Be Vigilant

Gospel Reflection for Tuesday, Oct. 21st, 2025 — Luke 12: 35-38

Christ Washing the Disciples Feet. Tintoretto, 1548-1549

Here we see Jesus painting a picture of readiness. To be the servants who await their master returning from a wedding, a wedding celebration that at this time would last for days. To gird our loins, to light our lamps in preparation for the very moment the master returns. Those who do are blessed, our Lord says, when their master finds them ready and waiting for him. Their master will in turn gird himself, and have the servants recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.¹

It is a story we have heard before and in an ideal world it sounds so simple. Yet, how do we manage this level of readiness in a world full of distractions, indeed distractions at our very fingertips? How do we gird our loins? How do we light our lamps?

Today’s Gospel is an invitation to reflect on our own readiness for Him, a chance to reflect on these exact questions. The imagery of burning lamps and girded loins imparts a sense of urgency and a need for active engagement in our own faith. A call to go beyond the motions, a challenge to discard the distractions, and to dig deep into the rich meaning behind what we do everyday, to light our hearts on fire for the Lord, and to remember why we are waiting for Him —Love.²

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.”

3 Ways to be like the Vigilant Servant:

1. Spend 10-15 minutes in the Word of God. Daily. What better way to be prepared for our Master’s return than to spend time with His words. Consider Bible in a Year podcast if sitting and reading the Bible on your own is intimidating.

2. Cultivate a community of faith-minded Catholics. It is easier to stay the course of vigilance when you have faithful friendships to help you stay focused on the prize of Heaven. Check in with your parish or diocese to see what community groups exist or prayerfully consider starting one!

3. Pray the Rosary. Daily if you can but if not, as often as you are able. Even a decade here and there until you get into the habit. The rosary is a beautiful prayer tool that can help us meditate on the life of Jesus, impart grace into our lives and kindle within us a love for Christ as Mary had for her Son.

1. In John 13:3-5, we see Jesus fulfilling this beautiful scene “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands… rose from supper, laid aside his garments and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet…”

2. “We love, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19