Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 18th October 2026
Dear brothers and sisters,
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus. They ask Him whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Whatever answer He gives could be used against Him. But Jesus asks them to show Him a coin and says: “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They answer, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus speaks those well-known words: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
But behind these words lies something truly beautiful. The coin bears the image of Caesar. But what about us? We bear the image of God.
Each one of us was created in His image and likeness. And perhaps this is the most important question for us today: if we bear God’s image, how much of our lives do we truly give back to Him?
We give Him an hour on Sunday at Mass. Perhaps a few minutes of prayer in the morning or evening. Perhaps we light a candle when we are facing difficulties. But God does not simply want a few minutes of our time. He wants our hearts.
Not because He needs something from us, but because He loves us and knows that only with Him can we find true peace.
Think for a moment about our daily lives. How much time do we spend looking at our phones, following the news, worrying about money, work, and everything we need to do? And how much time do we give to God?
There is nothing wrong with working, having responsibilities, or caring for our families. These are important parts of our lives. But we must not become so busy with the things of this world that we forget the One who gave us life.
Perhaps, starting today, we can do something very simple. In the morning, before picking up our phone, we could say: “Lord, I place this day in Your hands.” In the evening, before going to sleep, we could thank Him for three good things we have received.
And when someone upsets us, before responding with anger, we could remember that this person also bears the image of God. Because we cannot truly say that we love God if we make no effort to respect His image in the people around us.