Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar, and the week began with the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XIX, 11 October 2026).
Later this evening, I hope to take part in the choir rehearsals in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford. But, before the day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, and for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 11: 42-46 (NRSVA):
42 ‘But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds, and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practised, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the market-places. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without realizing it.’
45 One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us too.’ 46 And he said, ‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.’
Today’s Reflections:
In this morning’s Gospel reading (Luke 11: 42-46) at the Eucharist, Jesus uses hyperbole once again as he challenges the lawyers, telling them: ‘For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.’
How often, I wonder, do people feel that they are bearing the heavy burden of sins that have been projected onto them that were never sins in the first place?
People who have been told they are sinful because of their sexuality, because of the stigma of a broken marriage, divorce and remarriage, a failed relationship, the bullying or abuse they suffered and endured as children?
How many people are told that their poverty, low self-esteem, poor housing of low-paid and meaningless employment are things they have brought upon themselves?
How many people face discrimination, rejection, marginalisation or oppression, only to have that compounded by being told they are the authors of their own plight? In this way, the victims are victimised again, and the oppressed are doubly oppressed.
The General Confession at Holy Communion in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer may be difficult to read today, not only because of its dated language and phraseology, but because of its gender-specific pronouns, and its undue emphasis on God’s ‘wrath and indignation’. But it still remains a positive attitude to the burdens we need to share, for it is phrased in the plural. We must ‘bewail our manifold sins and wickedness’.
We are invited to knell together as we say together:
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men: We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, Which we from time to time most grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, Against thy Divine Majesty, Provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us; The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; For thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, Forgive us all that is past; And grant that we may ever hereafter Serve and please thee In newness of life, To the honour and glory of thy Name; Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We are heartily sorry for these our misdoings. The remembrance of sins is ‘is grievous unto us’ and ‘the burden of them is intolerable’.
We are to share that burden with one another. We are assured that forgiveness is available to all, and when we get up off our knees we are to experience the promise of ‘newness of life’, not individually but collectively. We are reminded at the very beginning of this morning’s Gospel reading that we must never ‘neglect justice and the love of God’.
Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 14 October 2026):
In Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), the theme this week, 11-17 October 2026 (pp 46-47), is ‘The Lord Has Done Great Things’. This theme was introduced on Sunday with a programme update by Guilherme Moura Bejo, candidate for Holy Orders in the Anglican Diocese of São Paulo, and co-ordinator of the Diocesan Youth Group.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 14 October 2026) invites us to pray:
Lord God, we pray for the course being put together in the Diocese of São Paulo. May it nurture the faith of all who take part as they grow in wisdom, empathy, and courage to live out their calling.
The Collect of the Day:
O God, forasmuch as without you
we are not able to please you;
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts
; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Holy and blessed God,
you have fed us with the body and blood of your Son
and filled us with your Holy Spirit:
may we honour you,
not only with our lips
but in lives dedicated to the service
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Faithful Lord,
whose steadfast love never ceases
and whose mercies never come to an end:
grant us the grace to trust you
and to receive the gifts of your love,
new every morning,
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
