Churches of the Day

Tuesday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Cycle 1

The time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.
'The last Judgement will happen when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour.

Saints of the day; November 25th:
1. Ss Catherine of  Alexandria,
2. Clement I, and
3: Colman
1. Ss Catherine martyred in Alexandria in 310, and venerated at the monastery on Mount Sinai.
2. Clement I, third successor of St Peter in Rome, martyred  by drowning in Crimea,
his relics are kept in the church of San Clemente. Roma 95
3. St Colman, bishop, in Cloyne, Co Cork 

FIRST READING                 

A reading from the prophet Daniel   2:31-45
God  will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, it will  absorb all the kingdoms.

Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar,
'You have had a vision, O king; this is what you saw: a statue, a great statue of extreme brightness,
stood before you, terrible to see. The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron its feet part iron, part earthenware.
While you were gazing, a stone broke away, untouched by any hand, and struck the statue, struck its feet of iron and earthenware and shattered them. And then, iron and earthenware, bronze, silver, gold all broke into small pieces as fine as chaff on the threshing-floor in summer.
The wind blew them away, leaving not a trace behind. And the stone that had struck the statue grew into a great mountain, filling the whole earth.

This was the dream; now we will explain to the king what it means.
You, O king, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength and glory- the sons of men, the beasts of the field, the birds of heaven, wherever they live, he has entrusted to your rule, making you king of them all-you are the golden head.
And after you another kingdom will rise, not so great as you, and then a third, of bronze, which will rule the whole world. There will be a fourth kingdom, hard as iron, as iron that shatters and crushes all. Like iron that breaks everything to pieces, it will crush and break all the earlier kingdoms.

The feet you saw, part earthenware, part iron, are a kingdom which will be split in two, but which will retain something of the strength of iron, just as you saw the iron and the clay of the earthenware mixed together. The feet were part iron, part earthenware: the kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. And just as you saw the iron and the clay of the earthenware mixed together, so the two will be mixed together in the seed of man; but they will not hold together any more than iron will blend with earthenware.
In the time of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not pass into the hands of another race: it will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms, and itself last for ever- just as you saw the stone untouched by hand break from the mountain and shatter iron, bronze, earthenware, silver and gold.

The great God has shown the king what is to take place. The dream is true, the interpretation exact.'

The Word of the Lord.           Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm        Dan 3:57-61,  Rv 59
Response                             Give glory and eternal praise to him!

1.  All things the Lord has made, bless the Lord.         R/v:   Give glory and eternal praise to him!

2.  Angels of the Lord! all bless the Lord.                     R/v:    Give glory and eternal praise to him!

3.  Heavens! all bless the Lord.                                      R/v;    Give glory and eternal praise to him!

4.  Waters above the Heavens!  bless the Lord.          R/v;    Give glory and eternal praise to him!

5.  Powers of the Lord! bless the Lord.                        R/v;   Give glory and eternal praise to him!

Gospel  Acclamation          Lk 21: 28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!

or                                                 Apoc 2: 10  
Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to die, says the Lord, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life.
Alleluia! 

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you                           And with your spirit.
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke   21:5-11          Glory to you, O Lord
Not a single stone will be left on another.


When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said,
'All these things you are staring at now-the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.'
And they put to him this question:
'Master,' they said 'when will this happen, then,
and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?'

'Take care not to be deceived,' he said 'because many will come using my name and saying,
"I am he" and, "The time is near at hand." Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.'

Then he said to them,
'Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.'

 The Gospel of the Lord.       Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.


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Gospel Reflection     Tuesday      Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time   Luke 21:5-11

The temple in Jerusalem was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World at the time of Jesus. It is not surprising to hear at the beginning of today’s gospel reading that Jesus’ disciples were lost in admiration at the way the Temple was adorned with fine stonework. Yet, Jesus could see that even this wondrous institution of the Temple would not last. As the disciples were marvelling at it, Jesus declared, ‘not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed’, as indeed happened forty years later. Such a comment must have punctured the wonder of the disciples. Yet, Jesus was not perturbed by the realization that even so hallowed an institution as the Temple would pass away, because he knew that the kingdom of God would never pass away.

