Father Rick’s Gospel Reflection for Thursday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time 

,November 20, 2025, Luke 19:41-44

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112025.cfm

Tears over Jerusalem.

Imagine the grief in the heart of Jesus as he approached Jerusalem. He wanted them to receive so much of the peace He had in His heart.  It was the time of their visitation, and they blew it. We are his Jerusalem, faithful and unfaithful, saints and sinners.

Not a day goes by that Jesus doesn’t come to the edge of the hill to look over our lives like He did in Jerusalem. What does He see as He gazes upon us? Do tears fill His eyes?

The people of Jerusalem rejected His message of peace, despite His deep desire for them to accept it. He wished them to share the peace He carried in His heart. Things could have been different for them, and we should let them be different for us. Each day, God reaches out to His people through His Word and Sacraments, showing great kindness and benevolence.

Don’t be afraid of change. Let’s not fear opening our hearts to it. The cross that Jesus chose to bear on His shoulders is God’s last cry for us to turn to Him in repentance and sorrow to change. Hear what the Lord Jesus Himself told St. Faustina about the rejected grace and mercy of His heart.

“The flames of mercy are burning Me. I desire to pour them out upon human souls. Oh, what pain they cause Me when they do not want to accept them! I am looking for souls who would like to receive my grace.” (Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska 1934)

The Gospel Challenge:    

So, let us console the heart of Jesus and begin to dry the tears from His eyes. Our time of visitation is upon us. “If this day you only knew what makes for peace.” Jesus.

Love Your Neighbor!

Fr. Rick Pilger, I.C.  

www.bscchurch.com