Look at the heart of the One who speaks. He is not reciting rules. He is describing himself. No one has loved the Father more completely, and no one has loved his neighbor more concretely: lepers, tax collectors, you. The commandment is simply his own life, offered as yours.
This week, pick one person who is easy to overlook, the stranger, the widow, the coworker no one eats lunch with, and do one concrete act of love for them, for Christ's sake.
The Church Teaches
- 348·the way to eternal life
- 350–351·the Ten Commandments today
The Twofold Commandment of Love
The Ten Commandments state what love of God and neighbor require: the first three concern love of God, the other seven love of neighbor (CCC 2067).
The Covenant Comes First
The first of the "ten words" recalls that God loved his people first, freeing them from slavery (CCC 2061). Your moral life is a response to his loving initiative (CCC 2062).
An Examination of Conscience
This week, examine your conscience in the light of God's Word (CCC 1454), asking at each commandment, "Where have I failed to love?"
Journal Prompts
Do I experience God's commandments more as a fence or as a gift? Why?
Who is the "stranger, widow or orphan" in my life right now, the person easiest for me to overlook?
Is my love for God visible to the people I live with? What would they say?
What would it look like for me to love myself rightly, as God loves me?
Talk to God
Father, You loved me first. Give me a heart that loves You above all things and my neighbor as myself, especially the one I would rather not see. Amen.