29th Sunday Ordinary Time October 18, 2026

Readings: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 |1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b | Matthew 22:15-21

‘Repay to Ceaser what belongs to Ceaser and to God what belongs to God’. This weekend as the global Catholic Church celebrates the 100^th anniversary of World Mission Sunday. For this historic centenary Pope Leo brings us to the beautiful theme ‘ One in Christ , United in mission’. Mission is the fundamental identity of every single person who has been baptized into Christ. If you belong to God, then you are a carrier of His image. And if you carry His image, your life is meant to reflect His love, His justice, His mercy, and His truth to a world that is desperately searching for meaning. Evangelization—sharing the Good News—does not mean arguing with people or forcing our beliefs on others. As Saint Paul tells the Thessalonians in our second reading, the Gospel comes "not just in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction." It comes through an active faith and a labor of love.

We live out World Mission Sunday in two concrete ways: First, by global solidarity. Today, we pray for and financially support the young, growing churches in missionary territories—places where the Church is poor, persecuted, or just beginning to take root. Our material generosity helps build schools, clinics, and parishes across the globe. Second, by local action. You are called to "repay to God what belongs to God" by standing up for the vulnerable, speaking words of kindness to the lonely, practicing absolute integrity in your business dealings, and refusing to let the secular world claim ownership over your morals. The world will constantly try to stamp us with its own image—the image of consumerism, political division, anxiety, and self-centeredness. But today, Christ calls us to remember who we truly are. You are God’s poetry. You are His possession. You bear His divine inscription.

This week, let us live in a way that makes God's image visible to everyone we meet. Let us give Caesar his coins, but let us give God our whole hearts, our whole minds, and our entire lives, our resources to advance his kingdom here on earth. Amen.