Mass Readings
Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 27th November, 2025Léachtaí Gaeilge
Next Sunday’s Readings
Thursday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time, Cycle 1
Daniel is thrown into the lion pit but God delivers him.
Saint of the Day: Nov 27th; St Fergal, (Virgil) bishop and missionary in France and Bavaria.
He was bishop of Salzburg around 742 and died in 784 leaving behind a reputation for learning and holiness.
c/f short history of today’s saint can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Daniel 6:12-28
God sent his angel who sealed the lion’s jaws.
The presidents and satraps came along in a body and found Daniel praying and pleading with God. They then came to the king and said, ‘Have you not just signed an edict forbidding any man for the next thirty days to pray to anyone, god or man, other than to yourself O king, on pain of being thrown into the lions’ den?’
‘The decision stands,‘ the king replied ‘as befits the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.‘
Then they said to the king,
‘O king, this man Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, disregards both you and the edict which you have signed: he is at his prayers three times each day.’ When the king heard these words he was deeply distressed, and determined to save Daniel; he racked his brains until sunset to find some way out.
But the men came back in a body to the king and said,
‘O king, remember that in conformity with the law of the Medes and the Persians, no edict or decree can be altered when once issued by the king.’
A stone was then brought and laid over the mouth of the pit; and the king sealed it with his own signet and with that of his noblemen, so that there could be no going back on the original decision about Daniel. The king returned to his palace, spent the night in fasting and refused to receive any of his concubines. Sleep eluded him, and at the first sign of dawn he was up, and hurried off to the lion pit.
As he approached the pit he shouted in anguished tones,
‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you serve so faithfully, been able to save you from the lions?‘
Daniel replied, ‘O king, live for ever! My God sent his angel who sealed the lions’ jaws, they did me no harm, since in his sight I am blameless, and I have never done you any wrong either, O king.’
The king was overjoyed, and ordered Daniel to be released from the pit. Daniel was released from the pit, and found to be quite unhurt, because he had trusted in his God.
The king sent for the men who had accused Daniel and had them thrown into the lion pit, they, their wives and their children: and they had not reached the floor of the pit before the lions had seized them and crushed their bones to pieces.
King Darius then wrote to men of all nations, peoples and languages throughout the world,
‘May peace be always with you! I decree: in every kingdom of my empire let all tremble with fear before the God of Daniel: He is the living God, he endures for ever, his sovereignty will never be destroyed and his kingship never end.
He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth; he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.’
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Dan 3: 68-74, R/v 59
Response Give glory and eternal praise to him!
1. Dews and sleets! bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
2. Frost and cold! bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
3. Ice and snow! bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
4. Nights and days! bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
5. Light and darkness! bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him
6. Lightning and clouds! bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
7. Let the earth bless the Lord. R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Gospel Acclamation 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!
Or Lk 21: 28
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 21:20-28 Glory to you, O Lord.
Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over.
‘When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you must realise that she will soon be laid desolate. Then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains, those inside the city must leave it, and those in country districts must not take refuge in it. For this is the time of vengeance when all that scripture says must be fulfilled.
Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come!
‘For great misery will descend on the land and wrath on this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive to every pagan country;
and Jerusalem will be trampled down by the pagans until the age of the pagans is completely over.
‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves;
men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
******************
Gospel Reflection Thursday Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 21:20–28
Jesus paints a very distressing picture of the future in today’s gospel reading. He looks ahead to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, resulting in its inhabitants being killed or taken into captivity. In those dark days for the holy city, nature itself will seem to share the anguish of the city and its inhabitants, with disconcerting signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. Jesus seems to be using a very dark pallet to paint this scene. Yet, a light emerges against the dark backdrop. Jesus declares that at that very moment when people are dying of fear, the Son of Man will come with great power and glory. His power is not a destructive power, like the power of Rome, but a liberating power, a power that frees people from all that threatens to destroy them, ‘stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand’.
Jesus does not play down the dark, destructive forces that threaten God’s people, but he insists that these dark forces will not ultimately win out. There is a greater force at work among us, God’s force or power, present through his risen Son, the force of a love that liberates and makes whole. We are all called to be channels of that liberating force of God. We can allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the dark forces that stalk the land, or we can hold our heads high in confident hope, in the assurance that the Lord of all is in our midst and trusting, in the words of Saint Paul, that his power working among us can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.
________________
The Scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.
The Gospel reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : You have the Words of Eternal life by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
_____________
Saint of the Day: Nov 27; St Fergal, (Feargal) of Salzburg (700-784) monk, missionary, bishop
Fergal (or Virgil or Feargal) was born in Ireland, lived first as a monk in France, and then in Bavaria, where he founded the monastery of Chiemsee. He was appointed bishop of Salzburg around 754 and died in 784 leaving a reputation for learning and holiness. He became Patron of Salzburg
Patrick Duffy records some of the traditions about him.
Monk of Aghaboe
Born in Ireland, Feargal of Virgil (Latin “Virgilius”) is said to have been a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages. He become a monk and probably abbot in the monastery of Aghaboe (Annals of the Four Masters and the Annals of Ulster). Many Irish monks set out from Ireland as pilgrims for Christ (peregrini pro Christo). They journeyed widely through Europe and some founded important churches. Among them is St Feargal who was a missionary bishop in Salzburg, Austria. (The St Virgil image, right> was painted for St Virgil’s College, Hobart, Tasmania by Alec Szolomiak of Australia, and reprinted with permission.)
On Pilgrimage
In 743 he is said to have left Ireland to go to the Holy Land. He stopped first of all at the court of King Pepin the Short, father of Charlemagne. After spending two years at Cressy, near Compiègne, he went to Bavaria, at the invitation of Duke Odilo, where he founded the monastery of Chiemsee, and within a year or two was made Abbot of St. Peter’s at Salzburg. Out of humility, he at first “concealed his orders“, and had a bishop named Dobdagrecus, a fellow countryman, appointed to perform his episcopal functions for him.
Controversies with St Boniface
St Feargal (Virgilius) of Salzburg – born about 700 in Ireland; died 784 November 27 in Salzburg, was an early astronomer.
In his first days at Salzburg, Feargal was involved in controversies with St. Boniface. Feargal expressed a number of opinions on astronomy, geography, and anthropology, which to Boniface smacked of novelty, if not heresy. He reported these views to Rome, and the Pope demanded an investigation of the bishop of Salzburg. Feargal was able to defend his views and nothing came of the complaint. He held the view that the earth was round which Boniface said was contrary to Scripture. The Pope decided in favour of Feargal
Cathedral at Salzburg
Feargal is said to have built a cathedral at Salzburg. St Rupert had built one there before him and the present cathedral has both of them as patrons; it is the site of Mozart’s baptism. Feargal baptized the Slavic dukes of Carinthia, and sent missionaries into Hungary.
Death and Canonisation
******************************
Memorable Sayings for Today
I fight for what I believe.
If you are not willing to stand up for what you believe, your beliefs are not strong enough.
******************************