Tuesday of the XXXIV Week in Ordinary Time
- St. Catherine of Alexandria (ET) Virgin and Martyr († 305)
- BB. Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi Exemplary Spouses (Blessed)
- Saint of the Day
First Reading
God will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and it shall crush and destroy all these kingdoms.
From the Book of the Prophet Daniel
Dn 2:31-45
In those days, Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar:
«You, O king, were watching, and behold, a great image, a great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream: now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and crushes all things; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure».
The Word of God.
Responsorial Psalm
Dn 3:57-61
R. To him be praise and glory forever.
Bless the Lord, all works of the Lord,
Bless the Lord, all angels of the Lord. R.
Bless the Lord, you heavens,
Bless the Lord, all you waters above the heavens. R.
Bless the Lord, all you powers of the Lord,
Praise and exalt him above all forever. R.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia.
Be faithful until death, says the Lord,
and I will give you the crown of life. (Rev 2:10c)
Alleluia.
The Gospel of the Day November 25, 2025
Not one stone will be left upon another.
From the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 21:5-11
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, Jesus said, «As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down».
So they asked Him, «Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?» And He said, «Take heed that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am he,” and, “The time is near.” Do not go after them. When you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified; for these things must first take place, but the end will not be immediately».
Then He said to them, «Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
The Word of the Lord.
Benedict XVI
Pope from 2005 to 2013
XX World Youth Day, Vigil speech (Holy See website)
« When you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified »
The beatified and the saints show us the path to becoming happy, they show us how to be truly human. Throughout the course of history, they have been the true reformers who have often lifted it out of the dark valleys into which it is always again in danger of sinking. (…) Only from the saints, only from God, comes the true revolution, the decisive change of the world. In the century just passed, we witnessed revolutions whose common program was to no longer wait for God’s intervention, but to take the destiny of the world entirely into their own hands. And we saw that, with this, a human and partial point of view was always taken as the absolute standard of orientation. The absolutization of what is not absolute but relative is called totalitarianism. It does not free man, but takes away his dignity and enslaves him. It is not ideologies that save the world, but only turning to the living God, who is our creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is truly good and true. The true revolution consists only in turning without reserve to God who is the measure of what is right and at the same time is eternal love. And what could ever save us if not love? (…) Many people speak of God; in the name of God, hatred is also preached and violence is exercised. Therefore it is important to discover the true face of God. (…) “He who has seen me has seen the Father,” Jesus said to Philip (Jn 14:9). In Jesus Christ, who allowed his heart to be pierced for us, the true face of God appeared. We will follow Him together with the great host of those who preceded us. Then we will walk on the right path.
The Words of the Popes
If human history is studded with dramatic events, situations of pain, wars, revolutions, and calamities, it is equally true – Jesus says – that all this is not the end; it is not a good reason to let oneself be paralyzed by fear or to give in to the defeatism of those who think that everything is lost and that it is useless to commit oneself to life. The Lord’s disciple does not allow himself to be atrophied by resignation, he does not give in to discouragement even in the most difficult situations, because his God is the God of resurrection and hope, who always raises us up: with Him one can always look up, start over and set out again. The Christian, then, in the face of trial – any trial, cultural, historical or personal – asks himself: “What is the Lord telling us through this moment of crisis?”. I also ask this question today: what is the Lord telling us, in the face of this Third World War? What is the Lord telling us? And, while evil events that generate poverty and suffering occur, the Christian asks: “What, concretely, can I do that is good?”. (Pope Francis – Holy Mass on the occasion of the World Day of the Poor, November 13, 2022)
🍝 La Pasta che fa bene al cuore
Partecipa alla Seconda Edizione del nostro evento di solidarietà.
Unisciti a noi per trasformare un piatto di pasta in un gesto d’amore ❤️
