Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading – Romans 11:29-36 Brothers and sisters: The gifts and the call of God are without regret. And just as you also, in times past, did not believe in God, but now you have obtained mercy because of their unbelief, so also have these now not believed, for your mercy, so that they might obtain mercy also. For God has enclosed everyone in unbelief, so that he may have mercy on everyone. Oh, the depths of the richness of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable are his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who first gave to him, so that repayment would be owed? For from him, and through him, and in him are all things. To him is glory, for all eternity. Amen.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 69:30-31, 33-34, 36 R. Lord, in your great love, answer me. But I am afflicted and in pain;let your saving help, O God, protect me.I will praise the name of God in song,and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. R. Lord, in your great love, answer me. “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;you who seek God, may your hearts revive!For the LORD hears the poor,and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” R. Lord, in your great love, answer me. For God will save Zionand rebuild the cities of Judah.They shall dwell in the land and own it,and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it,and those who love his name shall inhabit it. R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.   Alleluia – John 8:31B-32 R. Alleluia, alleluia.If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,and you will know the truth, says the Lord.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Luke 14:12-14 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Today's Readings Homilies Love Offering:

Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading – Romans 12:5-16AB Brothers and sisters: We, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one is a part, the one of the other. And we each have different gifts, according to the grace that has been given to us: whether prophecy, in agreement with the reasonableness of faith; or ministry, in ministering; or he who teaches, in doctrine; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who governs, in solicitude; he who shows mercy, in cheerfulness. Let love be without falseness: hating evil, clinging to what is good, loving one another with fraternal charity, surpassing one another in honor: in solicitude, not lazy; in spirit, fervent; serving the Lord; in hope, rejoicing; in tribulation, enduring; in prayer, ever-willing; in the difficulties of the saints, sharing; in hospitality, attentive. Bless those who are persecuting you: bless, and do not curse. Rejoice with those who are rejoicing. Weep with those who are weeping. Be of the same mind toward one another: not savoring what is exalted, but consenting in humility.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 131:1BCDE, 2, 3 R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. O LORD, my heart is not proud,nor are my eyes haughty;I busy not myself with great things,nor with things too sublime for me. R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. Nay rather, I have stilled and quietedmy soul like a weaned child.Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,so is my soul within me. R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. O Israel, hope in the LORD,both now and forever. R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.   Alleluia – Matthew 11:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest, says the Lord.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Luke 14:15-24 One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there

Pope Francis’ general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 25, 2023. ROY LAGARDE By Hannah Brockhaus Catholic News Agency November 4, 2023 VATICAN— Pope Francis said in an Italian television interview on Wednesday that he intends to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for the COP28 climate change conference in early December. “I believe I depart on the 1st [of December] and stay until the 3rd. I’ll be there three days,” the pope said on the Italian state television network RAI in an interview broadcast on the evening of Nov. 1. Francis did not provide further details on the schedule of the trip, which was officially announced by the Vatican on Nov. 3. The pope met the president-designate of COP28 UAE, Sultan Al Jaber, at the Vatican in mid-October. The climate change summit will take place at the Expo City Dubai Nov. 30–Dec. 12. The United Nations annual climate change conference, known as the “Conference of the Parties” (COP), includes governments that have signed the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, and/or the Paris Agreement. The summit, held in a different country every year, is an opportunity for world leaders, representing state and nonstate actors, to meet and discuss policy goals that seek to establish common — and often ambitious — goals for climate change mitigation. It will be Pope Francis’ second time traveling to the Middle Eastern country. In February 2019, he visited the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, to promote interreligious dialogue and support the small Christian minority. During the Feb. 3–5, 2019, trip, he signed the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” with the grand imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb. Francis was the first pope to ever visit the Arabian peninsula. Climate issues and the environment have been a priority of Pope Francis’ pontificate. On Oct. 4, he released his second major document on the topic, the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum (“Praise God”), in which he warned of “grave consequences” if humanity continues to ignore the threat of climate change. In the Nov. 1 interview with RAI, Pope Francis recalled how he had decided to write his first document on the topic, the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, ahead of the COP21 summit in Paris. “The Paris meeting was the best meeting of all,” he said, because “after Paris everyone went backwards and it takes courage to move forward in this.” DONATE TO CBCP NEWS CBCPNews is a church-based news agency operated by the Media Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.  This apostolate aims at helping the work of the new evangelization through the news media.  This is non-commercial and non-profit.  That being the case, it totally depends on generosity of its readers and supporters. Should you wish to donate kindly press the donate button.  Thank you.  