In the words of the first reading from the Book of Daniel, ‘the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed’. Jesus could live with cataclysmic change because he knew that God never changes, that God’s purposes endures forever, and that God’s word will never pass away. We are in a time of great change in the church; the future will be very different from the recent past. We may have to let go of much that has been precious and dear to us, as the Jewish people had to let go of their Temple. Yet, in the midst of all this change, we can be assured that the risen Lord himself endures. He remains powerfully present to us and among us. He continues to bring God’s good work to completion. The Lord continues to call on us to share in this great work, in a spirit of joyful hope.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications , c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saints of the Day: 1 25th Nov. St Catherine of Alexandria, martyred in 310 AD
St Catherine of Alexandria, martyr died in Alexandria (Egypt) perhaps in the early 4th century. Nothing is known about her for certain. The famous tenth-century legend depicts her as a well-educated noblewoman, confronting the Emperor, confounding the philosophers in debate, and collapsing the wheel upon which she was to be executed. She was honoured as a heroine of the Middle Ages.

Patrick Duffy documents her story.

Although the cult of St Catherine at Mount Sinai only began in the 9th century and is unknown in the West before the 11th century, she is said to have lived in 4th century Alexandria. The image shown here is of a painting by Caravaggio 1598.

Legend
The legend is that Catherine was a noble, learned and beautiful maiden of Alexandria, the daughter of Costus, governor of Alexandria. She announced to her parents that she would only marry someone who surpassed her in everything, and only if "his beauty was more radiant than the shining of the sun,
his wisdom governed all creation, and his riches spread throughout all the world".

Witness to her faith
It is said that she visited her contemporary, the Roman Emperor Maxentius, and tried to persuade him to stop persecuting Christians. She succeeded in converting his wife, the Empress. The Emperor sent fifty pagan wise men to dispute with her, but she overcame all their arguments and all were subsequently burnt alive for their failure to convince her.
She refused to deny her faith and marry the emperor. He had her beaten for two hours and imprisoned.

Martyr
The Emperor then had her tortured on a spiked wheel, but it fell to pieces and she remained unhurt, although some spectators were killed by flying splinters. Her constancy brought about the conversion of 200 soldiers, who were immediately beheaded. Finally Catherine too was beheaded, as she called down blessing on all who should remember her.

Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai
Legend says her body was carried by angels to Mount Sinai, where in the 6th century the Eastern Emperor Justinian established Saint Catherine's Monastery between 548 and 565.
It encloses the Chapel of Moses' Burning Bush ordered to be built by Helena, the mother of Constantine I. The site is sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The monastery is a repository of early Christian art, architecture and illuminated manuscripts and is still open to visiting scholars today. Another name for the monastery is The Sacred and Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount of Sinai. (The patronal feast of the monastery is the Transfiguration. The monastery is Greek Orthodox and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

Her Influence
Her principal symbol is the spiked wheel, which has become known as the Catherine wheel, and her feast day is celebrated on 25th November by most Christian churches. However, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates it on 24 November, because Empress Catherine the Great did not wish to share her patronal feast with the Leave-taking of the feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos. Because she was Catherine the Great's patron, the Catholic Church of St. Catherine, one of the first Catholic churches built in Russia, was named after Catherine of Alexandria.

The Branda da Castiglione chapel, San Clemente, Via Labicana, Rome 95

The beautiful and ancient Tri-Basilica of San Clemente on Via Labicana, in Rome, 95 (300m  from the Coloseum). It's three basilicas, mosaics and crypt are certainly a must see for religious tourists to Rome.  What is especially intriguing about this beautiful medieval basilica is an often underrated artistic gem; the Branda da Castiglione chapel, in the left hand aisle (ground level basilica) It is dedicated to St Catherine. The eight scenes of the fresco cycle represent the life of  St Catherine of Alexandria on the left-hand wall

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Memorable Quotes for Today

“The soul is in God and God in the soul,
just as the fish is in the sea and the sea in the fish.”
Dialogue 2, St Catherine

“The human heart is always drawn by love.”
Dialogue 26, St Catherine 

“Love transforms one into what one loves.”
Dialogue 60 St Catherine

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Saints of the Day: 2.; 25th Nov: St Clement 1, pope and martyr

Summary: St Clement I, pope, martyr. Clement died in New Testament times, at the end of the first century. His name is included in Eucharistic Prayer I (The Roman Canon). Noted for a letter written from the Church at Rome to the Church at Corinth, an important witness to the emergence of ministries and authority in the Church and to the pastoral responsibility of Rome to another Church.

