30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
25th October 2026
Lectionary Readings: Ex 22:21-27; Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51; 1 Thess 1:5c-10; Mt 22:34-40
Theme: Loving God and neighbour in the age of AI
The Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas (MH) published on the 15th May issued a resounding call to Christians and all people of goodwill to recognize that we are in a profound “change of era” (MH 6). The Encyclical challenged us to begin a process of shared discernment of the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing technological transformations and to ask ourselves in conscience the crucial questions: “Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?” (MH 6).
In the gospel lection, Jesus’ response to the Pharisees gets to the heart of the matter. He states that the Shema is the greatest of all commandments (Deut 6:5). This response echoes through to us today as we confront the extensive transformations in almost every aspect of life through artificial intelligence (AI). In Antiqua et Nova (AN), Pope Francis noted that as society slowly loses a connection with the transcendent, there is a temptation to turn to AI to satisfy longings and the search for meaning that can only be found in God, effectively presuming to substitute God for “an artifact of human making” (AN 104-105). Yet, as he noted further, the ultimate issue is not the “idolatry” associated with AI but with humanity itself, as it becomes “enslaved to its own work” (AN 105). For people of faith, the imperative here is to make a commitment to the ongoing renewal of a deep interior life and to help others to rediscover that covenant place where “heart speaks to heart.”
Jesus combines his response to love God wholeheartedly with the mitzvot on love of neighbour found in Leviticus 19:18. The first reading from Exodus 22 demonstrates that the human person, regardless of their condition or status, bears an inalienable ontological dignity that must be honoured at all times. The combination to love both God and neighbour is also found in other earlier Jewish sources. For example, in the Testament of Issachar, we read, “But love the Lord and your neighbour. Have compassion on the poor and the weak” (T. Iss 5:2) and “I loved the Lord: Likewise also every man with my whole heart” (T. Iss 7:6). In the Mishnah, Simeon the Righteous explicates these longstanding ideas as follows: “On three things does the world stand: On the Torah, on the Temple service and on deeds of loving kindness” (Abot 1:2). According to Rabbinic teaching, gemilut chasadim “deeds of kindness” are meant to go beyond charity. They require personal involvement in the needs of others. Such personal involvement can only come from a heart that dares to enter into relationship with the other. In a time of AI, Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbour calls on us to form hearts that are willing to do the hard work of cultivating authentic relationships; to offer the precious gifts of availability and presence, especially in messy situations; to be unafraid of vulnerability and to safeguard human dignity through person-centered accompaniment.
For Reflection and Discussion:
1. In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV stated that “dehumanization — of building a future that excludes God and reduces the other to a means — is an ancient and ever-new temptation that today takes on a technical guise” (MH 10). How does this statement challenge you?
Bibliography: Charles, R. H. The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (London: 1917); Gale, A. M, “The Gospel According to Matthew” [Annotations] in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, 2nd ed, NRSV, ed. A. J. Levine and M. Z. Brettler (New York: 2017); Neusner, J. The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven: 1988).
This week’s Sunday Liturgy Commentary was prepared by
Sr. Carla Thomas O.P., Canada, Bat Kol Alumna 2018.
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