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading – Malachi 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10 I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the Gentiles. And now, O priests, this command is to you. If you will refuse to listen, and if you will refuse to take it to heart, so as to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send destitution upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yes, I will curse them. But you have withdrawn from the way, and you have scandalized very many in the law. You have nullified the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Because of this, I also have made you contemptible and debased to all the people, just as you have not served my ways, and you have accepted a face in the law. Is there not one Father of us all? Did not one God create us? Why, then, does each one of us despise his brother, violating the covenant of our fathers?   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 131:1, 2, 3 R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. O LORD, my heart is not proud,nor are my eyes haughty;I busy not myself with great things,nor with things too sublime for me. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. Nay rather, I have stilled and quietedmy soul like a weaned child.Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,so is my soul within me. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace. O Israel, hope in the LORD,both now and forever. R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.   2nd Reading – 1 Thessalonians 2:7B-9, 13 Brothers and sisters: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.   Alleluia – Matthew 23:9B, 10B R. Alleluia, alleluia.You have but one Father in heavenand one master, the Christ.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Matthew 23:1-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move

Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop 1st Reading – Romans 11:1-2A, 11-12, 25-29 Brothers and sisters: I, therefore, ask: Has God driven away his people? Let it not be so! For I, too, am an Israelite of the offspring of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not driven away his people, whom he foreknew. And do you not know what Scripture says in Elijah, how he calls upon God against Israel? Therefore, I say: Have they stumbled in such a way that they should fall? Let it not be so! Instead, by their offense, salvation is with the Gentiles, so that they may be a rival to them. Now if their offense is the riches of the world, and if their diminution is the riches of the Gentiles, how much more is their fullness? For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery (lest you seem wise only to yourselves) that a certain blindness has occurred in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has arrived. And in this way, all of Israel may be saved, just as it was written: “From Zion shall arrive he who delivers, and he shall turn impiety away from Jacob. And this will be my covenant for them, when I will take away their sins.” Certainly, according to the Gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But according to the election, they are most beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the call of God are without regret.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 94:12-13A, 14-15, 17-18 R.  The Lord will not abandon his people. Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,whom by your law you teach,Giving him rest from evil days. R. The Lord will not abandon his people. For the LORD will not cast off his people,nor abandon his inheritance;But judgment shall again be with justice,and all the upright of heart shall follow it. R. The Lord will not abandon his people. Were not the LORD my help,my soul would soon dwell in the silent grave.When I say, “My foot is slipping,”your mercy, O LORD, sustains me. R. The Lord will not abandon his people.   Alleluia – Matthew 11:29AB R. Alleluia, alleluia.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,For I am meek and humble of heart.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Luke 14:1, 7-11 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the

Pope Francis visits the graves of Commonwealth soldiers who died in Italy during World War II and now rest in the Rome War Cemetery, where he celebrated Mass Nov. 2, the feast of All Souls. VATICAN MEDIA By Hannah Brockhaus Catholic News Agency November 2, 2023 ROME— Pope Francis prayed for peace, hope, and mercy at a Mass to mark All Souls’ Day on a rainy morning at the Rome War Cemetery. “Today, thinking of the dead, cherishing the memory of the dead and cherishing hope, we ask the Lord for peace, so that people will no longer kill each other in wars,” the pope said in an improvised homily on Nov. 2. Pope Francis presided at a Mass at the war cemetery amid scattered rain showers on a breezy, cool morning. He lamented the loss of the lives of so many people, especially the young, in war, and said there can never be a real victory because of the price that is paid to reach it. “We pray to the Lord for our dead, for all, for all: that the Lord will receive them all,” Francis said. “And we pray also that the Lord will have mercy on us and give us hope: hope that we can go forward and that we can find them all together with him when he calls us. So be it.” The cemetery Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Diego Ravelli, the papal master of ceremonies. The small cemetery, which contains the graves of 426 soldiers from Commonwealth countries who died in World War II, is located near the Pyramid of Cestius, a Roman-era pyramid in the Ostiense neighborhood south of the historic center of Rome. In his homily, Pope Francis said the day’s commemoration of the faithful departed made him think of memory and hope. “Memory,” he explained, “of those who have gone before us, who have spent their lives, who have concluded this life” — both those who have done good and those who have failed in doing good, “but were received into the memory of God.” The pope said All Souls’ Day is also a good moment to dwell on the theological virtue of hope, which he called an “everyday” virtue. “I will call it the theological virtue of ‘the kitchen,’ because it is at hand and always comes to our aid,” he said. “We live in this tension between memory and hope.” Before the Mass, Pope Francis passed through the cemetery in prayer, pushed in a wheelchair. He also placed white roses on some of the graves, including before the headstone of 28-year-old W. Perkins. After Mass and before returning to the Vatican, the pope also stopped for a brief moment of prayer in front of Rome’s historic Non-Catholic Cemetery for Foreigners, also known as the Protestant Cemetery. Pope Francis has made it a recent custom to hold a Mass at a cemetery on Nov. 2 to pray for the dead. From 2016 to 2021, he celebrated Mass at five different

