Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection November 04, 2026
Wednesday – 31st Week of Ordinary Time
04th November 2026 (Wednesday)
Psalter: Week 3
Here are the Catholic Mass readings and a daily Gospel reflection for Wednesday, November 04, 2026, the Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo. Paul says God is at work in us, and Jesus tells the crowds to count the cost before they follow Him.
Catholic Mass Readings
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Philippians 2:12-18
My beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14 (R. 1a)
R/. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of Glory and of God rests upon you.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
At that time: Great crowds accompanied Jesus, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Wednesday – 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Gospel Reflection
Main Point: Large crowds are following Jesus, and He turns around and says something that thins them out fast. Unless you hate your father and mother, and even your own life, you cannot be my disciple. He wants followers who know what they are choosing.
1. Great crowds are walking behind Jesus. It is the kind of success any leader would want. And He turns around and speaks the hardest words He can find. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
2. We should not soften this too quickly, but we should understand it. In the language Jesus spoke, to “hate” one thing and “love” another was a way of saying which comes first. Matthew’s Gospel puts the same saying plainly: whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Jesus is not commanding hatred. He is claiming first place.
3. And only God can rightly claim first place over a mother’s love. That is what makes this saying so striking. A teacher who asked this would be a tyrant. Jesus asks it because He is more than a teacher.
4. Then He gives two small pictures. A man who wants to build a tower first sits down and counts the cost, so he will not lay a foundation and be mocked for leaving it unfinished. A king going to war first sits down and asks whether his ten thousand can meet twenty thousand. Sit down, Jesus says. Count it honestly.
5. Many of us followed Christ without counting anything. We were baptized as infants, we grew up in the parish, the faith was simply part of the house. That is a gift. But at some point every one of us must sit down and ask whether we have really chosen Him, and what it is costing us. A faith that has never cost anything has perhaps never been chosen.
6. Paul adds the line that keeps this from becoming a burden we carry alone. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, he says, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. We count the cost, and then we discover that God has been paying it with us all along.
7. Saint Charles Borromeo counted the cost. Born rich and made a cardinal young, he became Archbishop of Milan and gave himself to reforming the Church after the Council of Trent. When plague struck the city, he stayed while others fled, caring for the sick and the dying and giving away much of what he owned. He knew what following Christ would cost, and he paid it.
My Practice: A question to carry today: What am I holding on to more tightly than I hold on to Christ? Write down the answer, and offer it to Him in prayer tonight.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You ask for first place in our hearts, above every love and even above our own lives, and You ask us to count the cost honestly. We confess that we often follow You without thinking what it means. Give us the courage to choose You again, knowingly and freely. And thank You that we do not build alone, for You are at work in us, giving us both the desire and the strength. Like Saint Charles Borromeo, let us stay where love calls us to stay, and give what love asks us to give. Amen.
Question to Reflect Today
- Have you ever sat down and counted what following Christ costs you, and is there anything you are keeping back from Him?
Thank You
Tags: Daily Mass Reflection, Memorial, Saint Charles Borromeo, Gospel of Luke, Catholic Mass Readings, November 2026
