Churches of the Day

Monday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1

Despite the material allurements of the world, the flesh and the devil, we are called to trust and follow God's call.    

Saints of the Day: 1. November 24th : Memorial of Ss Andrew Dung -Lac, and Companions,
117 Vietnamese martyrs,  men and women,
Saint of the Day: 2:  November 24th; St Colman, Bishop of Cloyne
c/f short history of today’s saints can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.     

FIRST READING                

A reading from the prophet Daniel     1:1-6. 8-20
The king found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon marched on Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hands, with some of the furnishings of the Temple of God. He took them away to the land of Shinar, and stored the sacred vessels in the treasury of his own gods.

The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to select from the Israelites a certain number of boys of either royal or noble descent; they had to be without any physical defect, of good appearance, trained in every kind of wisdom, well-informed, quick at learning, suitable for service in the palace of the king. Ashpenaz himself was to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldaeans. The king assigned them a daily allowance of food and wine from his own royal table. They were to receive an education lasting for three years, after which they were expected to be fit for the king's society. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were Judaeans. Daniel, who was most anxious not to defile himself with the food and wine from the royal table, begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement; and by the grace of God Daniel met goodwill and sympathy on the part of the chief eunuch. But he warned Daniel,
'I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age, my head will be in danger with the king because of you'.

At this Daniel turned to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Daniel  said,
'Please allow your servants a ten days' trial, during which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king's food; go by what you see, and treat your servants accordingly.'

The man agreed to do what they asked and put them on ten days' trial. When the ten days were over they looked and were in better health than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance from the royal table; so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

And God favoured these four boys with knowledge and intelligence in everything connected with literature, and in wisdom; while Daniel had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream. When the period stipulated by the king for the boys' training was over, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king conversed with them, and among all the boys found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they became members of the king's court, and on whatever point of wisdom or information he might question them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

The Word of the Lord.              Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm           Dan 3: 52-56. Rv 52
Response                                To you glory and praise for evermore. 

1. You are blest, Lord God of our fathers.              R/v: To you glory and praise for evermore.
Blest your glorious holy name.                                R/v: To you glory and praise for evermore.         

2. You are blest in the temple of your glory          R/v: To you glory and praise for evermore. 
    You are blest on the throne of your kingdom.  R/v: To you glory and praise for evermore. 

3. You are blest who gaze into the depths.            R/v:: To you glory and praise for evermore.
    You are blest in the firmament of heaven.        R/v:: To you glory and praise for evermore. 

Gospel  Acclamation          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!

Or                                                Mt 24: 42 
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready, because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL                                         

The Lord be with you.                                  And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke  21:1-4          Glory to you, O Lord.
He noticed a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins.

 

As Jesus looked up he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury;
then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said,
'I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them;
for these have all contributed money they had over,
but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.’

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




Gospel Reflection        Monday           Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time            Luke 21:1-4

November is a month when we remember those who have died. There are many widows and widowers who are remembering their deceased spouses. Several widows are mentioned in the gospels, especially in the gospel of Luke from which we are reading today. They are always portrayed in a very positive light.

There is Anna, the eighty four year old widow, who worshipped in the temple with prayer and fasting night and day.
There is the widow in the parable Jesus spoke who wore down an unjust judge until she eventually got what she was entitled to.
In today’s gospel reading we have another widow who is singled out by Jesus for her extraordinary generosity. She was poor, with little in the way of financial resources. What she contributed to the Temple treasury seemed very little indeed, just two small coins. We could think of two 10 cent coins today. Nobody would have paid any attention to her. Yet, Jesus noticed her and made sure his disciples noticed her as well. He saw that the little she gave was all she had to live on. Even though she gave little, in reality she gave everything. The quality of her giving was extraordinary, even though the quantity she gave was tiny. Quantity isn’t always a good indicator of quality. That is true in a more general sense, not just a monetary sense. As we get older and frailer, we will have less to give. Our health can be poorer, our energy level can be lower. Yet, if we give generously out of the little we have, the Lord will recognize something of the quality of his own spirit in us. On the cross, Jesus had nothing to give; everything had been taken from him. Yet, it was at that very moment that he was giving everything.

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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 his book 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 2022,_c/fwww.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saints of the day 1.: Novdmber 24th; 1. Ss Andrew Dung Lac and companions, martyrs.