The Tri Basilica of San Clemente in Rome 95, Via Labicana near the Colossium has been in the custody of the Irish Dominicans for some centuries. It is a major historical and archaeological site.

Among the letters to be seen there is a sub-apostolic  letter (i.e. just after the apostles time is a letter addressed to the Christians in the city of Corinth which is attributed to St Clement. Not much is known of the saint himself.

Patrick Duffy traces some of the strands of his story.

Named in the Roman Canon
According to the traditional order familiar from the Roman Canon of the Mass, Clement was the 4th pope after Peter, Linus and Cletus. He was one of the first generation of Christians after the apostles.

Philippians 4:3
Writing to the Philippians, Paul speaks of some women and others who helped him when he was fighting to defend the Good News. Among these he mentions "Clement and the others who worked with me. Their names are written in the book of life". (It is possible though it cannot be proved that this is the same Clement.)

An Encyclical Letter?
Eusebius of Caesarea, the great archivist of Christian beginnings tells us: "There is extant a letter of this Clement which is acknowledged to be genuine and is of considerable length and of remarkable merit. He wrote it in the name of the Church of Rome to the Church of Corinth, when a sedition had arisen in the latter Church. We know that this Epistle also has been publicly used in a great many Churches both in former times and in our own" (Ecclesiastical Histories 3, 16).

The letter written just after the persecution of Domitian had ended (after 96 AD) urges reconciliation and respect for the tradition of the apostles. However, we no longer know what the problem was that occasioned it. It is sometimes presented as a first exercise of the Roman primacy after St Peter's death (Pope Benedict Audience 7.3.07). It contains a summary of Christian teaching divided into sections on the person and work of Christ; sanctification-justification; the Holy Spirit and the Trinity; the Church and ministry; liturgy; eschatology; the Christian life; scripture (meaning the OT) and gospel, Peter and Paul; apostles and martyrs. This last section provides a precious early witness to the fact of their martyrdom. The letter is an appeal for humility, peace and charity.

[caption id="attachment_52725" align="alignright" width="283"] Ss Peter and Clement, detail of the twelfth century mosaic in the apse of the San Clemente Basilica, Via Labicana, Roma 95[/caption]

Fathers of the Church
Irenaeus, writing in the 2nd century, claims that Clement received the teaching of the apostles at first hand, and Origen, some decades later, called him "a disciple of the apostles".

Middle Ages Tradition

Fourth century accounts held that Clement was exiled to the Crimea by the emperor Trajan, put to work in the mines, and eventually thrown into the sea with an anchor round his neck for making too many converts. Angels made him a grave on the sea bed, which was uncovered once a year by an exceptionally low tide. The story continues that St Cyril on his way to evangelise the Khazars miraculously recovered the relics of Clement's body and the anchor in the Crimea and brought them to Rome in 868, and that Pope Adrian II placed them in the Basilica of San Clemente.

Art and Patronage
In art, Clement is often shown with an anchor or with a tiara and 3-branched cross. The 9th century frescoes in San Clemente in Rome depict his life and legend.

In London the Church of St Clement Danes (the parish emblem of which is an anchor) is the best-known dedication to him in England. He is also patron of Trinity House in London, the body responsible for lighthouses and lightships in and around Britain.

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Memorable Saying for Today

I will sooner stand to the stake without fear, and embrace it joyfully,
than to say or confirm anything against God's truth.

~unknown martyr ~

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Saints of the day 3 (repeat of yesterday): Nov 25th; . St Colman, bishop

Summary: St Colman, Bishop Colman mac Lenine was born around 530, probably in West Cork. A bard by profession, he is reputed to have been influenced by St Brendan to become a priest. The main field of his apostolate was east Cork, where his chief foundation was in Cloyne. He died in 606.

