Daily Catholic Mass Readings for November 22, 2025

First Reading: 1 Maccabees 6.1-13

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Psalm 9

¹I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.²I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.³When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before your presence.⁴For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.⁵You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.⁶The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins; their cities you rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.⁷But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice,⁸and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.⁹The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.¹⁰And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!¹²For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.¹³Be gracious to me, O LORD! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,¹⁴that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.¹⁵The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid their own foot has been caught.¹⁶The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah¹⁷The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.¹⁸For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.¹⁹Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!²⁰Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

Gospel: Luke 20.27-40

Luke

Chapter 20

²⁷There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,²⁸and they asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.²⁹Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.³⁰And the second³¹and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.³²Afterward the woman also died.³³In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife."³⁴And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,³⁵but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,³⁶for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.³⁷But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.³⁸Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."³⁹Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."⁴⁰For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Sermon

In today’s readings, we encounter two very different narratives, yet both invite us to reflect on the nature of human ambition, the consequences of our choices, and the ultimate hope that lies beyond this life. The first reading from 1 Maccabees tells the story of King Antiochus, who, having failed in his attempt to plunder a temple in Persia, is overwhelmed by grief and regret. His once-proud spirit is broken as he confronts the reality of his own mortality and the evil deeds he has committed. This passage serves as a cautionary tale about the fleeting nature of earthly power and the inevitable consequences of sin. The Gospel reading from Luke shifts our focus from the temporal to the eternal. Jesus engages in a debate with the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection of the dead. Using a hypothetical scenario about a woman who marries seven brothers in succession, the Sadducees attempt to discredit the idea of an afterlife. Jesus, however, turns their question on its head. He explains that life in the resurrection is fundamentally different from life in this world. There will be no marriage or earthly relationships, for the resurrected will live in a state akin to the angels, free from death and decay. Jesus grounds this teaching in the Scriptures, reminding his listeners that God is the God of the living, not the dead. These readings invite us to reflect on the ultimate purpose of our lives. The story of Antiochus warns us against allowing ambition and greed to dominate our hearts, for such pursuits ultimately lead to emptiness and regret. Jesus, on the other hand, offers us hope. He reminds us that our true fulfillment is not found in the things of this world but in the eternal life that awaits us. As we navigate the challenges of daily life, let us keep our eyes fixed on the horizon of eternity. May we strive to live in such a way that we are prepared to meet God face to face, trusting in his promise of resurrection and eternal life.