1 October 2025 (Wednesday) / Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

1 October 2025 (Wednesday)

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Nehemiah 2: 1-8
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Alleluia: Philippians 3: 8-9
Gospel: Luke 9: 57-62

Reading 1
Nehemiah 2:1-8

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when the wine was in my charge, I took some and offered it to the king. As I had never before been sad in his presence, the king asked me, "Why do you look sad? If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart." Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king: "May the king live forever! How could I not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been eaten out by fire?" The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?" I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king: "If it please the king, and if your servant is deserving of your favor, send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors' graves, to rebuild it." Then the king, and the queen seated beside him, asked me how long my journey would take and when I would return. I set a date that was acceptable to him, and the king agreed that I might go. I asked the king further: "If it please the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of West-of-Euphrates,that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah; also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park, that he may give me wood for timbering the gatesof the temple-citadel and for the city wall and the house that I shall occupy." The king granted my requests, for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon we sat and weptwhen we remembered Zion. On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps.

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Though there our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs, And our despoilers urged us to be joyous: "Sing for us the songs of Zion!"

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

How could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten!

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, If I place not Jerusalem a head of my joy.

R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

Alleluia
Philippians 3:8-9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have accepted the loss of everything and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him.
(7. But what were once my assets I now through Christ Jesus count as losses.
8. Yes, I will go further: because of the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, I count everything else as loss. For him I have accepted the loss of all other things, and look on them all as filth if only I can gain Christ
9. and be given a place in him, with the uprightness I have gained not from the Law, but through faith in Christ, an uprightness from God, based on faith,
10. that I may come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being moulded to the pattern of his death,
11. striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead).
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Luke 9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

For our reflection today:

In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Lk 9:51-62), Saint Luke begins the narrative of Jesus’ last journey towards Jerusalem, which ends at Chapter 19. It is a long journey, not only geographically and spatially, but also spiritually and theologically, towards the fulfilment of the Messiah’s mission. Jesus’ decision is radical and total, and those who follow him are called to measure up to it. Today the Evangelist presents us three characters — three cases of vocation, we could say — that shed light on what is required of those who wish to follow Jesus to the end, completely.

The first character promises him: “I will follow you wherever you go” (v. 57). Generous! But Jesus replies that the Son of man, unlike foxes that have holes, and birds that have nests, “has nowhere to lay his head” (v. 58). The absolute poverty of Jesus. Indeed, Jesus left his paternal home and gave up all security in order to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the lost sheep of his people. In this way Jesus pointed out to us, his disciples, that our mission in the world cannot be static, but is itinerant. The Christian is itinerant. The Church by her very nature is in motion; she does not stay sedentary and calm within her enclosure. She is open to the broadest horizons, sent forth — the Church is sent forth — to bring the Gospel through the streets and to reach the human and existential peripheries. This is the first character.

The second character Jesus meets receives the call directly from him, but replies: “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” (v. 59). It is a legitimate request based on the commandment to honour your father and mother (cf. Ex 20:12). Nevertheless, Jesus responds: “Leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Lk 9:60). With these deliberately provocative words, he intends to emphasize the primacy of following and of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, even over and above the most important realities, such as the family. The urgency of communicating the Gospel, which breaks the chains of death and ushers in eternal life, does not permit delays but requires promptness and complete willingness. Thus, the Church is itinerant, and here the Church is decisive, acts quickly, on the spot, without waiting.

The third character also wants to follow Jesus but on one condition: he will do so after bidding farewell to his relatives. And this is the response he receives from the Teacher: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). Following Jesus excludes regrets and backward glances but requires the virtue of decision. In order to follow Jesus, the Church is itinerant, acts promptly, quickly and decisively. The value of these conditions set by Jesus — itnerancy, promptness and decision — does not lie in a series of saying ‘no’ to the good and important things in life. Rather, the emphasis is placed on the main objective: to become a disciple of Christ! A free and conscious choice, made out of love, to reciprocate the invaluable grace of God, and not made as a way to promote oneself. This is sad! Woe to those who think about following Jesus for their own advantage, that is, to further their career, to feel important or to acquire a position of prestige. Jesus wants us to be passionate about him and about the Gospel. A heartfelt passion which translates into concrete gestures of proximity, of closeness to the brothers and sisters most in need of welcome and care. Precisely as he himself lived. May the Virgin Mary, icon of the pilgrim Church, help us to joyfully follow the Lord Jesus and, with renewed love, to proclaim the Good News of Salvation to brothers and sisters. (Pope Francis, Angelus, 30 June 2019)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

30 September 2025 (Tuesday) / Saint Jerome, Priest, Doctor of the Church on Tuesday of week 26 in Ordinary Time / Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

30 September 2025 (Tuesday)

Saint Jerome, Priest, Doctor of the Church on Tuesday of week 26 in Ordinary Time.

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Zechariah 8: 20-23
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 87: 1-7
Alleluia: Mark 10: 45
Gospel: Luke 9: 51-56

First Reading : Zechariah 8:20‐23

The Lord of Hosts says this: ‘There will be other peoples yet, and citizens of great cities. And the inhabitants of one city will go to the next and say, “Come, let us go and entreat the favour of the Lord, and seek the Lord of Hosts; I am going myself.” And many peoples and great nations will come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favour of the Lord.’ The Lord of Hosts says this: ‘In those days, ten men of nations of every language will take a Jew by the sleeve and say, “We want to go with you, since we have learnt that God is with you."

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 86(87)

God is with us.

On the holy mountain is his city cherished by the Lord. The Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all Jacob’s dwellings. Of you are told glorious things, O city of God!

God is with us.

‘Babylon and Egypt I will count among those who know me; Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia, these will be her children and Zion shall be called “Mother” for all shall be her children.’

God is with us.

It is he, the Lord Most High, who gives each his place. In his register of peoples he writes: ‘These are her children,’ and while they dance they will sing: ‘In you all find their home.’

God is with us.

Alleluia: Mark 10: 45
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
45 The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
(38. But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I shall drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?'
39. They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised,
40. but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.'
41. When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John,
42. so Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt.
43. Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant,
44. and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.
45. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.')
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Luke 9:51‐56
As the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely took the road for Jerusalem and sent messengers ahead of him. These set out, and they went into a Samaritan village to make preparations for him, but the people would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem. Seeing this, the disciples James and John said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and they went off to another village.

For our reflection today:

This Sunday’s Gospel Reading (Lk 9:51-62) shows a very important step in Christ’s life: the moment when, as St Luke writes: “He [Jesus] set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51). Jerusalem is the final destination where Jesus, at his last Passover, must die and rise again and thus bring his mission of salvation to fulfilment. From that moment, after that “firm decision” Jesus aimed straight for his goal and in addition said clearly to the people he met and who asked to follow him what the conditions were: to have no permanent dwelling place; to know how to be detached from human affections and not to give in to nostalgia for the past. Jesus, however, also told his disciples to precede him on the way to Jerusalem and to announce his arrival, but not to impose anything: if the disciples did not find a readiness to welcome him, they should go ahead, they should move on. Jesus never imposes, Jesus is humble, Jesus invites. If you want to, come. The humility of Jesus is like this: he is always inviting but never imposing.

All of this gives us food for thought. It tells us, for example, of the importance which the conscience had for Jesus too: listening in his heart to the Father’s voice and following it. Jesus, in his earthly existence, was not, as it were “remote-controlled”: he was the incarnate Word, the Son of God made man, and at a certain point he made the firm decision to go up to Jerusalem for the last time; it was a decision taken in his conscience, but not alone: together with the Father, in full union with him! He decided out of obedience to the Father and in profound and intimate listening to his will. For this reason, moreover, his decision was firm, because it was made together with the Father. In the Father Jesus found the strength and light for his journey. And Jesus was free, he took that decision freely. Jesus wants us to be Christians, freely as he was, with the freedom which comes from this dialogue with the Father, from this dialogue with God. Jesus does not want selfish Christians who follow their own ego, who do not talk to God. Nor does he want weak Christians, Christians who have no will of their own, “remote-controlled” Christians incapable of creativity, who always seek to connect with the will of someone else and are not free. Jesus wants us free. And where is this freedom created? It is created in dialogue with God in the person’s own conscience. If a Christian is unable to speak with God, if he cannot hear God in his own conscience, he is not free, he is not free.

