To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Commentary on the Gospel – November 17, 2025
Adapt or Die
There’s a saying: “adapt or die.” We usually take it to mean the unavoidable need to pay attention to the world we live in, to the constant changes happening around us, and to make the necessary decisions so we don’t end up irrelevant or socially sidelined. We can’t live with our backs turned to social trends, technological advances, or shifts in mentality. If we do, we might find ourselves speaking a language no one understands, answering questions no one is asking, or offering solutions to problems that don’t exist. This is essential, for example, in the Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel: we must make a constant effort at aggiornamento, a continual updating that requires openness, listening, and discernment in order to read the signs of the times and, by adapting to them, communicate effectively the timeless message of the Gospel of Christ.
But in light of the first reading, we discover that there are undesirable forms of adaptation—ways of giving in to improper pressures and adjusting ourselves to values and lifestyles that betray our deepest convictions and lead to the abandonment of our faith. Here the phrase “adapt or die” takes on a literal and tragic meaning, because it becomes a choice between apostasy and fidelity, a fidelity that can lead even to martyrdom. What the Book of Maccabees describes is sadly up to date, as persecutions against Christians multiply throughout the world—sometimes violently (think of Nigeria or Pakistan), but also in “soft” forms that dismiss, ridicule, or delegitimize the Christian faith. The Word of God, which in these weeks places us within the perspective of the “last times” (those ultimate realities that give definitive meaning to human life), calls us to fidelity, reminding us that not every form of adaptation is acceptable and that faithfulness may at times lead us to the extreme of martyrdom.
For Christians, the perfect model of adaptation is Jesus Christ, who in His incarnation adapted Himself to our limits of space and time, but did so in order to bring into this changing world the eternal values of God’s love—values expressed in actions that are always relevant: drawing near to the marginalized (and we all are, because of sin), listening to the cries of those who plead for salvation, and giving witness by shining the light of the Gospel. In this way, like the blind man sitting by the roadside, we can rise and walk, following Jesus.
Fraternally,