November 22, 2025 Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
Daily Readings: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13; Luke 20:27-40
The text of the day tells us what happened to King Antiochus IV Epiphanes who desecrated the temple of Jerusalem. His pride and arrogance made him rejoice over this event. But his attempt to loot a rich temple in a city called Elymais in Persia utterly failed as the citizens of the city defeated him in the battle. Then he heard how his army was routed in Judah. The Jews also destroyed the altar erected by him. All these news coming one after another made him fall ill. Fear overcame him. He even confessed to his friends that he was not able to sleep peacefully and he is downhearted with worry. His lamentation and remorse came too late. He died in a foreign land in disgrace. The author of the First Book of Maccabees presents this event as a moral lesson as to what is the consequence of wickedness of human persons. We learn that God never abandons His faithful. He may punish them for a while to bring them back to Him.
In the Gospel reading of today, the Sadducees initiate a discussion on levirate marriage. Jesus refutes them in his inimitable fashion. What is startling is that those who don’t believe in resurrection, eternal life and the existence of angels raised this question to Jesus. Jesus’ answer is amazing. Those who have body feel the need to marry. The people in heaven are spirits who have no body and therefore there is no need to think of marrying and giving in marriage. He also takes this opportunity to establish that our God is a living God. The enemies of the Sadducees appreciate Jesus saying, “Teacher, you have spoken well” (Luke 20:39). The arrogance of the Sadducees came to an end with it. Family life belongs to earthly realm although wedding is indissoluble!
Call to Action: Saint Cecilia teaches us that one can dedicate her virginity to God and live a holy life here on earth. The body can be trained to treat bodily passions in a sublime manner.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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