This is why we must learn to listen to our conscience more. But be careful! This does not mean following my own ego, doing what interests me, what suits me, what I like.... It is not this! The conscience is the interior place for listening to the truth, to goodness, for listening to God; it is the inner place of my relationship with him, the One who speaks to my heart and helps me to discern, to understand the way I must take and, once the decision is made, to go forward, to stay faithful. We have had a marvellous example of what this relationship with God is like, a recent and marvellous example. Pope Benedict XVI gave us this great example when the Lord made him understand, in prayer, what the step was that he had to take. With a great sense of discernment and courage, he followed his conscience, that is, the will of God speaking in his heart. And this example of our Father does such great good to us all, as an example to follow. Our Lady, in her inmost depths with great simplicity was listening to and meditating on the Word of God and on what was happening to Jesus. She followed her Son with deep conviction and with steadfast hope. May Mary help us to become increasingly men and women of conscience, free in our conscience, because it is in the conscience that dialogue with God takes place; men and women, who can hear God’s voice and follow it with determination, who can listen to God’s voice, and follow it with decision.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

Saint Jerome

St. Jerome was born in Dalmatia, studied in Rome, and then traveled for years passionately searching for knowledge. He first went to Treves to study theology and then to Antioch, where he studied Greek and Holy Scripture. Then, he withdrew for five years to the desert, where he practiced penance and studied Hebrew. At the age of 39, in 380, he was ordained a priest. He spent a year in Constantinople learning from the great St. Gregory Nazianzen, then went on to Rome. In Rome, he served the Pope for five years as a secretary, revised the Bible, opened a library, and guided a group of pious Roman women in studying the Scriptures. St. Paula and her daughter, St. Eustochium, were among the women he guided. When the ease-loving Roman clergy, whom the outspoken Jerome had bitterly criticized, caused him to leave the half-pagan city in disgust after the death of Pope St. Damasus, these holy women followed him to Bethlehem. Here, besides governing a monastery and a school, he completed his prolific and monumental writings, especially the translation of the Bible. The reading of Holy Scriptures should follow upon prayer, and prayer in turn should follow the reading." He would say, "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ!" The books of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, and the Maccabees were left untouched by him in the "Old Latin" version that Pope St. Damasus had prepared in 382. The New Testament was merely revised. But the remaining books of the Old Testament were newly translated by him directly from the Hebrew and Aramaic. This great task was completed in 404, after some 18 years of labor, and it was this easily-read "Vulgate" translation that the great Council of Trent defined as the Church's authoritative one. Throughout his life, he subjected his body to strict fasting and vigils. St. Jerome died on September 30, 420, and is venerated as the patron saint of archaeologists, Bible scholars, librarians, students, and translators.

O God, who gave the Priest St. Jerome a living and tender love for Sacred Scripture, grant that Your people may be ever more fruitfully nourished by Your Word and find in it the fount of life.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

30 September 2025 (Selasa) / Peringatan Wajib Santo Hieronimus

30 September 2025 (Selasa)

Peringatan Wajib Santo Hieronimus.

Pembacaan dari Alkitab Gereja Katolik Roma:

Pembacaan Pertama: Za. 8:20-23; 
Pembacaan Mazmur: Mzm. 87:1-7; 
Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Lukas: Luk. 9:51-56
Warna Liturgi Putih.

Pembacaan Pertama:

Za 8:20 Beginilah firman TUHAN semesta alam: "Masih akan datang lagi bangsa-bangsa dan penduduk banyak kota.
Za 8:21 Dan penduduk kota yang satu akan pergi kepada penduduk kota yang lain, mengatakan: Marilah kita pergi untuk melunakkan hati TUHAN dan mencari TUHAN semesta alam! Kamipun akan pergi!
Za 8:22 Jadi banyak bangsa dan suku-suku bangsa yang kuat akan datang mencari TUHAN semesta alam di Yerusalem dan melunakkan hati TUHAN."
Za 8:23 Beginilah firman TUHAN semesta alam: "Pada waktu itu sepuluh orang dari berbagai-bagai bangsa dan bahasa akan memegang kuat-kuat punca jubah seorang Yahudi dengan berkata: Kami mau pergi menyertai kamu, sebab telah kami dengar, bahwa Allah menyertai kamu!"

Pembacaan Mazmur:

Mzm 87:1 Mazmur bani Korah: suatu nyanyian. Di gunung-gunung yang kudus ada kota yang dibangunkan-Nya:
Mzm 87:2 TUHAN lebih mencintai pintu-pintu gerbang Sion dari pada segala tempat kediaman Yakub.
Mzm 87:3 Hal-hal yang mulia dikatakan tentang engkau, ya kota Allah. Sela
Mzm 87:4 Aku menyebut Rahab dan Babel di antara orang-orang yang mengenal Aku, bahkan Filistea, Tirus dan Etiopia: "Ini dilahirkan di sana."
Mzm 87:5 Tetapi tentang Sion dikatakan: "Seorang demi seorang dilahirkan di dalamnya," dan Dia, Yang Mahatinggi, menegakkannya.
Mzm 87:6 TUHAN menghitung pada waktu mencatat bangsa-bangsa: "Ini dilahirkan di sana." Sela
Mzm 87:7 Dan orang menyanyi-nyanyi sambil menari beramai-ramai: "Segala mata airku ada di dalammu."

Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Lukas:

Luk 9:51 Ketika hampir genap waktunya Yesus diangkat ke sorga, Ia mengarahkan pandangan-Nya untuk pergi ke Yerusalem,
Luk 9:52 dan Ia mengirim beberapa utusan mendahului Dia. Mereka itu pergi, lalu masuk ke suatu desa orang Samaria untuk mempersiapkan segala sesuatu bagi-Nya.
Luk 9:53 Tetapi orang-orang Samaria itu tidak mau menerima Dia, karena perjalanan-Nya menuju Yerusalem.
Luk 9:54 Ketika dua murid-Nya, yaitu Yakobus dan Yohanes, melihat hal itu, mereka berkata: "Tuhan, apakah Engkau mau, supaya kami menyuruh api turun dari langit untuk membinasakan mereka?"
Luk 9:55 Akan tetapi Ia berpaling dan menegor mereka.
Luk 9:56 Lalu mereka pergi ke desa yang lain.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

The three Archangels Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael

Today, the Church honors the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael is celebrated for protection, Gabriel for delivering God's messages, and Raphael for guidance. The feast day is linked to the dedication of the ancient Roman Basilica of "St Michael and All Angels."

The name Michael means "who is like God" in Hebrew and signifies the battle cry of good angels. In Scripture, he is shown as the guardian of the Chosen Race and a figure of comfort during their return from captivity. In Catholic tradition, St. Michael has four roles: to combat Satan, rescue souls at death, be the Patron of the Holy Church, and assist in judgment. 

Gabriel's name translates to "The Power of God." He is one of the seven angels who "Stand before God" and is recognized as a messenger of both glad and consoling tidings. In the Book of Daniel, he foretold the fall of the Persian Empire and announced to Zachary the birth of John the Baptist. Most notably, he is the "Angel of the Annunciation," informing Mary of her role as the Mother of Jesus. In 1951, Pope Pius XII declared him the Patron of communication arts.

St. Raphael, meaning "God has healed," is known for healing and guidance, as seen in his role with Tobit and Tobias. He is the Patron Saint of travelers, the young, and the innocent, celebrated for miraculous healings and protective grace.

The Archangels' feast highlights their roles in biblical history and their ongoing support in the lives of the faithful. Each Archangel—Michael as protector, Gabriel as messenger, and Raphael as healer—illustrates God's love and protection, inspiring belief and devotion. Their feast day encourages the faithful to seek guidance and fosters a deeper connection with God.

