The Sunday Readings and Catholic Doctrine for October 2024

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for October 2024 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. Catholic doctrines are the essentially unchangeable clarifications of Revelation and Faith that only the pope and bishops (together, the Magisterium) have the God-given authority to make and that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic.

Let’s learn the always-true, never-to-be-contradicted doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that we can take away from this October’s Sunday Readings.[1]

October 6, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

God’s Revelation about the creation of woman, in today’s First Reading, is a rich and profound source for important Catholic doctrines about how to accept God’s gift of human sexuality and make it the blessing He wants it to be. Although this entire column could easily be devoted to this Reading alone, here are some key doctrines that keep human sexuality holy and healthy:

• “Men and women have been created, which is to say willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman” (CCC 369[2]). Males and females have equal God-given dignity. Masculinity and femininity were created by God; God wants males to be masculine, and He wants females to be feminine.
• “Man and woman were made ‘for each other’ . . . and complementary” (CCC 372). Males cannot be fulfilled without good relationships with females, and females cannot be fulfilled without good relationships with males.
• The love of a man and a woman in marriage are called to grow in “total mutual self-giving. This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ given through the sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by lives of the common faith and by the Eucharist received together” (CCC 1644).
• “Children are the supreme good of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the parents themselves” (CCC 1652).

God’s Revelation in today’s Gospel generates Catholic doctrine about divorce:

The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble . . . Between the baptized, a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death (CCC 2382).

It is important to know that “[i]f civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense” (CCC 2383). One legal – and moral – right which can justify civil divorce is the right to be free from harm and abuse. With a declaration of nullity (commonly, but inaccurately, called “annulment”), a person who was married in the Church is free to marry again in the Church. For greater understanding, see this helpful site provided by the U.S. Bishops.

At the heart of all Catholic sexuality is the doctrine: “Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman” (CCC 2360). In other words, human sexuality is “organized around” and given meaning by the married love of a man and a woman.

From these doctrines, one should not jump to false conclusions about their meaning and application. For a fuller understanding of Catholic Doctrine about marriage and sexuality and the complicated issues related to them, see CCC 369-379, 385-390, 396-412, 1601-1666, 2331-2400, and 2514-2533. Catholic sexuality is possible! Catholic sexuality offers the most fulfilling life, and it leads us to eternal salvation better than any other sexuality.

• From the First Reading[3] (Genesis 2:18-24): Gn 2:18-25 is cited in CCC 1605; Gn 2:18 in CCC 371, 1605, and 1652; Gn 2:19-20 in CCC 371 and 2417; Gn 2:22 in CCC 369 and 1607; Gn 2:23 in CCC 371; and Gn 2:24 in CCC 372, 1627, 1644, and 2335.
• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 2:9-11): Heb 2:9 is cited in CCC 624 and 629, and Heb 2:10 is cited in CCC 609.
• From the Gospel (Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12): Mk 10:8 is cited in CCC 1627; Mk 10:9 in CCC 1639, 2364, and 2382; Mk 10:11-12 in CCC 1650; Mk 10:11 in CCC 2380; Mk 10:14 in CCC 1244 and 1261; and Mk 10:16 in CCC 699.

October 13, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Catechism cites Jesus’ list of commandments in today’s Gospel to teach about mortal sin. First, recall that sins are distinguished by their seriousness into mortal sin and venial sin.

Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart by a grave violation of God’s law . . . by preferring an inferior good to [God]. Venial sin allows charity to [remain in the heart], even though it offends and wounds it” (CCC 1855).

For a sin to be mortal, the action must be seriously wrong, known to be seriously wrong, and freely chosen.

Action that is seriously wrong, or grave, “is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man . . . The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger” (CCC 1858). “Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest” (CCC 1860).

The response of the young man in today’s Gospel is cited by the Catechism to teach that we similarly must “confront what we experience as failure in prayer” (CCC 2728): discouragement, sadness that we have not given all to the Lord, disappointment over seeming to not be heard, wounded pride in facing up to our sinfulness, resistance to God, and so forth. Guidance in fighting the battle of prayer is given in CCC 2725-2745.

Just as Jesus’ disciples, in the words of Peter, had given up everything to follow Him, so in every age, the “bond with [Christ] takes precedence over all other bonds, familial or social” (CCC 1618).

• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 4:12-13): Heb 4:13 is cited in CCC 302.
• From the Alleluia (Matthew 5:3): Mt 5:3 is cited in CCC 544 and 2546.
• From the Gospel (Mark 10:17-30 or 10:17-27): Mk 10:19 is cited in CCC 1858; Mk 10:22 in CCC 2728; and Mk 10:28-31 in CCC 1618.

October 20, Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The prophetic verses in today’s First Reading find their fulfillment in Jesus. This Reading reminds us that it is ultimately Jesus “who ‘makes himself an offering for sin,’ when ‘he bore the sin of many,’ and who ‘shall make many to be accounted righteous,’ for ‘he shall bear their iniquities.’ [Jesus’ Crucifixion] atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father” (CCC 615).

Jesus Himself tells us this in today’s Gospel. “Christ’s whole life expresses his mission: ‘to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (CCC 608). “Man’s sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death” (CCC 602).

No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. The existence in Christ of the divine person of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all (CCC 616).

We can unite our suffering to Christ’s suffering on the cross and thus contribute our suffering to the salvation offered by Christ. “[T]he possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery is offered to all men” (CCC 618).

• From the First Reading (Isaiah 53:10-11): Is 53:10-12 is cited in CCC 440 and 615; Is 53:10 is cited in CCC 623; Is 53:11-12 in CCC 601; and Is 53:11 in CCC 64, 579, 601, 623, and 1502.
• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 4:14-16): Heb 4:14-15 is cited in CCC 1137; Heb 4:15 is cited in CCC 467, 540, 609, 612, and 2602; and Heb 4:16 is cited in CCC 2778.
• From the Alleluia (Mark 10:45): Mk 10:45 is cited in CCC 608 and 1570.
• From the Gospel (Mark 10:35-45 or 10:42-45): Mk 10:38 is cited in CCC 536 and 1225; Mk 10:39 in CCC 618; Mk 10:43-45 in CCC 1551; and Mk 10:45 in CCC 608 and 1570.

October 27, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The verses comparing the priesthood of Jesus with the Jewish priesthood in today’s Second Reading are used by the Catechism to teach about the Catholic priesthood and ordination. Ordination is called that because it is incorporated into an order, an “established bod[y]” or group (CCC 1537). “Ordination” is

reserved for the sacramental act [of Holy Orders] which integrates a man into the order of bishops, [priests], or deacons, and goes beyond a simple election, designation, or institution by the community, for it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the exercise of a ‘sacred power’ (sacra potestas) which can come only from Christ himself through his Church (CCC 1538).

Furthermore, “[n]o one has a right to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders. . . . he is called to it by God.” It is the bishops who have the “responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders” (CCC 1578). Only a baptized man can validly receive Holy Orders. Christ chose only men to be the Twelve Apostles; they chose only men to succeed them as bishops. “The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ’s return.” The Church is “bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible” (CCC 1577).

Although Catholics ask God for His Kingdom to come when they say the Lord’s Prayer at every Mass, and every other time, and although the Kingdom is mentioned or referred to at other times during Mass, in my experience most Catholics do not understand the Kingdom. Today’s Gospel gives us one important piece of information about the Kingdom. Jesus’ healing of the blind man is cited by the Catechism (CCC 548) to teach that Jesus’ miracles are “signs of the Kingdom of God” (CCC 547). Jesus’ miracles reveal everyone in the Kingdom will be healed from all physical and spiritual infirmities. The Solemnity of Christ the King next month will allow us to revisit the meaning of the Kingdom more completely.

• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 5:1-6): Heb 5:1 is cited in CCC 1539; Heb 5:3 is cited in CCC 1540; Heb 5:4 is cited in CCC 1578; and Heb 5:6 is cited in CCC 1537.
• From the Gospel (Mark 10:46-52): Mk 10:46-52 is cited in CCC 2667; Mk 10:48 in CCC 2616; and Mk 10:52 in CCC 548.

[1] There are too many citations, or references, in the Catechism to the verses in a month of Sunday Mass readings to identify all the pertinent doctrines, so I will use my best judgment to select which verses and doctrines to cover in a column that may not exceed 2,000 words. The bullet points allow you to explore further the Biblical basis of Catholic Doctrine.

[2] CCC abbreviates Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 369” means paragraph 369 of the Catechism.

[3] If a Reading is not listed, then none of its verses is cited by the CCC.