Commentary on the Gospel – November 25, 2025

Do Not Be Terrified

These things have to happen before the victory comes. But not being terrified might feel almost impossible. The things we’re seeing—wars, divisions, invasions, persecution of faith—are frightening enough. The state of the world is not encouraging. Corruption, lies, manipulation, persecution, wars, hunger used as a political weapon, natural disasters. And within us: old grudges, internal conflicts, rivalry, envy. Sometimes it feels like the Halloween we celebrated earlier this month—with all its horrible figures—didn’t even come close. The monsters around us, much more real and dangerous, inspire genuine fear. And reading Daniel in these circumstances only heightens that apocalyptic feeling, that sense of terrifying final events.

On the other hand, Daniel’s vision of the giant with feet of clay—frightening as it is—also has something almost comical about it. It reminds us that nothing and no one has enough power to avoid eventually crumbling. We can even laugh at such fragile power. All the evil and ugliness around us, Daniel seems to say, will end up shattered. And maybe that’s the best reason not to be terrified.

But this certainty doesn’t come without perseverance. To persevere, we need to look again and again at the pulverized giant—so we remember who we are and what we are waiting for. To persevere, we need to maintain a calm spirit, nourished by prayer and by the daily effort to do good. To persevere, we must look high and far. And we must also look low and near, to celebrate the goodness that surrounds us—the people around us who quietly and stubbornly keep living in truth.

We’re not called to deny the painful, terrible, deeply worrying reality we face. But we are called to cling to beauty, truth, and goodness—which are God himself—and to work at planting a little bit of that truth and beauty in the midst of so much ugliness and deception.