Holy Archangels, intercede for us to recognize Christ in all people, including strangers, the sick, and those in need.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

The three Archangels Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel and Saint Raphael

The three Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are the only angels named in Sacred Scripture and all three have important roles in the history of salvation.

Saint Michael is the "Prince of the Heavenly Host," the leader of all the angels. His name is Hebrew for "Who is like God?" and was the battle cry of the good angels against Lucifer and his followers when they rebelled against God. He is mentioned four times in the Bible, in Daniel 10 and 12, in the letter of Jude, and in Revelation.

Michael, whose forces cast down Lucifer and the evil spirits into Hell, is invoked for protection against Satan and all evil. Pope Leo XIII, in 1899, having had a prophetic vision of the evil that would be inflicted upon the Church and the world in the 20th century, instituted a prayer asking for Saint Michael's protection to be said at the end of every Mass.

Christian tradition recognizes four offices of Saint Michael: (i) to fight against Satan (ii) to rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death. (iii) to be the champion of God's people, (iv) to call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment.

"I am Gabriel, who stand before God." (Luke 1, 19)

Saint Gabriel, whose name means "God's strength," is mentioned four times in the Bible. Most significant are Gabriel's two mentions in the New Testament: to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his father Zacharias, and the at Incarnation of the Word in the womb of Mary.

Christian tradition suggests that it is he who appeared to St. Joseph and to the shepherds, and also that it was he who "strengthened" Jesus during his agony in the garden of Gethsemane.

"I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tob 12:15)

Saint Raphael, whose name means "God has healed" because of his healing of Tobias' blindness in the Book of Tobit.  Tobit is the only book in which he is mentioned. His office is generally accepted by tradition to be that of healing and acts of mercy.

Raphael is also identified with the angel in John 5:1-4 who descended upon the pond and bestowed healing powers upon it so that the first to enter it after it moved would be healed of whatever infirmity he was suffering.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

29 September 2025 (Monday) / Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels ‐ Feast / Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

29 September 2025 (Monday)

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels ‐ Feast.

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14 or Revelation 12: 7-12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 138: 1-5
Alleluia: Psalms 103: 21
Gospel: John 1: 47-51

First Reading : Daniel 7:9‐10,13‐14

As I watched: Thrones were set in place and one of great age took his seat. His robe was white as snow, the hair of his head as pure as wool. His throne was a blaze of flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A stream of fire poured out, issuing from his presence. A thousand thousand waited on him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. A court was held and the books were opened. I gazed into the visions of the night. And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man. He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence. On him was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 137(138):1‐5

In the presence of the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart: you have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple.

In the presence of the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love, which excel all we ever knew of you. On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.

In the presence of the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

All earth’s kings shall thank you when they hear the words of your mouth. They shall sing of the Lord’s ways: ‘How great is the glory of the Lord!’

In the presence of the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

Alleluia: Psalms 103: 21
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
21 Bless the LORD, all you angels, you ministers, who do his will.
(15. As for a human person -- his days are like grass, he blooms like the wild flowers;
16. as soon as the wind blows he is gone, never to be seen there again.
17. But Yahweh's faithful love for those who fear him is from eternity and for ever; and his saving justice to their children's children;
18. as long as they keep his covenant, and carefully obey his precepts.
19. Yahweh has fixed his throne in heaven, his sovereign power rules over all.
20. Bless Yahweh, all his angels, mighty warriors who fulfil his commands, attentive to the sound of his words.
21. Bless Yahweh, all his armies, servants who fulfil his wishes.
22. Bless Yahweh, all his works, in every place where he rules. Bless Yahweh, my soul).
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : John 1:47‐51

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’

For our reflection today:

We are celebrating this Episcopal Ordination on the Feast of the three Archangels who are mentioned by name in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. This reminds us that in the ancient Church - already in the Book of Revelation - Bishops were described as "angels" of their Church, thereby expressing a close connection between the Bishop's ministry and the Angel's mission. From the Angel's task it is possible to understand the Bishop's service. But what is an Angel? Sacred Scripture and the Church's tradition enable us to discern two aspects. On the one hand, the Angel is a creature who stands before God, oriented to God with his whole being. All three names of the Archangels end with the word "El", which means "God". God is inscribed in their names, in their nature. Their true nature is existing in his sight and for him. In this very way the second aspect that characterizes Angels is also explained: they are God's messengers. They bring God to men, they open heaven and thus open earth. Precisely because they are with God, they can also be very close to man. Indeed, God is closer to each one of us than we ourselves are. The Angels speak to man of what constitutes his true being, of what in his life is so often concealed and buried. They bring him back to himself, touching him on God's behalf. In this sense, we human beings must also always return to being angels to one another - angels who turn people away from erroneous ways and direct them always, ever anew, to God. If the ancient Church called Bishops "Angels" of their Church, she meant precisely this: Bishops themselves must be men of God, they must live oriented to God. "Multum orat pro populo" - "Let them say many prayers for the people", the Breviary of the Church says of holy Bishops. The Bishop must be a man of prayer, one who intercedes with God for human beings. The more he does so, the more he also understands the people who are entrusted to him and can become an angel for them - a messenger of God who helps them to find their true nature by themselves, and to live the idea that God has of them.

All this becomes even clearer if we now look at the figures of the three Archangels whose Feast the Church is celebrating today. First of all there is Michael. We find him in Sacred Scripture above all in the Book of Daniel, in the Letter of the Apostle St Jude Thaddeus and in the Book of Revelation. Two of this Archangel's roles become obvious in these texts. He defends the cause of God's oneness against the presumption of the dragon, the "ancient serpent", as John calls it. The serpent's continuous effort is to make men believe that God must disappear so that they themselves may become important; that God impedes our freedom and, therefore, that we must rid ourselves of him. However, the dragon does not only accuse God. The Book of Revelation also calls it "the accuser of our brethren, who accuses them day and night before our God" (12: 10). Those who cast God aside do not make man great but divest him of his dignity. Man then becomes a failed product of evolution. Those who accuse God also accuse man. Faith in God defends man in all his frailty and short-comings: God's brightness shines on every individual. It is the duty of the Bishop, as a man of God, to make room in the world for God, to counter the denials of him and thus to defend man's greatness. And what more could one say and think about man than the fact that God himself was made man? Michael's other role, according to Scripture, is that of protector of the People of God (cf. Dn 10: 21; 12: 1). Dear friends, be true "guardian angels" of the Church which will be entrusted to you! Help the People of God whom you must lead in its pilgrimage to find the joy of faith and to learn to discern the spirits: to accept good and reject evil, to remain and increasingly to become, by virtue of the hope of faith, people who love in communion with God-Love.

