Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:24-33
“Do Not Be Afraid”

Today’s Gospel brings us words that we must carry close to our hearts: “Do not be afraid.” Jesus says it not once, but three times. It is not a suggestion—it is an invitation, spoken to disciples sent out into a world that will resist them. He prepares them, and us, for mission: to proclaim His Kingdom with boldness, even when the world tries to silence us.

The first challenge Jesus names is the temptation to water down the Gospel—to make it more acceptable, less demanding. We face this often: the pressure to be quiet, to blend in, to avoid speaking uncomfortable truths. But Jesus tells us: “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light.” Let us proclaim Christ—not ourselves, not ideologies, but the living Jesus—with clarity, humility, and courage.

Second, He speaks of persecution. This is not a remote possibility. In every generation, Christians suffer for their faith—some in subtle ways, others in violent ones. Today, many are martyred simply for belonging to Christ. Jesus reminds us: Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Our lives are not in the hands of the powerful, but in the hands of God.

The third trial is perhaps the hardest: the feeling that God has abandoned us. Even Jesus knew this anguish on the cross. But He teaches us to trust. The Father does not forget a single sparrow; He certainly will not forget you.

Let us stay close to God in prayer. Let us not be afraid of being witnesses—witnesses of truth, of love, of hope. And may Mary, who trusted God in every moment of her life, help us to do the same.

Let us go forward with courage.

© Claretian Publications, Hong Kong, China
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica 2025