Gospel: November 25, 2025
November 25, 2025 (Tuesday)
34th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 2 (Green/Red)
St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr
Dn 3:57, 58, 59, 60, 61
Give glory and eternal praise to him.
1st Reading: Daniel 2:31-45*
Gospel: Luke 21:5-11
Reflection:
“Even in great difficulty, we are to trust in the Lord.”
Tradition relates that Catherine was the daughter of Constus, the Roman governor of Alexandria. After seeing a vision of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, she became a Christian and she was martyred during the persecution in the time of Emperor Maxentius. As a third-century woman, endowed with great learning, who was martyred on a cartwheel for converting many to the Christian faith by her eloquence, Catherine’s patronage is very broad indeed. She is patron saint of philosophers, theologians, maidens, female students, preachers, lawyers, the dying, wheelwrights, mechanics and potters. In fourteenth-century Rhineland, a devotion of the Fourteen Holy Helpers arose during the time of the Black Death. Saint Catherine of Alexandria was one of the fourteen intercessors. She, along with Saint Christopher and Saint Barbara, was invoked for protection against a sudden and unprovided death, as well as against diseases of the tongue. Today’s Gospel describes the many troubles that the world faces, such as wars, famines and plagues. Jesus tells us not to be afraid, as our human existence does not end in sorrow, but with the hope of heaven. And so, even in great difficulty, like Saint Catherine, we are to trust in the Lord.