We meet the Archangel Gabriel especially in the precious account of the annunciation to Mary of the Incarnation of God, as Luke tells it to us (1: 26-38). Gabriel is the messenger of God's Incarnation. He knocks at Mary's door and, through him, God himself asks Mary for her "yes" to the proposal to become the Mother of the Redeemer: of giving her human flesh to the eternal Word of God, to the Son of God. The Lord knocks again and again at the door of the human heart. In the Book of Revelation he says to the "angel" of the Church of Laodicea and, through him, to the people of all times: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (3: 20). The Lord is at the door - at the door of the world and at the door of every individual heart. He knocks to be let in: the Incarnation of God, his taking flesh, must continue until the end of time. All must be reunited in Christ in one body: the great hymns on Christ in the Letters to the Ephesians and to the Colossians tell us this. Christ knocks. Today too he needs people who, so to speak, make their own flesh available to him, give him the matter of the world and of their lives, thus serving the unification between God and the world, until the reconciliation of the universe. Dear friends, it is your task to knock at people's hearts in Christ's Name. By entering into union with Christ yourselves, you will also be able to assume Gabriel's role: to bring Christ's call to men.
St Raphael is presented to us, above all in the Book of Tobit, as the Angel to whom is entrusted the task of healing. When Jesus sends his disciples out on a mission, the task of proclaiming the Gospel is always linked with that of healing. The Good Samaritan, in accepting and healing the injured person lying by the wayside, becomes without words a witness of God's love. We are all this injured man, in need of being healed. Proclaiming the Gospel itself already means healing in itself, because man is in need of truth and love above all things. The Book of Tobit refers to two of the Archangel Raphael's emblematic tasks of healing. He heals the disturbed communion between a man and a woman. He heals their love. He drives out the demons who over and over again exhaust and destroy their love. He purifies the atmosphere between the two and gives them the ability to accept each other for ever. In Tobit's account, this healing is recounted with legendary images. In the New Testament, the order of marriage established in creation and threatened in many ways by sin, is healed through Christ's acceptance of it in his redeeming love. He makes marriage a sacrament: his love, put on a cross for us, is the healing power which in all forms of chaos offers the capacity for reconciliation, purifies the atmosphere and mends the wounds. The priest is entrusted with the task of leading men and women ever anew to the reconciling power of Christ's love. He must be the healing "angel" who helps them to anchor their love to the sacrament and to live it with an ever renewed commitment based upon it. Secondly, the Book of Tobit speaks of the healing of sightless eyes. We all know how threatened we are today by blindness to God. How great is the danger that with all we know of material things and can do with them, we become blind to God's light. Healing this blindness through the message of faith and the witness of love is Raphael's service, entrusted day after day to the priest and in a special way to the Bishop. Thus, we are prompted spontaneously also to think of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Penance which in the deepest sense of the word is a sacrament of healing. The real wound in the soul, in fact, the reason for all our other injuries, is sin. And only if forgiveness exists, by virtue of God's power, by virtue of Christ's love, can we be healed, can we be redeemed.

"Abide in my love", the Lord says to us today in the Gospel (Jn 15: 9). At the moment of your Episcopal Ordination he says so particularly to you, dear friends. Abide in his love! Abide in that friendship with him, full of love, which he is giving you anew at this moment! Then your lives will bear fruit, fruit that abides (cf. Jn 15: 16). Let us all pray for you at this time, dear Brothers, so that this may be granted to you. Amen. (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Episcopal Ordination, 29 September 2007)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

29 September 2025 (Monday) / Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

29 September 2025 (Monday)

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14 or Revelation 12: 7-12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 138: 1-5
Alleluia: Psalms 103: 21
Gospel: John 1: 47-51

Reading 1
Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched: Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; His throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming,on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, He received dominion, glory, and kingship;nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away,his kingship shall not be destroyed.

OR

Revelation 12:7-12

War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back,but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,and you who dwell in them."

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 138:1-5

R. (1) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name.

R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me.

R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord. 

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD when they hear the words of your mouth; And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD "Great is the glory of the LORD"

R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Alleluia: Psalms 103: 21

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
21 Bless the LORD, all you angels, you ministers, who do his will.
(15. As for a human person -- his days are like grass, he blooms like the wild flowers;
16. as soon as the wind blows he is gone, never to be seen there again.
17. But Yahweh's faithful love for those who fear him is from eternity and for ever; and his saving justice to their children's children;
18. as long as they keep his covenant, and carefully obey his precepts.
19. Yahweh has fixed his throne in heaven, his sovereign power rules over all.
20. Bless Yahweh, all his angels, mighty warriors who fulfil his commands, attentive to the sound of his words.
21. Bless Yahweh, all his armies, servants who fulfil his wishes.
22. Bless Yahweh, all his works, in every place where he rules. Bless Yahweh, my soul).
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
John 1:47-51

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him."Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. "Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this. "And he said to him, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." 

For our reflection today:

We are celebrating this Episcopal Ordination on the Feast of the three Archangels who are mentioned by name in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. This reminds us that in the ancient Church - already in the Book of Revelation - Bishops were described as "angels" of their Church, thereby expressing a close connection between the Bishop's ministry and the Angel's mission. From the Angel's task it is possible to understand the Bishop's service. But what is an Angel? Sacred Scripture and the Church's tradition enable us to discern two aspects. On the one hand, the Angel is a creature who stands before God, oriented to God with his whole being. All three names of the Archangels end with the word "El", which means "God". God is inscribed in their names, in their nature. Their true nature is existing in his sight and for him. In this very way the second aspect that characterizes Angels is also explained: they are God's messengers. They bring God to men, they open heaven and thus open earth. Precisely because they are with God, they can also be very close to man. Indeed, God is closer to each one of us than we ourselves are. The Angels speak to man of what constitutes his true being, of what in his life is so often concealed and buried. They bring him back to himself, touching him on God's behalf. In this sense, we human beings must also always return to being angels to one another - angels who turn people away from erroneous ways and direct them always, ever anew, to God. If the ancient Church called Bishops "Angels" of their Church, she meant precisely this: Bishops themselves must be men of God, they must live oriented to God. "Multum orat pro populo" - "Let them say many prayers for the people", the Breviary of the Church says of holy Bishops. The Bishop must be a man of prayer, one who intercedes with God for human beings. The more he does so, the more he also understands the people who are entrusted to him and can become an angel for them - a messenger of God who helps them to find their true nature by themselves, and to live the idea that God has of them.

All this becomes even clearer if we now look at the figures of the three Archangels whose Feast the Church is celebrating today. First of all there is Michael. We find him in Sacred Scripture above all in the Book of Daniel, in the Letter of the Apostle St Jude Thaddeus and in the Book of Revelation. Two of this Archangel's roles become obvious in these texts. He defends the cause of God's oneness against the presumption of the dragon, the "ancient serpent", as John calls it. The serpent's continuous effort is to make men believe that God must disappear so that they themselves may become important; that God impedes our freedom and, therefore, that we must rid ourselves of him. However, the dragon does not only accuse God. The Book of Revelation also calls it "the accuser of our brethren, who accuses them day and night before our God" (12: 10). Those who cast God aside do not make man great but divest him of his dignity. Man then becomes a failed product of evolution. Those who accuse God also accuse man. Faith in God defends man in all his frailty and short-comings: God's brightness shines on every individual. It is the duty of the Bishop, as a man of God, to make room in the world for God, to counter the denials of him and thus to defend man's greatness. And what more could one say and think about man than the fact that God himself was made man? Michael's other role, according to Scripture, is that of protector of the People of God (cf. Dn 10: 21; 12: 1). Dear friends, be true "guardian angels" of the Church which will be entrusted to you! Help the People of God whom you must lead in its pilgrimage to find the joy of faith and to learn to discern the spirits: to accept good and reject evil, to remain and increasingly to become, by virtue of the hope of faith, people who love in communion with God-Love.

We meet the Archangel Gabriel especially in the precious account of the annunciation to Mary of the Incarnation of God, as Luke tells it to us (1: 26-38). Gabriel is the messenger of God's Incarnation. He knocks at Mary's door and, through him, God himself asks Mary for her "yes" to the proposal to become the Mother of the Redeemer: of giving her human flesh to the eternal Word of God, to the Son of God. The Lord knocks again and again at the door of the human heart. In the Book of Revelation he says to the "angel" of the Church of Laodicea and, through him, to the people of all times: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (3: 20). The Lord is at the door - at the door of the world and at the door of every individual heart. He knocks to be let in: the Incarnation of God, his taking flesh, must continue until the end of time. All must be reunited in Christ in one body: the great hymns on Christ in the Letters to the Ephesians and to the Colossians tell us this. Christ knocks. Today too he needs people who, so to speak, make their own flesh available to him, give him the matter of the world and of their lives, thus serving the unification between God and the world, until the reconciliation of the universe. Dear friends, it is your task to knock at people's hearts in Christ's Name. By entering into union with Christ yourselves, you will also be able to assume Gabriel's role: to bring Christ's call to men.