 Ss Andrew Dung Lac and companions, martyrs.  (1795-1839), were beheaded at Hanoi and are listed among 117 canonised martyrs who died in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862: ninety-six Vietnamese, eleven Spanish Dominicans, and ten presbyters from the Paris Foreign Mission Society. They are honoured as representatives of the thousands of Christians tortured and martyred in Vietnam between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries: clergy and lay people, men women and children.

Patrick Duffy documents their story.

Andrew Dung-Lac, martyr (1795-1839) was baptised at the age of fifteen, worked first as a lay missionary and then as a diocesan presbyter before being beheaded at Hanoi (Vietnam). He along with a brother priest was tortured and beheaded under the emperor Ming-Mang in 1839. They were canonised by Pope John Paul II in Rome on 19th June 1988 along with 115 other notable martyrs - both foreign and indigenous - from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

Vietnam
Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The traditional religion of Vietnam is Buddhism, along with elements of Taoism, Confucianism and local ancestors' cult.

First Vietnamese Martyrs
Portuguese Dominican missionaries began to arrive in Vietnam in the early 16th century and there must have been conflict with local power groups from the very beginning. The mission had some success when the Jesuits joined the Dominicans. Among the earliest martyrs were Spanish Dominicans, Francisco Gil de Federich, who had a fruitful apostolate during nine years in prison, and Alonzo Lenziana, who as a fugitive for thirteen years, ministered faithfully but secretly to the native Christians. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it is believed that up to 100,000 Christians were martyred!

Best Documented
The process of beatification and canonisation gathered 117 of  the best documented cases. Of that group, 96 were Vietnamese, 11 Spaniards, and 10 French. There were 8 bishops, 50 priests, and 59 lay Catholics in the group. Of the 50 priests, 11 were Dominicans, 10 belonged to the Paris Foreign Mission Society, and the rest were diocesan priests, along with one seminarian.

Among those who came in for special mention during the canonisation by Pope John Paul II on 19th June 1988 were:
Andrew Dung-Lac, a diocesan priest;
Thomas Tran-Van-Thien, a seminarian;
Emmanuel Le-Van-Pung, the father of a family;
two Dominican bishops Jerome Hermosilla and Valentine Berrio-Ochoa; and Théophane Vénard, a priest of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, whose letters inspired St Thérèse of Lisieux to want to be a missionary, whom she often prayed for.

Andrew Dung-Lac
Originally called Dung An Trân, Andrew was born about 1795 into a poor and pagan family in Bac-Ninh in North Vietnam. When he was twelve the family had to move to Hanoi so his parents could find work. There he met a catechist who gave him food and shelter, as well as education in the Christian faith for three years. He was baptised with the Christian name Andrew (Andrew Dung). After learning Chinese and Latin he himself became a catechist, and taught catechesis in the country. Chosen to study theology, he was ordained a priest on 15th March 1823. As parish priest he was tireless in his preaching. He often fasted and lived a simple and moral life that was so good an example to the people that many were baptised.

In 1835 he was imprisoned under emperor Minh-Mang's persecutions (he was called Vietnam's emperor Nero), but his freedom was purchased by donations from members of the congregation he served. To avoid persecutions he changed his name to Lac (Andrew Lac) and moved to another prefecture to continue his work. But in 1839 he was again arrested with another Vietnamese priest Peter Thi, to whom he had gone visiting so that he could go to confession. Once again the people paid money so that he and Peter could be released. However, their freedom was brief. They were soon re-arrested, taken to Hanoi, where both suffered a dreadful torture and were finally beheaded on 21st December 1839.

The Church in Vietnam Today
One of the heroes of the Catholic Church in Vietnam in recent years has been Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyen van Thuan, who, after spending 13 years in prison there, came to live in Rome where he died in 2002. In 2007 Pope Benedict approved the introduction of his cause for beatification.

Today there are 26 Catholic dioceses in Vietnam. There are 2228 parishes and 2668 priests. Catholics are about 7% of the 85 million population.

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Memorable Sayings for Today

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Saint of the Day 2:  November 24th; St Colman, Bishop of Cloyne

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 saint.

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.

The Catholic Cathedral of St Colman at Cobh was begun in 1868.
It completed in the early years of the 20th Century.
The Cathedral of St Colman,
Cobh, Co Cork as is Today (Image left)

In the Martyrology of 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.

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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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