📖 Mass Readings – 18 November 2025
1st Reading – 2 Maccabees 6:18–31
🔗 Source: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2maccabees/6
Summary:
The elderly scribe Eleazar chooses martyrdom rather than violating God’s law by eating pork. He refuses even to pretend to break the law, choosing integrity for the sake of the young who look up to him. He dies declaring that God knows his heart.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 3:2–3, 4–5, 6–7
🔗 Source: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/3
Response: “The Lord upholds me.”
A psalm of trust in danger: enemies surround the psalmist, but God is a shield who answers prayers and defeats fear.
Gospel – Luke 19:1–10
🔗 Source: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/19
Summary:
Jesus meets Zacchaeus, a wealthy tax collector who climbs a sycamore tree to see Him. Jesus calls him down and stays in his home. Zacchaeus repents, promises restitution, and Jesus proclaims:
“Today salvation has come to this house… for the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.”
🙏 Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father,
as we gather to hear Your Word today, open our hearts to conversion and courage.
Through the witness of Eleazar and the repentance of Zacchaeus, teach us to live with integrity, humility, and love.
Send Your Holy Spirit to shape our decisions so that our lives may reflect Christ.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
📘 Detailed Explanations & Reflections (with CCC)
🔹 1st Reading – The Courage of Eleazar
Eleazar chooses faithfulness over survival, witnessing to the younger generation.
He refuses compromise, even a fake obedience.
✨ Key Lessons:
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Integrity matters even when no one sees (CCC 1807 – Justice; CCC 2470 – witness to truth).
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Scandal must be avoided (CCC 2284) — pretending to sin could mislead others.
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Holy perseverance brings eternal reward (CCC 162).
💡 Application:
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Stand firm in your beliefs even when pressured.
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Avoid “small compromises” that weaken your spiritual life.
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Young people look to elders for example—live a life worthy of imitation.
🔹 Responsorial Psalm – God Is Our Shield
A reminder that even in overwhelming trials, the Lord sustains us.
✨ Key Lessons:
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God answers prayer (CCC 2738).
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Fear is defeated by trust.
💡 Application:
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When anxious, repeat: “The Lord upholds me.”
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Bring your struggles to God instead of trying to solve everything alone.
🔹 Gospel – Zacchaeus’ Conversion
Zacchaeus is spiritually lost, but he takes one step toward Jesus—and Jesus does the rest.
✨ Key Lessons:
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Jesus seeks those who feel far from God (CCC 545).
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True conversion includes restitution (CCC 1459).
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Salvation is offered to every home and heart open to Christ.
💡 Application:
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What is your “sycamore tree”? What steps help you see Jesus better?
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Like Zacchaeus, examine your life:
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Do I owe apologies?
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Do I need to repair relationships?
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Do I need to change habits that block God’s grace?
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Welcome Jesus into your daily life, not just Sunday Mass.
🛐 Reflection for Catechumens
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God welcomes those who seek Him, no matter their past.
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Conversion is both internal change and external action.
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Growing in the faith means imitating Christ even in difficult decisions, as Eleazar did.
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God does not wait for you to be perfect—He comes to your house today, like Zacchaeus.
🙏 Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You seek out the lost and strengthen the faithful.
Help us follow the example of Eleazar in courage
and Zacchaeus in conversion.
Give us the grace to reject sin, repair what we have damaged,
and walk in Your light.
May Your Word transform our hearts today and always.
Amen.
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