27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Mass Readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

• First Reading – Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4: “For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”
• Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 95: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
• Second Reading – 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14: “So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.”
• Gospel – Luke 17:5-10: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

Themes for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

The readings for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C remind us to be patient. In the first reading the prophet is calling on the Lord and nothing seems to happen. The psalm sings of hearing God’s voice. In the second reading Paul reminds us that the Spirit will give us self-control. In the gospel Jesus tells us that God does not answer to us, but we must trust that He is working in our lives.

• Patience
• Trust
• Faith
• Serving God
• Having a servant's heart

See the Homilies and Reflections section and the More Thoughts section for further expansion on these readings and some reflection questions for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C.

• Save

Servant’s Heart – A Lesson Plan on Serving God

This Servant’s Heart lesson plan will help youth realize that serving God should be our priority. Sometimes we forget that and think that God is here to serve us.

• Save

Prayer of Teilhard de Chardin – Patient Trust

This prayer is about waiting patiently for God. It is especially good for high school students and young adults who are discerning a vocation or possible career. We can be impatient about wanting an answer from God during the discernment process and this prayer is a good way to help trust that God will eventually show us where we are supposed to head.

Planting Seeds of Faith – Discussion and Reflection Questions

This reflection encourages youth to think about how they need to pay attention to their faith to help it grow. As part of this reflection, youth will plants some seeds which they can take home with them.

Stand Strong in the Spirit

From Bishop Robert Barron. "Friends, this week, our second reading is from Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. From prison, Paul writes to Timothy—the master to the disciple, the mentor to the mentee, the old soldier to the young soldier—and tells him to have courage, but to attach his courage to the weapons of wisdom and love. When one stands courageously, with wisdom, with love, with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then one is able to face down the powers of the world. When we try to fight them on their own terms, we try to conquer evil with evil, we make no progress toward the kingdom of God."

The Nature of Faith

In this reflection for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C, Jeff Cavins reflects on the Gospel reading about the mustard seed, saying that having faith is about being faithful.

Opening Up the Machine

From the Center for Action and Contemplation - Fr. Richard Rohr. "Has the Church become mechanistic like so many other world systems? Is it 'stuck in a rut,' and if so, can it find its way out of the rut into a new future? Jesus lived with imagination, and he preached with imagination: “Imagine a small mustard seed,” he said." Continue reading.

Faith and Service

From Loyola Press. "In today's Gospel we hear Jesus teach about faith and service to God. The context is a continuing dialogue between Jesus and his followers about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus has just finished an instruction on sin and forgiveness." Continue reading.

Life by Faith

From Scott Hahn. Because of his faith, the just man shall live. We hear in today’s First Reading the original prophetic line made so central by St. Paul. We are to live by faith in Christ who loved us and gave Himself on the Cross for us. Continue reading.

Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed

Also from Bishop Robert Barron. "How could an all-loving God possibly countenance so much violence, suffering, and pain? Most questioners turned up the heat by putting special emphasis on the suffering of children and of the innocent. Every single major theologian has wrestled with the issue, as well as many of our most important artists. And our first reading clearly indicates that people in biblical times wrestled with the very same issue."

Why is Faith a Virtue? Do We Need Faith?

Have you heard the phrase, "never doubt in the darkness what you knew was true in the light?" Do you find yourself intellectually convinced that our faith makes sense but in times of difficulty, struggle to assent to those truths? Fr. Mike Schmitz reflects on the virtue of faith and how we must engage not only our intellect but also our will to live out the fullness of our Catholic beliefs.