Tuesday, November 10, 2026

Tuesday of the Thirty-second week in Ordinary Time

Luke 17:7-10

Listen to the whole reading — MP3

First reading

Titus 2:1-8,11-14

But say the things which fit sound doctrine, that older men should be temperate, sensible, sober minded, sound in faith, in love, and in perseverance: and that older women likewise be reverent in behavior, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good; that they may train the young wives to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that God’s word may not be blasphemed. Likewise, exhort the younger men to be sober minded; in all things showing yourself an example of good works; in your teaching showing integrity, seriousness, incorruptibility, and soundness of speech that can’t be condemned; that he who opposes you may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say about us. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.

Responsorial psalm

Psalms 37:3-4,18,23,27,29

Trust in the Lord, and do good. Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture. Also delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. The Lord knows the days of the perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever. A man’s goings are established by the Lord. He delights in his way. Depart from evil, and do good. Live securely forever. The righteous shall inherit the land, and live in it forever.

Gospel

Luke 17:7-10

But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say, when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table,’ and will not rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me, while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not. Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’”

Lectio

There is a quiet thread running from Paul's letter to Titus through the Gospel, and it has to do with the ordinary and the hidden. Paul's instructions are almost comically unglamorous: be temperate, be sensible, love your husband, love your children, work at home, speak soundly. No visions, no heroics. Just the daily grinding faithfulness of people who get up and do the next right thing. And then the Gospel comes in and strips away even our applause for ourselves: when you have done everything, say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty." It is a hard saying, and it stings our pride. But it is also, strangely, a mercy. It frees us from the exhausting burden of keeping score.

Notice that both readings assume we will in fact do the work. The servant plows and keeps sheep. The older women teach what is good; the younger men show themselves examples. The point is not that our labor is worthless, but that it is not a transaction. We are not building up credit with God. "The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all" — it came first, before any of our duty, and it is the reason we work at all. The servant's dignity is not that he earns his master's gratitude, but that he belongs to the household. He has a place at the table, eventually, not because he bargained for it but because he is a son disguised as a servant.

And so the Psalm offers the resting place for all of this: *delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.* The faithful life is not meant to be joyless duty but a kind of settled dwelling — "dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture." We stop measuring our worth and simply abide, doing good, trusting that our goings are established by One who delights in our way even when we cannot see the fruit.

Where in your life today are you keeping score — quietly expecting thanks, recognition, or a return for something you've done for someone you love?

What is the one small, unglamorous duty in front of you this week that you've been resenting, and could you do it today simply because you belong to God, without needing it to be noticed?

Saint of the day

St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church († 461) - Memorial

Ora reads this aloud, every morning, free. Ora