What We Leave Behind

Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]

Reading 1 2 John 4-9

[Chosen Lady:]
I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth
just as we were commanded by the Father.
But now, Lady, I ask you,
not as though I were writing a new commandment
but the one we have had from the beginning:
let us love one another.
For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments;
this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning,
in which you should walk.

Many deceivers have gone out into the world,
those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh;
such is the deceitful one and the antichrist.
Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for
but may receive a full recompense.
Anyone who is so “progressive”
as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God;
whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 119:1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18

R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
 With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Within my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

 

 

Alleluia Luke 21:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 17:26-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.” 
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”

- - -

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

What We Leave Behind

November 13, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin [In the Dioceses of the United States]

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 17:26-37

Reflect on the Word // 

There are seasons when I find myself revisiting a version of my life that never came to be. Sometimes it's a relationship I thought would last, a dream I was certain God was leading me toward, or simply the way I imagined this chapter of my life would look by now. I'll catch myself replaying old conversations, wondering what would have happened if I had made a different decision or if someone else had made a different one.

It's a subtle temptation—to keep glancing over my shoulder, convinced that somehow what was behind me held more life than what God is leading me into. But every time I linger there, I notice the same thing: I become less present to the grace in front of me.

In today's Gospel, Jesus gives an unexpected warning: "Remember the wife of Lot" (Luke 17:32). Of all the details He could have emphasized, He points to a woman who looked back against divine instruction (see Genesis 19:17). Her story reminds us that discipleship isn't only about leaving something physically—it is about allowing our hearts to move forward as well. Jesus goes on to say, "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it" (Luke 17:33). Those words invite us to loosen our grip on what we cannot keep so that we can receive what only He can give.

I've begun to realize that following Christ often means grieving what I've left behind without living there. It means entrusting my unanswered questions, unmet expectations, and unfinished stories to the Lord instead of carrying them into every new season. Looking back may feel familiar, but it has never helped me walk forward.

We all have places we're tempted to revisit—old identities, old hurts, old dreams. May we have the courage to release what is behind us and trust the One Who is always calling us forward. For the life Christ offers isn't found in preserving the past, but in surrendering it to Him.

Relate to the Lord // Is there something from the past you are clinging to in this new season? Pray for strength to release it and take the next best step forward. 

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