Patrick Duffy records some of the facts about the Colman.

The diocese of Cloyne had its beginnings in the monastic settlement of St. Colman, son of Lenin, at Cloyne in east Cork. A round tower and pre-reformation cathedral (now Church of Ireland) still stand at the site.

In the Martyrology of Oengus
Oengus has a reference to Colmán of Cloyne for the 24th November. He describes him as "the son of Lenin the vehement". It is said he was 9th in descent from the kings of Munster and that he was born in Cork.

 Bard at the Court of the King of Munster
Colman trained for twelve years as a bard and became the Royal Bard of Munster at the court of King Aodh Caomh at Cashel. This would have made him historian, genealogist, geographer and chronicler to the Munster kings. Brendan (of Birr? / or Clonfert?) and he were said to have settled a dispute about the succession that led to the inauguration of King Aodh Caomh. When Brendan visited Cashel for the inauguration of the new king, both Colman and Brendan were said to have discovered the lost burial place of Ailbe of Emly. Brendan demanded that Colman, having touched the sacred stone, should continue in his prominent position. Colman was so impressed by how Brendan conducted the service that he asked to be instructed in the rudiments of Christian faith.

Baptism and Formation
After initial instruction, Brendan baptised Colman and sent him to St Jarlath of Tuam for further formation and was ordained a priest.

Foundations
Colman's principal foundation (560) was at Cloyne, Cluain Uamha, "Meadow of the Caves", in east Cork, which Cairpre Crom, king of Munster, gave him as a site for a monastery and monastic school. The Danes plundered Cloyne in 822, 824 and 885. The diocese of Cloyne was named at the Synod of Kells in 1152. A cathedral and round tower in the village of Cloyne remains in the possession of the Church of Ireland. A Catholic cathedral of St Colman was built at Cobh, beginning in 1868 and completed in the early years of the 20th century.

Kilmaclenine
Another foundation associated with Colman was at Kilmaclenine, near Buttevant, in north Cork, which is said to have been his birth-place. His feast is observed on 24th November.

The Cathedral of St Colman, Cobh, Co Cork.Today
The Catholic Cathedral of St Colman at Cobh was begun in 1868. It completed in the early years of the 20th century.

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Memorable Sayings for Today

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November. 30th 2025,  |First Sunday of Advent, 

Todays liturgy is the first one of the new Church Year A: 2025/2026,

The Second Coming of Christ/Day of Judgement will be the day when our lives will be
truly, fairly and lovingly evaluated by God. 

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah       2:1-5
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

'In the days to come the mountain of the Temple of the Lord shall tower above the mountains and be lifted higher than the hills. All the nations will stream to it, peoples without number will come to it; and they will say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the Temple of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths; since the Law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem'.

He will wield authority over the nations and adjudicate between many peoples; these will hammer their swords into ploughshares, their spears into sickles. Nation will not lift sword against nation, there will be no more training for war.'
O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm        Ps 121: 1-2,4-5,6-9, Rv v.1
Response                             I rejoiced when I heard them say: "Let us go to God's house."

1. I rejoiced when I heard them say: "Let us go to God's house."
And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.    Response                                                                    

2. It is there that the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel's law it is, there to praise the Lord's name.
There were set the thrones of judgement of the house of David.   Response
3. For the peace of Jerusalem pray: "Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls, in your palaces, peace !"                 Response

4. For love of my brethren and friends I say: "Peace upon you!"
For love of the house of the Lord I will ask for your good.             Response
                                                                           

SECOND READING    

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Romans       13:11-14
Our salvation is even nearer.


You know 'the time' has come: you must wake up now:
our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted.
The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon -
let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark;
let us arm ourselves and appear in the light.

Let us live decently as people do in the daytime:
no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy.
Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Word of the Lord                Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation            Ps 84:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy and give us your saving help.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                         And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew     24:37-44    Glory to you, O Lord
Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.


Jesus said to his disciples:
'As it was in Noah's day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away.
It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

'So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.
You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come,
he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house.
Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.'

The Gospel of the Lord                Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/

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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, 1966 published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.
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