Daily Gospel Reflection for October 10, 2025

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Luke 11:15-26

When cleaning things up, indoors or out, we often open up space.

As a gardener, I loved how the landscape looked after clearing a section that’d been overrun with weeds, crowded by perennials, or tangled from unkempt hardwoods. I would diligently clear all the bedlam, opening the area to allow more sun and air for better growth.

When cleaning out an area, whether in the garden or in my home, I’m often reminded of Jesus’ words in today's Gospel. 
It seemed inevitable that after I’d cleaned in a garden, fallow ground filled much more quickly than ground with established plants. Inexperienced gardeners are inclined to pull the weeds and thin out plants, exposing the ground. Leaving soil open makes it available for more things to grow. If we are not attentive and leave the freshly cleaned area unattended, seeds from God-knows-where take root, and there are more weeds sprouting than when we started.

I see this clearing out much like the verses in Luke. Even though I worked diligently at bringing the Lord into my heart by pulling up the weeds of sinfulness and removing the clutter of bad habits, if I do not fill that space with the Word of God and His mercy, then there is nothing to prevent the disorder from returning.

Like most things that run off course, the intrusion begins small. A few items back on the shelf, a few weed seeds falling on exposed earth. Then without really noticing, things are worse than when first begun.

The determination to remove the unwanted, without equal desire to take the next step, leaves us vulnerable and open to fall again.

Ponder:

When was the last time you worked hard to clean up an area only to find it a mess once again a short time later, and what steps could you have taken to prevent the reoccurrence? Can you correlate the preventative process to your spiritual well-being?

Pray:

Lord, save me from the pride that empties and fails to humbly fill the void with the ways of Christ. Help me to hear the Holy Spirit to guide me in Your ways.

Copyright 2025 Margaret Rose Realy, Obl. OSB