St Raphael is presented to us, above all in the Book of Tobit, as the Angel to whom is entrusted the task of healing. When Jesus sends his disciples out on a mission, the task of proclaiming the Gospel is always linked with that of healing. The Good Samaritan, in accepting and healing the injured person lying by the wayside, becomes without words a witness of God's love. We are all this injured man, in need of being healed. Proclaiming the Gospel itself already means healing in itself, because man is in need of truth and love above all things. The Book of Tobit refers to two of the Archangel Raphael's emblematic tasks of healing. He heals the disturbed communion between a man and a woman. He heals their love. He drives out the demons who over and over again exhaust and destroy their love. He purifies the atmosphere between the two and gives them the ability to accept each other for ever. In Tobit's account, this healing is recounted with legendary images. In the New Testament, the order of marriage established in creation and threatened in many ways by sin, is healed through Christ's acceptance of it in his redeeming love. He makes marriage a sacrament: his love, put on a cross for us, is the healing power which in all forms of chaos offers the capacity for reconciliation, purifies the atmosphere and mends the wounds. The priest is entrusted with the task of leading men and women ever anew to the reconciling power of Christ's love. He must be the healing "angel" who helps them to anchor their love to the sacrament and to live it with an ever renewed commitment based upon it. Secondly, the Book of Tobit speaks of the healing of sightless eyes. We all know how threatened we are today by blindness to God. How great is the danger that with all we know of material things and can do with them, we become blind to God's light. Healing this blindness through the message of faith and the witness of love is Raphael's service, entrusted day after day to the priest and in a special way to the Bishop. Thus, we are prompted spontaneously also to think of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Penance which in the deepest sense of the word is a sacrament of healing. The real wound in the soul, in fact, the reason for all our other injuries, is sin. And only if forgiveness exists, by virtue of God's power, by virtue of Christ's love, can we be healed, can we be redeemed.

"Abide in my love", the Lord says to us today in the Gospel (Jn 15: 9). At the moment of your Episcopal Ordination he says so particularly to you, dear friends. Abide in his love! Abide in that friendship with him, full of love, which he is giving you anew at this moment! Then your lives will bear fruit, fruit that abides (cf. Jn 15: 16). Let us all pray for you at this time, dear Brothers, so that this may be granted to you. Amen. (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Episcopal Ordination, 29 September 2007)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

29 September 2025 (Isnin) / Pesta Malaikat Agung Santo Mikael, Santo Gabriel, dan Santo Rafael, Malaikat Agung

29 September 2025 (Isnin)

Pesta Malaikat Agung Santo Mikael, Santo Gabriel, dan Santo Rafael, Malaikat Agung.

Pembacaan dari Alkitab Gereja Katolik Roma:

Pembacaan Pertama: Dan 7:9-10.13-14
atau Why 12:7-12; 
Pembacaan Mazmur: Mzm 138:1-5; 
Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Yohanes: Yoh 1:47-51
Warna Liturgi Putih.

Pembacaan Pertama:

Dan 7:9 Sementara aku terus melihat, takhta-takhta diletakkan, lalu duduklah Yang Lanjut Usianya; pakaian-Nya putih seperti salju dan rambut-Nya bersih seperti bulu domba; kursi-Nya dari nyala api dengan roda-rodanya dari api yang berkobar-kobar;
Dan 7:10 suatu sungai api timbul dan mengalir dari hadapan-Nya; seribu kali beribu-ribu melayani Dia, dan selaksa kali berlaksa-laksa berdiri di hadapan-Nya. Lalu duduklah Majelis Pengadilan dan dibukalah Kitab-kitab.
Dan 7:13 Aku terus melihat dalam penglihatan malam itu, tampak datang dengan awan-awan dari langit seorang seperti anak manusia; datanglah ia kepada Yang Lanjut Usianya itu, dan ia dibawa ke hadapan-Nya.
Dan 7:14 Lalu diberikan kepadanya kekuasaan dan kemuliaan dan kekuasaan sebagai raja, maka orang-orang dari segala bangsa, suku bangsa dan bahasa mengabdi kepadanya. Kekuasaannya ialah kekuasaan yang kekal, yang tidak akan lenyap, dan kerajaannya ialah kerajaan yang tidak akan musnah.

ATAU:

Why 12:7 Maka timbullah peperangan di sorga. Mikhael dan malaikat-malaikatnya berperang melawan naga itu, dan naga itu dibantu oleh malaikat-malaikatnya,
Why 12:8 tetapi mereka tidak dapat bertahan; mereka tidak mendapat tempat lagi di sorga.
Why 12:9 Dan naga besar itu, si ular tua, yang disebut Iblis atau Satan, yang menyesatkan seluruh dunia, dilemparkan ke bawah; ia dilemparkan ke bumi, bersama-sama dengan malaikat-malaikatnya.
Why 12:10 Dan aku mendengar suara yang nyaring di sorga berkata: "Sekarang telah tiba keselamatan dan kuasa dan pemerintahan Allah kita, dan kekuasaan Dia yang diurapi-Nya, karena telah dilemparkan ke bawah pendakwa saudara-saudara kita, yang mendakwa mereka siang dan malam di hadapan Allah kita.
Why 12:11 Dan mereka mengalahkan dia oleh darah Anak Domba, dan oleh perkataan kesaksian mereka. Karena mereka tidak mengasihi nyawa mereka sampai ke dalam maut.
Why 12:12 Karena itu bersukacitalah, hai sorga dan hai kamu sekalian yang diam di dalamnya, celakalah kamu, hai bumi dan laut! karena Iblis telah turun kepadamu, dalam geramnya yang dahsyat, karena ia tahu, bahwa waktunya sudah singkat."

Pembacaan Mazmur:

Mzm 138:1 Dari Daud. Aku hendak bersyukur kepada-Mu dengan segenap hatiku, di hadapan para allah aku akan bermazmur bagi-Mu.
Mzm 138:2 Aku hendak sujud ke arah bait-Mu yang kudus dan memuji nama-Mu, oleh karena kasih-Mu dan oleh karena setia-Mu; sebab Kaubuat nama-Mu dan janji-Mu melebihi segala sesuatu.
Mzm 138:2 Aku hendak sujud ke arah bait-Mu yang kudus dan memuji nama-Mu, oleh karena kasih-Mu dan oleh karena setia-Mu; sebab Kaubuat nama-Mu dan janji-Mu melebihi segala sesuatu.
Mzm 138:3 Pada hari aku berseru, Engkaupun menjawab aku, Engkau menambahkan kekuatan dalam jiwaku.
Mzm 138:4 Semua raja di bumi akan bersyukur kepada-Mu, ya TUHAN, sebab mereka mendengar janji dari mulut-Mu;
Mzm 138:5 mereka akan menyanyi tentang jalan-jalan TUHAN, sebab besar kemuliaan TUHAN.

Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Yohanes:

Yoh 1:47 Kata Filipus kepadanya: "Mari dan lihatlah!" Yesus melihat Natanael datang kepada-Nya, lalu berkata tentang dia: "Lihat, inilah seorang Israel sejati, tidak ada kepalsuan di dalamnya!"
Yoh 1:48 Kata Natanael kepada-Nya: "Bagaimana Engkau mengenal aku?" Jawab Yesus kepadanya: "Sebelum Filipus memanggil engkau, Aku telah melihat engkau di bawah pohon ara."
Yoh 1:49 Kata Natanael kepada-Nya: "Rabi, Engkau Anak Allah, Engkau Raja orang Israel!"
Yoh 1:50 Yesus menjawab, kata-Nya: "Karena Aku berkata kepadamu: Aku melihat engkau di bawah pohon ara, maka engkau percaya? Engkau akan melihat hal-hal yang lebih besar dari pada itu."
Yoh 1:51 Lalu kata Yesus kepadanya: "Aku berkata kepadamu, sesungguhnya engkau akan melihat langit terbuka dan malaikat-malaikat Allah turun naik kepada Anak Manusia."

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

Saint Wenceslaus

St. Wenceslaus was raised by his grandmother, St. Ludmilla, who instilled in him a deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. However, after the death of his father, his mother, a pagan named Dragomir, became regent for the young Wenceslaus, leading to a violent reaction in which German missionaries were expelled, and St. Ludmilla was martyred by strangulation.

In 922, the people demanded that Wenceslaus be made regent instead of his mother. He obliged and recalled the German priests from their banishment. With great kindness of heart and courage, he worked tirelessly to improve the religious, moral, and cultural standards of his people. He was eventually granted the title of King of Bohemia by Emperor Otto I.

