Tuesday, November 24, 2026 — Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions, Martyrs
Do not be deceived
Luke 21:5-11
Readings of the day: Revelation 14:14-19; Psalm 96:10, 11-12, 13; Luke 21:5-11.
The Gospel
Some admire the temple’s beautiful stones and gifts. Jesus says the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another. Asked when this will happen, he warns his disciples not to be deceived by false messiahs, and not to be terrified by wars, earthquakes, famines and signs in the sky: these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.
Reflection
Jesus does not hide the troubles ahead: wars, earthquakes, famines, and voices claiming to speak in his name. He tells his disciples these things beforehand precisely so that they will not be terrified when they come. “For darts strike the less which are foreseen,” says St. Gregory. Forewarned by the Lord, the Christian is not surprised by a shaking world, and is not deceived by those who claim to know the day. Our task is not to predict the end, but to remain faithful while we wait for the Lord, who will come in glory to judge the world in righteousness.
From the Fathers
“God denounces the woes that shall forerun the destruction of the world, that so they may the less disturb when they come, as having been foreknown. For darts strike the less which are foreseen.”
— St. Gregory the Great, Homily 35 on the Gospels, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 21:5–11
“His second coming shall not be in secret, but terrible and open. For He shall descend in the glory of God the Father, with the Angels attending Him, to judge the world in righteousness.”
— St. Cyril of Alexandria, in the Catena Aurea on Luke 21:5–11
Saint of the day
Saint Andrew Dung-Lac (c. 1795–1839), priest and martyr, and his 116 companions, martyrs of Vietnam. Of the 117 martyrs, 96 were Vietnamese, 11 Spanish and 10 French; among them were 8 bishops, 50 priests and 59 lay people. They were canonized by St. John Paul II on June 19, 1988. Andrew, a Vietnamese diocesan priest, was beheaded at Hanoi on December 21, 1839.
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Sources: the day’s readings follow the daily lectionary (USCCB, Lectionary 504). The Gospel text is not reproduced here; read it at the link above. Patristic quotes: Catena Aurea on Luke 21:5–11, compiled by St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by John Henry Newman (1841, public domain).