31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – 05th November 2023
The Prophet Malachi asks us today in the first reading: ‘Why do we
break faith with one another?’ We break faith with God and with one
another and with ourselves. This is our human experience over all of the
centuries. It should never surprise us. Yet we are called to keep faith with
God, with one another and with ourselves.
The Gospel of Matthew today reminds us that the greatest is the one
who serves. This calls us to examine our consciences towards God,
towards one another and towards ourselves. We can find that we don’t
always like serving – and that is normal. The challenge is to choose
serving, not necessarily to like it. We can find that we break faith with
God and others and ourselves – and that is normal. The challenge is to
renew our faith, to repent and to ask pardon.