However, some of the nobles opposed Wenceslaus's policies, and his mother and brother, Boleslav, encouraged their rebellion. Boleslav, who had abandoned his religious beliefs and was known for his turbulent temperament, plotted to murder Wenceslaus after he had a son and became the king. Boleslav invited Wenceslaus to his hometown and then killed him at the church door of Alt Bunzlau, where Wenceslaus had gone to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. St. Wenceslaus is now revered as the Patron Saint of Czechoslovakia.  

St. Wenceslaus, we implore your intercession, that we may remain steadfast in our devotion to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

28 September 2025 (Ahad) / Hari Minggu Biasa XXVI

28 September 2025 (Ahad)

Hari Minggu Biasa XXVI

Pembacaan dari Alkitab Gereja Katolik Roma:

Pembacaan Pertama: Am 6:1,4-7; 
Pembacaan Mazmur: Mzm. 146:7-10; 
Pembacaan Kedua: 1Tim. 6:11-16; 
Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Lukas: Luk. 16:19-31.
Warna Liturgi Hijau.

Pembacaan Pertama:

Am 6:1 "Celaka atas orang-orang yang merasa aman di Sion, atas orang-orang yang merasa tenteram di gunung Samaria, atas orang-orang terkemuka dari bangsa yang utama, orang-orang yang kepada mereka kaum Israel biasa datang!
Am 6:4 yang berbaring di tempat tidur dari gading dan duduk berjuntai di ranjang; yang memakan anak-anak domba dari kumpulan kambing domba dan anak-anak lembu dari tengah-tengah kawanan binatang yang tambun;
Am 6:5 yang bernyanyi-nyanyi mendengar bunyi gambus, dan seperti Daud menciptakan bunyi-bunyian bagi dirinya;
Am 6:6 yang minum anggur dari bokor, dan berurap dengan minyak yang paling baik, tetapi tidak berduka karena hancurnya keturunan Yusuf!
Am 6:7 Sebab itu sekarang, mereka akan pergi sebagai orang buangan di kepala barisan, dan berlalulah keriuhan pesta orang-orang yang duduk berjuntai itu."

Pembacaan Mazmur:

Mzm 146:7 yang menegakkan keadilan untuk orang-orang yang diperas, yang memberi roti kepada orang-orang yang lapar. TUHAN membebaskan orang-orang yang terkurung,
Mzm 146:8 TUHAN membuka mata orang-orang buta, TUHAN menegakkan orang yang tertunduk, TUHAN mengasihi orang-orang benar.
Mzm 146:9 TUHAN menjaga orang-orang asing, anak yatim dan janda ditegakkan-Nya kembali, tetapi jalan orang fasik dibengkokkan-Nya.
Mzm 146:10 TUHAN itu Raja untuk selama-lamanya, Allahmu, ya Sion, turun-temurun! Haleluya!

Pembacaan Kedua:

1Tim 6:11 Tetapi engkau hai manusia Allah, jauhilah semuanya itu, kejarlah keadilan, ibadah, kesetiaan, kasih, kesabaran dan kelembutan.
1Tim 6:12 Bertandinglah dalam pertandingan iman yang benar dan rebutlah hidup yang kekal. Untuk itulah engkau telah dipanggil dan telah engkau ikrarkan ikrar yang benar di depan banyak saksi.
1Tim 6:13 Di hadapan Allah yang memberikan hidup kepada segala sesuatu dan di hadapan Kristus Yesus yang telah mengikrarkan ikrar yang benar itu juga di muka Pontius Pilatus, kuserukan kepadamu:
1Tim 6:14 Turutilah perintah ini, dengan tidak bercacat dan tidak bercela, hingga pada saat Tuhan kita Yesus Kristus menyatakan diri-Nya,
1Tim 6:15 yaitu saat yang akan ditentukan oleh Penguasa yang satu-satunya dan yang penuh bahagia, Raja di atas segala raja dan Tuan di atas segala tuan.
1Tim 6:16 Dialah satu-satunya yang tidak takluk kepada maut, bersemayam dalam terang yang tak terhampiri. Seorangpun tak pernah melihat Dia dan memang manusia tidak dapat melihat Dia. Bagi-Nyalah hormat dan kuasa yang kekal! Amin.

Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Lukas:

Luk 16:19 "Ada seorang kaya yang selalu berpakaian jubah ungu dan kain halus, dan setiap hari ia bersukaria dalam kemewahan.
Luk 16:20 Dan ada seorang pengemis bernama Lazarus, badannya penuh dengan borok, berbaring dekat pintu rumah orang kaya itu,
Luk 16:21 dan ingin menghilangkan laparnya dengan apa yang jatuh dari meja orang kaya itu. Malahan anjing-anjing datang dan menjilat boroknya.
Luk 16:22 Kemudian matilah orang miskin itu, lalu dibawa oleh malaikat-malaikat ke pangkuan Abraham.
Luk 16:23 Orang kaya itu juga mati, lalu dikubur. Dan sementara ia menderita sengsara di alam maut ia memandang ke atas, dan dari jauh dilihatnya Abraham, dan Lazarus duduk di pangkuannya.
Luk 16:24 Lalu ia berseru, katanya: Bapa Abraham, kasihanilah aku. Suruhlah Lazarus, supaya ia mencelupkan ujung jarinya ke dalam air dan menyejukkan lidahku, sebab aku sangat kesakitan dalam nyala api ini.
Luk 16:25 Tetapi Abraham berkata: Anak, ingatlah, bahwa engkau telah menerima segala yang baik sewaktu hidupmu, sedangkan Lazarus segala yang buruk. Sekarang ia mendapat hiburan dan engkau sangat menderita.
Luk 16:26 Selain dari pada itu di antara kami dan engkau terbentang jurang yang tak terseberangi, supaya mereka yang mau pergi dari sini kepadamu ataupun mereka yang mau datang dari situ kepada kami tidak dapat menyeberang.
Luk 16:27 Kata orang itu: Kalau demikian, aku minta kepadamu, bapa, supaya engkau menyuruh dia ke rumah ayahku,
Luk 16:28 sebab masih ada lima orang saudaraku, supaya ia memperingati mereka dengan sungguh-sungguh, agar mereka jangan masuk kelak ke dalam tempat penderitaan ini.
Luk 16:29 Tetapi kata Abraham: Ada pada mereka kesaksian Musa dan para nabi; baiklah mereka mendengarkan kesaksian itu.
Luk 16:30 Jawab orang itu: Tidak, bapa Abraham, tetapi jika ada seorang yang datang dari antara orang mati kepada mereka, mereka akan bertobat.
Luk 16:31 Kata Abraham kepadanya: Jika mereka tidak mendengarkan kesaksian Musa dan para nabi, mereka tidak juga akan mau diyakinkan, sekalipun oleh seorang yang bangkit dari antara orang mati."

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi,

Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

28 September 2025 (Sunday) / 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time / Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

28 September 2025 (Sunday)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 146: 7, 8-9, 9-10
Second Reading: First Timothy 6: 11-16
Alleluia: Second Corinthians 8: 9
Gospel: Luke 16: 19-31

First Reading : Amos 6:1,4‐7

The almighty Lord says this: Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria, those famous men of this first of nations to whom the House of Israel goes as client. Lying on ivory beds and sprawling on their divans, they dine on lambs from the flock, and stall‐fattened veal; they bawl to the sound of the harp, they invent new instruments of music like David, they drink wine by the bowlful, and use the finest oil for anointing themselves, but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all. That is why they will be the first to be exiled; the sprawlers’ revelry is over.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 145(146):6‐10

My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever, who is just to those who are oppressed. It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up those who are bowed down, the Lord, who protects the stranger and upholds the widow and orphan.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

It is the Lord who loves the just but thwarts the path of the wicked. The Lord will reign for ever, Zion’s God, from age to age.

My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!