Catholic bishops are seated in front of a statue of St. Peter in his basilica at the Vatican during the closing Mass of the first Rome session of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality on Oct. 29, 2023. ROY LAGARDE By Felipe F. Salvosa II November 3, 2023 VATICAN— The recently concluded 2023 Synod of Bishops is proposing major changes in Church decision-making processes and the way dioceses and parishes are governed. The word “co-responsibility” is mentioned 16 times in the synthesis report of the first session of the “Synod on Synodality,” convoked by Pope Francis to make the Church more participative and listening and to stamp out what he calls “clericalism” among the clergy. “The exercise of co-responsibility is essential for synodality and is necessary at all levels of the Church,” according to the official English translation of the 41-page report, originally written in Italian. Two chapters focus on the role of bishops and how they could exercise co-responsibility and become more accountable. “It is necessary to implement, in forms legally yet to be defined, structures and processes for regular review of the bishop’s performance,” the report said. The proposed review will look at the bishop’s style of authority, economic administration of diocesan assets, how participatory bodies are functioning, and actions taken against all possible kinds of abuse. “A culture of accountability is an integral part of a synodal Church that promotes co-responsibility, as well as safeguarding against abuses,” the report said. Mandatory councils The synod document said co-responsibility could be made “more operational, including in legal terms,” through the different diocesan bodies. This means changes in canon law to make mandatory the creation of episcopal councils and diocesan pastoral councils. Synod fathers also suggested legislating an “obligatory nature” for pastoral councils in Christian communities and local churches. “It would also be desirable to strengthen the bodies of participation, with a proper presence of the laity, recognizing the role they can play in discerning decisions by virtue of their baptism,” it said. Lay participation in the selection of bishops also need to be expanded, the report said. “The Assembly calls for a review of the criteria for selecting candidates for the episcopate, balancing the authority of the Apostolic Nuncio with participation of Episcopal Conferences,” it said. “There are also requests to expand consultation with the faithful People of God, and to involve a greater number of lay people and consecrated persons in the consultation process, taking care to avoid being put under any undue pressure in the selection process,” it added. BECs to the center Parish pastoral councils are not yet synodal, said Estela Padilla, a theologian and pastoral worker who was among lay delegates given voting rights in the synod. “The first issue is membership. Members should not always come from the center. It has to be more representative,” she told CBCP News. The experience of basic ecclesial communities or BECs, small, parish-based grassroots units ministered by lay leaders, should rise to the center and not be confined

Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading – Romans 9:1-5 Brothers and sisters: I am speaking the truth in Christ; I am not lying. My conscience offers testimony to me in the Holy Spirit, because the sadness within me is great, and there is a continuous sorrow in my heart. For I was desiring that I myself might be anathemized from Christ, for the sake of my brothers, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh. These are the Israelites, to whom belongs adoption as sons, and the glory and the testament, and the giving and following of the law, and the promises. Theirs are the fathers, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all things, blessed God, for all eternity. Amen.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;praise your God, O Zion.For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;he has blessed your children within you. R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. He has granted peace in your borders;with the best of wheat he fills you.He sends forth his command to the earth;swiftly runs his word! R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.He has not done thus for any other nation;his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia. R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.   Alleluia – John 10:27 R. Alleluia, alleluia.My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;I know them, and they follow me.R. Alleluia, alleluia.   Gospel – Luke 14:1-6 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy. Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” But they kept silent; so he took the man and, after he had healed him, dismissed him. Then he said to them “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” But they were unable to answer his question. Today's Readings Homilies Love Offering:

The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed 1st Reading – Wisdom 3:1-9 The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment of death will touch them. In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to die, and their departure was considered an affliction, and their going away from us, a banishment. Yet they are in peace. And though, in the sight of men, they suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. Troubled in few things, in many things they will be well compensated, because God has tested them and found them worthy of himself. Like gold in the furnace, he has proved them, and as a holocaust victim, he has received them, and in the time of their visitation they will shine, and they will dash about like sparks among stubble. They will judge the nations and they will rule over the people, and their Lord will reign forever. Those who trust in him, will understand the truth, and those who are faithful in love will rest in him, because grace and peace is for his elect.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6 R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.or:R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.In verdant pastures he gives me repose;beside restful waters he leads me;he refreshes my soul. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.or:R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me. He guides me in right pathsfor his name’s sake.Even though I walk in the dark valleyI fear no evil; for you are at my sidewith your rod and your staffthat give me courage. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.or:R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me. You spread the table before mein the sight of my foes;You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.or:R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me. Only goodness and kindness follow meall the days of my life;and I shall dwell in the house of the LORDfor years to come. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.or:R. Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.   2nd Reading – Romans 6:3-9 Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him

Solemnity of All Saints 1st Reading – Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 I, John, saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the Seal of the living God. And he cried out, in a great voice, to the four Angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea, saying: “Do no harm to the earth, nor to the sea, nor to the trees, until we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel. After these things, I saw a great crowd, which no one could number, from all the nations and tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out, with a great voice, saying: “Salvation is from our God, who sits upon the throne, and from the Lamb.” And all the Angels were standing around the throne, with the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell upon their faces in view of the throne, and they worshipped God, saying: “Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and power and strength to our God, forever and ever. Amen.” And one of the elders responded and said to me: “These ones who are clothed in white robes, who are they? And where did they come from?” And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me: “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and have made them white by the blood of the Lamb.   Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6 R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;the world and those who dwell in it.For he founded it upon the seasand established it upon the rivers. R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?or who may stand in his holy place?One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,who desires not what is vain. R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,a reward from God his savior.Such is the race that seeks him,that seeks the face of the God of Jacob. R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.   2nd Reading – 1 John 3:1-3 Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like