October 29, 2026, Holy Rosary (Luminous Mysteries)

Friends of the Rosary, The highest law is love, not external compliance or rigid interpretation of religious observance, as a prominent Pharisee shows in today’s Gospel reading (Luke 14:1–6). When Christ encounters a suffering man, he shows that God’s law is fulfilled through compassion. The Sabbath was established as a gift intended to lead humanity toward God, not as an obstacle to relieving suffering. The outcome of today’s Gospel is an invitation to examine whether our masses, prayers, Rosaries, and religious practices truly transform our relationships with others. We can become attached to rules, traditions, and external appearances while overlooking the suffering of those around us. Jesus invites us to develop a faith that produces generosity and compassionate action. Religious observance becomes spiritually fruitful when charity animates it. Ave Maria! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy! + Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app: Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

Friends of the Rosary, Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. On this day, we also celebrate the fifth anniversary of Maria Blanca's departure. They both "edified the body of Christ", and the grateful Church thus prays to our Lord today: "O God, through the work of the apostles you have spoken your Word of love, your Son, into our world's deafness. Open our ears to hear; open our hearts to heed; open our will to obey, that we may proclaim the good news with our lives." Tradition says Simon and Jude partnered as missionaries, traveling to preach the Gospel in regions such as Persia and Babylon. They were martyred together around AD 65 in Persia after refusing to worship pagan deities. Simon was reportedly sawed in half, and Jude was beaten with a club or axe. Their sacred relics are largely preserved in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. St. Jude, often depicted with a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom, is the author of the short Epistle that forms part of the New Testament. St. Jude's square points him out as an architect of the house of God. St. Paul called himself by this name. As nephew to St. Joseph through his father Cleophas or Alpheus, and as legal cousin to the Man-God, Jude was one of those his compatriots called the brethren of the carpenter's Son. We may gather another precious detail about him from St. John's Gospel. At the Last Supper, Jude asked Him: "Lord, how is it, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus replied: "If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My word. And the word which you have heard is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." Through his intercession, St. Jude helped several saints in very large or hopeless matters, so his reputation began as the patron of impossible causes. Saint Simon, called "the Zealot" or "the Cananean," is often considered the patron saint of tanners, curriers, and woodcutters. Ave Maria! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy! + Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app: Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

Friends of the Rosary, We reflect today on the extraordinary power of small beginnings, as in the main readingJesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and to yeast hidden within flour, revealing how God’s work often begins in ways that appear insignificant but eventually produce extraordinary results. St. Thérèse of Lisieux taught that holiness can be achieved through small acts performed with extraordinary love. The Kingdom of Heaven advances not primarily through worldly power or spectacular achievements but through the quiet, transforming presence of divine grace. A sincere prayer, a gesture of kindness, a word of encouragement, or a modest sacrifice can begin profound change. What seems insignificant to human eyes may hold immense value in God’s providential plan. The Gospel also invites us to cultivate patience and confidence in the mysterious growth of God’s Kingdom. Spiritual transformation rarely follows our preferred schedules or expectations. Like the mustard seed that grows into a great tree, a life rooted in faith gradually becomes a source of strength, hope, and shelter for others. Ave Maria! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy! + Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app: Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

Friends of the Rosary, In today's Gospel (Luke 13:10–17), Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath when he saw a woman who was crippled by an evil spirit for eighteen years and healed her by laying his hands on her. The Lord restored her physical freedom and human dignity. "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity." Her suffering moved Christ to compassion, while the synagogue leader objected because the healing occurred on the Sabbath. The woman's condition also reminds us of the spiritual burdens that can bend the human soul. Sin, resentment, fear, and despair can gradually diminish our capacity to live with the dignity God intended. Christ invites us to stand upright in faith and rediscover the freedom that comes from His grace. The Gospel challenges any religious observance that becomes disconnected from charity. True fidelity to God cannot be measured solely by external practices. It must be reflected in our concern for those who suffer. St. Augustine said that divine grace liberates the human soul from the bondage of sin. St. John Chrysostom emphasized that religious observance must never excuse neglecting human suffering. Charity gives God's commandments authentic meaning. Ave Maria! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy! + Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app: Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play

Friends of the Rosary, Today’s Gospel is from Matthew 22:34-40. "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" A Pharisee asked the Lord. He said: "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments" (Mt 22:34-40). In this answer, Christ Jesus tells us that the man who loves God and neighbor fulfills all his obligations. God, who revealed himself to us as our Creator and divine benefactor, is perfect in himself and needs nothing from us. But out of his infinite goodness he wished to share his eternal kingdom of happiness with mankind. Yet many fail to acknowledge any such obligation. Loving our benefactor back and being grateful to him asks little of us. Such love should surely be the spontaneous reaction of a rational being, yet many fail. Also, Christians too often fail in their true love of neighbor. Christ says that this commandment is like the first. Loving our neighbor is essential to our obligations to God. If we fail in this, we fail in our love for God. As St. John puts it: "Anyone who says 'I love God' and hates (does not love) his neighbor is a liar" (1 Jn. 3: 20). Ave Maria! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your will. Please give us the grace to respond with joy! + Mikel Amigot w/ María Blanca | RosaryNetwork.com, New York Enhance your faith with the new Holy Rosary University app: Apple iOS | New! Android Google Play