Second Reading : 1 Timothy 6:11‐16

As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen and no man is able to see: to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

Alleluia: Second Corinthians 8: 9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
9 Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
(7. More, as you are rich in everything-faith, eloquence, understanding, concern for everything, and love for us too -- then make sure that you excel in this work of generosity too.
8. I am not saying this as an order, but testing the genuineness of your love against the concern of others.
9. You are well aware of the generosity which our Lord Jesus Christ had, that, although he was rich, he became poor for your sake, so that you should become rich through his poverty).
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Luke 16:19‐31

Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. ‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.” ‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead."

For our reflection today:

Today, Luke's Gospel presents to us the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus (Lk 16: 19-31). The rich man personifies the wicked use of riches by those who spend them on uncontrolled and selfish luxuries, thinking solely of satisfying themselves without caring at all for the beggar at their door. The poor man, on the contrary, represents the person whom God alone cares for: unlike the rich man he has a name: "Lazarus", an abbreviation of "Eleazarus", which means, precisely, "God helps him". God does not forget those who are forgotten by all; those who are worthless in human eyes are precious in the Lord's. The story shows how earthly wickedeness is overturned by divine justice: after his death, Lazarus was received "in the bosom of Abraham", that is, into eternal bliss; whereas the rich man ended up "in Hades, in torment". This is a new and definitive state of affairs against which no appeal can be made, which is why one must mend one's ways during one's life; to do so after serves no purpose. (Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, Castel Gandolfo, 30 September 2007)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

27 September 2025 (Saturday) / Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest on Saturday of week 25 in Ordinary Time / Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest

27 September 2025 (Saturday)

Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest on Saturday of week 25 in Ordinary Time.

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading : Zechariah 2:1-5,10-11

Raising my eyes, I saw a vision. It was this: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked him, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to find out her breadth and her length.’ And then, while the angel who was talking to me stood still, another angel came forward to meet him. He said to him, ‘Run, and tell that young man this, “Jerusalem is to remain unwalled, because of the great number of men and cattle there will be in her. But I – it is the Lord who speaks – I will be a wall of fire for her all round her, and I will be her glory in the midst of her." Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion; for I am coming to dwell in the middle of you – it is the Lord who speaks. Many nations will join the Lord,
on that day; they will become his people.

Responsive Psalm : Jeremiah 31:10‐12,13

The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

O nations, hear the word of the Lord, proclaim it to the far‐off coasts. Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’

The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob, has saved him from an overpowering hand. They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion, they will stream to the blessings of the Lord.

The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance, the men, young and old, will be glad. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console them, give them gladness for grief.

The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.

Gospel : Luke 9:43‐45

At a time when everyone was full of admiration for all he did, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘For your part, you must have these words constantly in your mind: “The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men." But they did not understand him when he said this; it was hidden from them so that they should not see the meaning of it, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had just said.

For our reflection today:

Fear is a natural dimension of life. In childhood we experience forms of fear that subsequently are revealed to be imaginary and disappear; other fears emerge later which are indeed founded in reality: these must be faced and overcome with human determination and trust in God. However, especially today, there is a deeper form of fear of an existential type and which sometimes borders on anguish: it is born from a sense of emptiness, linked to a certain culture permeated with widespread theoretical and practical nihilism. In the face of the broad and diversified panorama of human fears, the Word of God is clear: those who "fear" God "are not afraid". Fear of God, which the Scriptures define as "the beginning of knowledge" coincides with faith in him, with sacred respect for his authority over life and the world. To be without "fear of God" is equivalent to putting ourselves in his place, to feeling we ourselves are lords of good and evil, of life and death. Instead, those who fear God feel within them the safety that an infant in his mother's arms feels (cf. Ps 130: 2). Those who fear God are tranquil even in the midst of storms for, as Jesus revealed to us, God is a Father full of mercy and goodness. Those who love him are not afraid. (Pope Benedict, XVI, Angelus, 22 June 2008)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

27 September 2025 (Sabtu) / Peringatan Wajib Santo Vinsensius a Paulo

27 September 2025 (Sabtu)

Peringatan Wajib Santo Vinsensius a Paulo.

Pembacaan dari Alkitab Gereja Katolik Roma:

Pembacaan Pertama: Za. 2:1-5,10-11;

Pembacaan Mazmur: Mazmur: Yer. 31:10-13; 

Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Lukas: Luk. 9:43-45

Warna Liturgi Putih.

Pembacaan Pertama:

Za 2:1 Aku melayangkan mataku dan melihat: tampak seorang yang memegang tali pengukur.

Za 2:2 Lalu aku bertanya: "Ke manakah engkau ini pergi?" Maka ia menjawab aku: "Ke Yerusalem, untuk mengukurnya, untuk melihat berapa lebarnya dan panjangnya."

Za 2:3 Dan sementara malaikat yang berbicara dengan aku itu maju ke depan, majulah seorang malaikat lain mendekatinya,

Za 2:4 yang diberi perintah: "Berlarilah, katakanlah kepada orang muda yang di sana itu, demikian: Yerusalem akan tetap tinggal seperti padang terbuka oleh karena banyaknya manusia dan hewan di dalamnya.

Za 2:5 Dan Aku sendiri, demikianlah firman TUHAN, akan menjadi tembok berapi baginya di sekelilingnya, dan Aku akan menjadi kemuliaan di dalamnya."

Za 2:10 Bersorak-sorailah dan bersukarialah, hai puteri Sion, sebab sesungguhnya Aku datang dan diam di tengah-tengahmu, demikianlah firman TUHAN;

Za 2:11 dan banyak bangsa akan menggabungkan diri kepada TUHAN pada waktu itu dan akan menjadi umat-Ku dan Aku akan diam di tengah-tengahmu." Maka engkau akan mengetahui, bahwa TUHAN semesta alam yang mengutus aku kepadamu.

Pembacaan Mazmur: 

Yer 31:10 Dengarlah firman TUHAN, hai bangsa-bangsa, beritahukanlah itu di tanah-tanah pesisir yang jauh, katakanlah: Dia yang telah menyerakkan Israel akan mengumpulkannya kembali, dan menjaganya seperti gembala terhadap kawanan dombanya!

Yer 31:11 Sebab TUHAN telah membebaskan Yakub, telah menebusnya dari tangan orang yang lebih kuat dari padanya.

Yer 31:12 Mereka akan datang bersorak-sorak di atas bukit Sion, muka mereka akan berseri-seri karena kebajikan TUHAN, karena gandum, anggur dan minyak, karena anak-anak kambing domba dan lembu sapi; hidup mereka akan seperti taman yang diairi baik-baik, mereka tidak akan kembali lagi merana.

Yer 31:13 Pada waktu itu anak-anak dara akan bersukaria menari beramai-ramai, orang-orang muda dan orang-orang tua akan bergembira. Aku akan mengubah perkabungan mereka menjadi kegirangan, akan menghibur mereka dan menyukakan mereka sesudah kedukaan mereka.

Pembacaan dari Injil Santo Lukas: 

Luk 9:43 Maka takjublah semua orang itu karena kebesaran Allah. (9-43b) Ketika semua orang itu masih heran karena segala yang diperbuat-Nya itu, Yesus berkata kepada murid-murid-Nya:

Luk 9:44 "Dengarlah dan camkanlah segala perkataan-Ku ini: Anak Manusia akan diserahkan ke dalam tangan manusia."

Luk 9:45 Mereka tidak mengerti perkataan itu, sebab artinya tersembunyi bagi mereka, sehingga mereka tidak dapat memahaminya. Dan mereka tidak berani menanyakan arti perkataan itu kepada-Nya.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi,

Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih (Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

Saint Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent de Paul was born into a French peasant family and was the third of six children. He received his education from the Franciscans at Dax and was ordained to the priesthood at the tender age of 19. After being captured and enslaved by Turkish pirates, he successfully escaped two years later.

In 1619, King Louis XIII appointed him General Almoner, which enabled him to improve the conditions of prisoners in jails and slaves in royal galleys. He established hospitals and won the hearts of many through his bodily and spiritual ministrations, converting many.

