Daily Catholic Lectio
Friday, 26 Sep ‘25
Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time, Friday
Saints Cosmos and Damian, Memorial
Haggai 2:1–9; Luke 9:18–22
The Questions
The Gospel today opens with a familiar scene in Luke: “Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with Him.” At every important turning point in His life, Jesus is found in prayer. Today’s event is no exception.
The narrative moves within a triangle of God – Jesus – disciples. In the silence of prayer, a conversation unfolds, and two powerful questions emerge.
First question: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” The disciples reply with what they have heard—John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets risen again. These are the very same answers Herod had heard in yesterday’s Gospel. The disciples show they know what people are saying about Jesus.
Second question: “But you—who do you say that I am?” Here the focus shifts from they to you. It is no longer about what others think, but about personal conviction. Speaking for the Twelve, Peter confesses: “You are the Christ of God.” This is not borrowed knowledge but a lived experience.
Luke tells this story differently from Matthew and Mark. In Matthew, Jesus blesses Peter for his confession and announces the foundation of the Church. In Mark, Peter resists when Jesus foretells His Passion. But in Luke, there is no rebuke. Instead, the emphasis is on prayer and the disciples’ deeper awareness of who Jesus truly is.
This passage teaches us three lessons:
(a) “Who am I for you?” – This is the question God continues to ask each of us. We cannot avoid it or hide behind other people’s answers. Faith is not a second-hand opinion—it is a personal relationship.
(b) Prayer as the foundation – Prayer is not only asking but living in God’s presence, letting Him shape our understanding. Because the disciples were in the atmosphere of prayer, they could recognize Jesus more clearly.
(c) Experience as a beginning – Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah leads immediately to Jesus announcing His coming Passion. Our true experience of God always becomes the starting point for deeper transformation, even through suffering.
In the first reading from the prophet Haggai, God encourages the people rebuilding the Temple: “In this place I will grant peace.” The promise is more than stone and wood—it is the assurance that where God dwells, there wholeness and peace will flow. The glory of the new Temple will be greater than the former one.
Today we also remember Saints Cosmos and Damian, twin brothers and early Christian physicians. They offered healing freely, never charging money, and in doing so bore witness to Christ the true Healer. Their life reminds us that evangelization is not only through words but through service and witness.
Jesus still asks us today: “Who do you say I am?” May our answer come not only from our lips but from our lives. Let us, like Peter, confess Him as the Christ of God; like Haggai’s people, build a place for Him in our hearts where peace can dwell; and like Cosmos and Damian, make our lives a witness of healing love.
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
Missionary of Mercy
Yesu Karunanidhi 
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