Friday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Who Do You Say That I Am?
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Sts Cosmas & Damien – Martyrs – Optional Memorial: Today we honor Saints Cosmas and Damien, twin brothers, physicians, and martyrs, remembered for offering healing without charge and witnessing to Christ through their charity and faith. Their lives remind us that true discipleship is found in selfless service and steadfast love. Let us open our hearts to the Lord who heals and strengthens us.
The prophet Haggai exhorts the Jews after their return from the exile to give everything, even their silver and gold, for the reconstruction of the Temple. Then the living God will be present among them and he will give them peace. Jesus asks of each of us today not what others say about him but who he is for us and what he means to us. The answer he is waiting for does not consist of long declarations but the living response of our lives.
Today the prophet Haggai brings a message of hope: though the people feel weak and their efforts small, God promises that His glory and peace will fill His house. In the Gospel, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” and foretells His Passion. As we gather, we are invited to renew our faith in Christ, who is with us in our struggles and who brings us the fullness of life through the Cross.
Opening Prayer
God our Father,
Your Son Jesus asks of us today:
“Who am I for you?”
Forgive us our stammering words,
But this we can say with grateful love:
We thank you for showing us in him
how good you are and how much you love us.
We thank you for his appearance
in all the frailty of our own humanity,
and that by his death and resurrection
You have brought us forgiveness and life.
Let him be the meaning of our lives,
For He is Jesus, our Saviour and our Lord forever.
First Reading
On the twenty-first day of the seventh month of the second year of Darius’s reign, this message from the Lord was delivered through the prophet Haggai:
“Give this message to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the high priest, and to all the people.
Is there anyone among you who saw this house long ago, during its glory days? What do they think of what they see now? Is it not a very small thing?
But I say to you, Zerubbabel, Joshua, and my people: do not be discouraged. Start working, for I am with you, says the Lord.
Do not be afraid, for my Spirit is in your midst.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: In a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea, and the continents.
Then I will shake all the nations and bring in the treasures of the whole world. I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord.
I will have as much silver and gold as I desire.
The reputation of this temple will be greater than before, and in this place, I will give peace,” says the Lord of hosts.
Responsorial Psalm
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight
against a faithless people;
from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
For you, O God, are my strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning,
with the enemy oppressing me?
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwellingplace.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
One day, while Jesus was praying alone, not far from his disciples, he asked them:
“What do people say about me?”
And they answered:
“Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say that you are Elijah, and still others, that you are one of the prophets of old, risen from the dead.”
Again, Jesus asked them:
“But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered:
“The Messiah of God.”
Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.
And he added:
“The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and he will be put to death. Then, after three days, he will be raised to life.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– That the Lord Jesus may be and remain the cornerstone on which our lives are built, we pray:
– That we may keep learning from Jesus to commit ourselves to the service of God and people, without any conditions, we pray:
– That those who see little meaning in life may discover in the Lord Jesus how rich and meaningful life can be, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
with a bit of bread and wine
we celebrate the memory of Jesus your Son,
how he died to give us life
and rose from the dead to bring us hope.
Let him say again here in our midst:
“This is my body for you;
this is my blood poured out for you.”
May he give us the courage
to be each other’s food and drink,
nourishing, uplifting, sharing.
May we thus proclaim with our lives
that we believe in him
and that he is alive in us, your people,
as our Lord for ever.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
we have never had the privilege
of seeing your Son in the flesh
and hearing the tone of his voice.
But he has spoken his word to us here
and given us his flesh to eat.
What more could we ask for?
Let us now be his word
of forgiveness, freedom and joy,
his face that reflects
the sadness and hopes of all people,
his hands extended in friendship.
May we thus grow in the knowledge and hope
of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
Jesus asks us today: Who am I to you? What do I mean to you? The answer we should give him is not only for religious. Lord, you are everything to us. You are the meaning of our lives. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
26 September 2025
This moment in Luke’s Gospel is one of the turning points in Jesus’ earthly life. As He set His face toward Jerusalem, knowing the Cross awaited Him, He asked His disciples a question of ultimate importance: “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter’s answer—“You are the Christ of God”—was more than a statement of faith. It was a breakthrough, a light shining in the darkness. Jesus had not laboured in vain. Even if His disciples did not yet understand everything, a seed of truth had been planted, a fire lit in their hearts that would never be extinguished.
But Peter, like the others, still had to learn what this truth meant. They dreamed of a Messiah who would conquer with power, lead them to victory, and restore glory to Israel. However, Jesus had to turn their hopes upside down so that they could see that God’s way is not the way of worldly conquest, but of self-giving love.
This Gospel leaves us with two great truths.
First, faith is always personal. It is not enough to repeat what others say about Jesus. Each of us must answer His question ourselves: “Who do you say that I am?” Christianity is not merely knowing doctrines; it is knowing a Person. Like Saint Paul, we are called to say, “I know whom I have believed” (2 Tim 1:12).
Second, discipleship means living under God’s will. Jesus often said “I must” — “I must be in my Father’s house” (Lk 2:49), “I must proclaim the kingdom” (Lk 4:43), “I must go on my way” (Lk 13:33), and finally, “The Son of Man must suffer many things” (Lk 9:22). His whole life was shaped by that “must,” by obedience to His Father’s plan.
So too for us: to follow Christ is to live with that same sense of holy necessity. We are people under orders—not the orders of the world, but of God’s love.
Appreciative Inquiry
Looks like everybody needs appreciation and affirmation, even the Son of God! It is heartening to realize that Jesus cared for what his own friends/brothers/disciples thought of him. We also find God, the Father, affirming the Son at crucial moments of his life. Now we have Peter, on behalf of his disciples (and the Church) responding with the same affirmation, which Jesus recognizes as coming from his own Father. Jesus needed this affirmation, as much for himself as for the disciples, before he would reveal the destiny of the Paschal Mystery that awaited him. An intervention method currently popular among companies and organizations is “appreciative inquiry” which seeks to affirm what is good, positive, and constructive in people and seek to build on them. How wonderful and healing would it be, if we could apply similar dynamics to our everyday life, to affirm and appreciate those with whom we share our life, whom we normally tend to take for granted!
27 September 2024
Dying with Christ
Jesus had resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem (Luke 9:51), where he would undergo betrayal, passion and death on the Cross. As the journey progresses, Jesus wants to make sure that those who accompany him are aware of what awaits them in Jerusalem. A large crowd was following him, but for different reasons: for healing from their illnesses, to see him perform miracles.
Therefore, comes the question: Who do you say that I am? Peter was spot-on with his answer. “You are the Messiah of God.” However, Peter and his companions had little understanding of the true meaning of the term ‘Messiah’. For many people, the term could take on too political a sense, seeing Jesus as a human liberator sent to deliver an oppressed people who would topple the Roman occupancy. Hence, Jesus explains to them the mission of the Messiah. "… endure many sufferings, be rejected, and be put to death, and then be raised up on the third day."
Pope Francis emphasises the importance of moving beyond the crowds and worldly opinions that attempt to define Jesus because being a Christian is not simply about knowing doctrines or participating in rituals but about encountering Jesus in our hearts and lives. Peter’s answer, although correct, leads Jesus to explain the cost of discipleship: suffering, rejection, and death, followed by resurrection. Faith in Christ without the Cross is not authentic. To follow Jesus means to take up our own crosses.
The cross is not merely an object of suffering but a symbol of love and the ultimate victory of God’s mercy. Whoever walks with Jesus is called to embrace also the cross, trusting that God's plan for us is always rooted in love and that our sufferings, united with Christ's, lead to new life.