In 1626, he co-founded the Congregation of Priests of the Missions with a group of zealous secular priests. They bound themselves to "live in community and devote themselves to the salvation of poor country people." They took over the direction of seminaries at the request of certain bishops, and at the outbreak of the French Revolution, they were in charge of one-third of all such institutions in France. 

At Sainte Lazare in Paris, the Motherhouse of the young Congregation, Vincent held regular retreats for both Priests and lay people. Meanwhile, he also  stimulated the social consciousness of many noble women and organized them into the "Ladies of Charity." Using their contributions, he started a great general hospital in Paris, where thousands of destitutes were sheltered and given useful work to do. He also started a foundling home, an old people's home, an asylum for the insane, and an institution for the care of lepers. The actual nursing of all these unfortunates was entrusted to the Daughters of Charity, which he co-founded with St. Louise de Marillac in 1633. 

To the 30,000 Christian slaves held in Tunis, Algiers, and Bizerta, Vincent sent Priests and Brothers, who not only saw to their spiritual needs but acted as agents and messengers for their families. During his lifetime, they ransomed 1,200 slaves by paying the equivalent of over six million dollars, which St. Vincent had collected.

St. Vincent de Paul died on September 27, 1660, in Paris. He was canonized in 1737 by Pope Clement II and declared patron of all societies devoted to works of charity by Pope Leo XIII. He practiced simple, non-mystical, Christo-centric, and action-oriented piety, and his trust in Divine Providence was limitless. In his letters, he wrote, "Strive to live content in the midst of those things that cause your discontent. Free your mind from all that troubles you; God will take care of things. You will be unable to make haste in this choice without, so to speak, grieving the heart of God, because he sees that you do not honor him sufficiently with holy trust. Trust in him, I beg you, and you will have the fulfillment of what your heart desires."

St. Vincent de Paul, patron of all charity organizations and father of the poor, come to our aid. Obtain from our Lord assistance for the poor, aid for the sick, consolation for the bereaved, protection for the abandoned, a generous spirit for the rich, conversion for sinners, zeal for priests, peace for the Church, tranquillity, and order for all nations, and salvation for everyone.

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

Saints Cosmas and Damian

Today, the Church honors Sts. Cosmas and Damian, renowned twin brothers, skilled physicians, and martyrs who have been widely venerated since their martyrdom. Believed to have been born in Cyrrhus, in what is now modern-day Syria, the twins later relocated to the Gulf of Iskenderun in Cilicia, situated in present-day Turkey, during the mid to late third century. They were raised in a Christian family, and both pursued careers in medicine.

In an effort to spread Christianity in their predominantly pagan community, Cosmas and Damian adopted a remarkable approach – they provided their medical services free of charge. This selfless act earned them the epithet "Anargyroi," meaning "without silver." Their unconventional practice drew the attention of their fellow citizens and played a pivotal role in converting many to Christianity. Legends surrounding them suggest that they were accomplished physicians and achieved remarkable healings, often attributed to their prayers. One enduring legend even credits them with pioneering the first leg transplant, a theme frequently depicted in artistic representations.

The year 284 marked the ascension of Diocletian as the Roman emperor, ushering in a series of reforms within the empire. However, in 303, he initiated a series of edicts that led to a widespread persecution of Christians and resulted in the deaths of many. During this tumultuous period, the Roman Prefect Lysias of Cilicia apprehended the twin brothers, Cosmas and Damian. As was customary, they were given the opportunity to renounce their Christian faith publicly and pay homage to the Roman gods to spare their lives. Unwavering in their convictions, they adamantly refused, ultimately facing a sentence of death. Numerous attempts were made to execute them through drowning, fire, arrows, and stoning, yet each endeavor proved futile. Ultimately, Cosmas and Damian, along with three of their siblings, embraced martyrdom through beheading.

It is believed that Cosmas and Damian were buried in the city of Cyrrhus, their possible birthplace, and from that moment onward, they began to be venerated widely. Countless miraculous healings have been attributed to their intercession. Within a century of their martyrdom, churches were erected in their honor in significant Christian locations, including Jerusalem, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.

In the sixth century, Roman Emperor Justinian I paid homage to these esteemed saints by restoring the city where they were laid to rest. In a remarkable turn of events, the emperor himself experienced a miraculous cure attributed to their intercession. In gratitude, he transported their relics to Constantinople, where he constructed a church in their honor that soon became a prominent pilgrimage site. In this Church, a tradition emerged wherein the faithful would spend the night at their tomb in prayer, seeking miraculous relief from their afflictions. Over the centuries, numerous accounts of miracles have been reported. Pope Symmachus incorporated the names of Cosmas and Damian into the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), and  Pope Felix IV repurposed a fourth-century pagan temple in Rome within the Forum of Peace, renaming it the Basilica Santi Cosma e Damiano.

Sts. Cosmas and Damian, you sought to share your faith in Christ through your selfless and free service to all who needed your medical care. Obtain for us the grace to follow your example of selfless service to others and the courage to be a witness to Christ, no matter the cost. 

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,

Most High Servant,

Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 

(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

26 September 2025 (Friday) / Friday of week 25 in Ordinary Time or Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs / Ordinary Weekday/ Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs

26 September 2025 (Friday)

Friday of week 25 in Ordinary Time or Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs.

Ordinary Weekday/ Saints Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Haggai 2: 1-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 43: 1, 2, 3, 4
Alleluia: Mark 10: 45
Gospel: Luke 9: 18-22

First Reading : Haggai 1:15‐2:9

In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty‐first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord was addressed through the prophet Haggai, as follows, ‘You are to speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the high commissioner of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people. Say this, “Who is there left among you that saw this Temple in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? Does it seem nothing to you? But take courage now, Zerubbabel – it is the Lord who speaks. Courage, High Priest Joshua son of Jehozadak! Courage, all you people of the country! – it is the Lord who speaks. To work! I am with you – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – and my spirit remains among you. Do not be afraid! For the Lord of Hosts says this: A little while now, and I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all the nations and the treasures of all the nations shall flow in, and I will fill this Temple with glory, says the Lord of Hosts. Mine is the silver, mine the gold! – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks. The new glory of this Temple is going to surpass the old, says the Lord of Hosts, and in this place I will give peace – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks.”’

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 42(43):1‐4

Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.

Defend me, O God, and plead my cause against a godless nation. From deceitful and cunning men rescue me, O God.

Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God. Since you, O God, are my stronghold, why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning oppressed by the foe?

Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.

O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my guide. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.

And I will come to the altar of God, the God of my joy. My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp, O God, my God.

Hope in God; I will praise him still, my saviour and my God.

Alleluia: Mark 10: 45
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
45 The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
(43. Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant,
44. and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.
45. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.')
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Luke 9:18‐22

One day when Jesus was praying alone in the presence of his disciples he put this question to them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ And they answered, ‘John the Baptist; others Elijah; and others say one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ It was Peter who spoke up. ‘The Christ of God’ he said. But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this. ‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’

For our reflection today:

In the Synoptic Gospels Peter's confession is always followed by Jesus' announcement of his imminent Passion. Peter reacted to this announcement because he was not yet able to understand. Nonetheless, this was a fundamental element on which Jesus strongly insisted. Indeed, the titles attributed to him by Peter - you are "the Christ", "the Christ of God", "the Son of the living God" - can only be properly understood in light of the mystery of his death and Resurrection. And the opposite is also true: the event of the Cross reveals its full meaning only if "this man" who suffered and died on the Cross "truly was the Son of God", to use the words uttered by the centurion as he stood before the Crucified Christ (cf. Mk 15: 39). These texts clearly say that the integrity of the Christian faith stems from the confession of Peter, illumined by the teaching of Jesus on his "way" toward glory, that is, on his absolutely unique way, being the Messiah and the Son of God. It was a narrow "way", a shocking "manner" for the disciples of every age, who are inevitably led to think according to men rather than according to God (cf. Mt 16: 23). Today too, as in Jesus' day, it does not suffice to possess the proper confession of faith: it is always necessary to learn anew from the Lord the actual way in which he is Saviour and the path on which we must follow him. (Pope Benedict XVI, Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 29 June 2007)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)