The Memorial of Saint John of Capestrano
I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, With all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, Being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling, One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all.
The earth is the Lord's, with its fullness; The world, and those who dwell in it. For he has founded it on the seas, And established it on the floods.
Who may ascend to the Lord's hill? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, Righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek your face —even Jacob. Selah.
He said to the multitudes also, "When you see a cloud rising from the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming,' and so it happens. When a south wind blows, you say, 'There will be a scorching heat,' and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how is it that you don't interpret this time?
"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? For when you are going with your adversary before the magistrate, try diligently on the way to be released from him, lest perhaps he drag you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will by no means get out of there until you have paid the very last penny. "
We celebrate today Saint John of Capestrano, a fifteenth-century Franciscan priest and preacher who led a crusade to defend Belgrade against Ottoman invasion — a man who read the signs of his dangerous moment in history with remarkable clarity and courage.
Which is exactly what Jesus is pressing us on in Luke's Gospel. Notice how he doesn't scold the crowd for being unintelligent — he scolds them for being selectively intelligent. These are people who can read clouds and wind patterns, who have developed real practical wisdom about weather, agriculture, the rhythms of daily survival. And yet, standing in the presence of the Kingdom of God, they go strangely blind.
The tension here is one we know intimately. We are often quite good at reading the signs that serve our immediate comfort or security — the mood in a room, the direction a relationship is drifting, whether a financial decision is sound. We develop real discernment in the areas we care about. The question Jesus puts to us is whether we bring that same attentiveness to what actually matters most.
Paul's letter to the Ephesians gives us something to orient by. One Lord, one faith, one baptism — this is the gravity we're meant to feel pulling us toward unity, humility, patience with one another. These aren't abstract virtues. They're the practical work of any Tuesday morning commute, any difficult conversation with a family member, any moment we choose to absorb an irritation rather than weaponize it.
The psalm reminds us that ascending toward God requires clean hands and a pure heart — not perfection, but honesty. An honest reading of where we actually are.
Here are some questions to carry through the day:
Where in your life are you reading the signs clearly — and where are you choosing not to look?
What would it mean today to "walk worthy" of your calling in one specific relationship or responsibility?
What small act of unity or patience is available to you right now that you've been postponing?