Daily Gospel Reflection for October 29, 2026

Reflect on Jesus's compassionate call to gather His flock, offering hope for those with loved ones who have strayed from the faith. Embrace mercy and prayer.

Today's Gospel: Luke 13:31-35

In today’s Gospel, Jesus paints a striking and memorable image of Himself as a mother hen yearning to gather her chicks under her wings. The image becomes even more poignant when Jesus laments that His desired flock, the people of Jerusalem, reject His intimate embrace.

As a priest, I’ve encountered parents who suffer much distress because their teenage or adult children no longer practice their Catholic faith. I am sure that there are numerous layers to the hurt: pain at the separation from the family’s heritage as well as worry over the beloved child’s spiritual welfare.

For parents enduring this trial, today’s Gospel may help them understand that Jesus stands not as harsh judge over their child (or over them for their “failure”), but as a loving fellow parent, a mother hen concerned for her scattered brood. What’s more, although Jesus knows that there will be suffering ahead for Jerusalem, He sees the greater hope for the many who ultimately will recognize Him as the Blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord.

With these same parents, while I sense their anxiety, I also witness their greater hope. They entrust their children to the intercession of saints like Monica, who prayed and wept for her wayward son Augustine for so many years, until he was converted to Christ and became a great saint himself. Like Jesus, they know that their straying children may suffer. But they also know that some combination of life’s sufferings and life’s joyful milestones – marriage, the birth of a child – may very well bring their children back to faith, to the merciful embrace of Jesus, the Blessed One, who comes in the name of the Lord to gather all of God’s scattered flock under His wings.

Ponder:

How do I regard the people in my life who have strayed from the faith? Am I able to embrace them prayerfully with mercy and hope?

Pray:

Lord Jesus, I pray for all the people in my life who have strayed away from You and Your Church. In Your mercy, gather them to Your sacred heart.

Pray Together:

As a family, explore some of the stories of saints, like Monica and Augustine, who embody features of real family life.   

Copyright 2026 Father Charlie McCoy, C.S.C.