Weekly Newsletter 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 18th, 2026

A Reflection for World Mission Sunday

Today the Church celebrates World Mission Sunday —

The readings offer a striking intersection of civic duty, divine sovereignty, and our ultimate calling as missionary disciples.

• In the Gospel, Jesus is handed a Roman coin and asked a trap-laden question about paying taxes to Caesar. Looking at the currency, He asks, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?” When they reply, “Caesar’s,” Jesus gives His famous directive: “Repaid to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
  • It is a clever dodge of a political trap, but beneath the surface, it is a profound theological truth. Caesar’s image was stamped on a piece of metal, and so it belonged to Caesar. But you and I — where is our image stamped?
• Genesis reminds us that every single human being is created in the imago Dei — the image and likeness of God. Therefore, while we are called to be good citizens of our earthly nations, every fibre of our being ultimately belongs to God.
• This brings us to the heart of World Mission Sunday. If we bear the image of God, we are stamped with His divine seal. We are meant to reflect His love, mercy, and justice to the ends of the earth. In our second reading, St. Paul praises the Thessalonians because their faith was not just a private comfort; it rang out “not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
• Furthermore, our first reading (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6) reminds us of a surprising truth: God works through all of history and all peoples. He even uses Cyrus, a pagan king who did not know Him, to accomplish His divine purposes, “so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun people may know that there is none besides me.” God’s horizon is the whole world. His love knows no borders.

On this World Mission Sunday, we are asked to look in the spiritual mirror. Whose image do we reflect in our daily lives? Does the world see the likeness of our Creator in our generosity, our compassion, and our zeal for the Gospel?

Let us pray today for missionaries across the globe—those in distant lands and those in our own community—who are helping others discover whose image they bear. And let us ask for the grace to render our whole selves, joyfully and courageously, back to God.