About Today
Tuesday 25 November 2025
Tuesday of week 34 in Ordinary Time or Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr
A mighty God is the Lord: come, let us adore him.
Year: C(I). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: Green.
St Catherine o(f Alexandria d. 305)
Legends coming from a number of sources say that St Catherine was very outspoken at the time of the persecutions of Christians. She even protested openly to the emperor Maxentius who had her arrested, tortured on the wheel and decapitated in 305. St Catherine’s courage is a great challenge to all African Christians in their struggle for justice and peace. The witness of her life and her readiness to die for the faith encourages us to be brave witnesses to the Lord and to speak out on behalf of all those who suffer.
Other saints: Saint Colman of Cloyne (522 - 600)
Ireland
He was a royal bard who in later life became a bishop. He founded several churches, including the church at Cloyne: he is patron saint of the diocese. See the article in Wikipedia.
Other saints: Blessed Niels Stensen (1638-86)
Denmark, Finland, Sweden
Niels Steensen was born as the son of a Copenhagen goldsmith. After studying medicine in Copenhagen, he went on a European study trip, where in the Netherlands he encountered a religious and philosophical diversity that brought him into a religious crisis. He overcame the crisis and found a fervent faith in God’s providence, but he could no longer find the Protestant faith of his homeland convincing.
After a series of anatomical discoveries and a stay in Copenhagen, he set out in 1664 on a new study trip, and in Florence he found friends and well-wishers. There he converted to the Catholic Church in 1667 and in the following years made a number of further anatomical and geological discoveries. After a stay in Copenhagen 1672-74, he gave up science and was ordained a priest in 1675 to devote himself to pastoral care among foreign travellers in Tuscany.
In 1677 he was made a bishop and sent to Northern Germany, where he worked in Hanover, Münster, Hamburg and finally Schwerin, where he died in the reputation of sanctity. His mortal remains were taken to Florence and today lie in the Medici burial church of San Lorenzo. In 1988 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. He is loved not only for his pastoral zeal, his deep spirituality and his love for poverty and the poor, but also as an example of the cohesion of natural science and religious knowledge.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr
Gospel: Luke 21:5-11
At that time: While some were speaking of the Temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, Jesus said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ And they asked him, ‘Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?’ And he said, ‘See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and, “The time is at hand!” Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.’
Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.’
Reflection on the painting
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, one of the great virgin martyrs of the early Church, who lived in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, during the reign of Emperor Maxentius (he would eventually be defeated by Emperor Constantine at the battle of the Melvin Bridge in 312AD). Born of noble lineage and renowned for her eloquence, Catherine converted to Christianity after a vision of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. When she confronted the emperor Maxentius for persecuting Christians, her wisdom was so compelling that she reportedly converted many of his philosophers and close aides. Furious, Maxentius ordered her imprisonment and torture; when the spiked wheel designed for her execution miraculously broke apart, he finally ordered her beheading. The “Catherine wheel” would later become her enduring symbol, not of destruction, but of divine triumph over worldly power.
In art, Catherine is often depicted as a regal young woman crowned and holding a palm of martyrdom, with the broken wheel and a sword at her side. She stands as a figure of luminous intellect and courage, a saint who dared to speak truth to power. Her story reminds us that faith and reason are not enemies, but companions on the journey to truth. She teaches us that true wisdom lies not in winning arguments, but in giving one’s whole life for the truth of the Gospel.
Our powerful painting by Caravaggio is a remarkable fusion of martyrdom iconography, stark realism, and devotional intimacy. In our painting we see Saint Catherine richly dressed, kneeling on a cushion, her gaze meeting ours. At her side lie the broken spiked wheel and the sword of her martyrdom. Caravaggio’s characteristic chiaroscuro heightens the drama; the saint emerges from a dark background under a strong, almost cinematic light.
Caravaggio chose as his model the notorious Roman prostitute Fillide Melandroni, a woman he was deeply infatuated with and who brought both inspiration and turmoil into his life. Her striking features captivated the artist, and she would go on to model for him again in future works. Fillide was both Carvaggio's muse and lover, and ultimately enemy as well. While her documented personal life was entangled with arrests and scandal (accusations of solicitation, carrying weapons, and conflicts with many political figures), in the paintings she is almost transfigured. We only see her in pure beauty and elegance. In that way she embodies many heroines, lifting images of controversy, into images of redemption. In that sense she invites us to reconsider the hidden dignity within every person, the potential for transformation through art and faith.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria,
Painting by Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1571-1610),
Painted 1598–99,
oil on canvas
© Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
Tuesday of week 34 in Ordinary Time or Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr
A mighty God is the Lord: come, let us adore him.
Year: C(I). Psalm week: 2. Liturgical Colour: Green.
St Catherine o(f Alexandria d. 305)
Legends coming from a number of sources say that St Catherine was very outspoken at the time of the persecutions of Christians. She even protested openly to the emperor Maxentius who had her arrested, tortured on the wheel and decapitated in 305. St Catherine’s courage is a great challenge to all African Christians in their struggle for justice and peace. The witness of her life and her readiness to die for the faith encourages us to be brave witnesses to the Lord and to speak out on behalf of all those who suffer.
Other saints: Saint Colman of Cloyne (522 - 600)
Ireland
He was a royal bard who in later life became a bishop. He founded several churches, including the church at Cloyne: he is patron saint of the diocese. See the article in Wikipedia.
Other saints: Blessed Niels Stensen (1638-86)
Denmark, Finland, Sweden
Niels Steensen was born as the son of a Copenhagen goldsmith. After studying medicine in Copenhagen, he went on a European study trip, where in the Netherlands he encountered a religious and philosophical diversity that brought him into a religious crisis. He overcame the crisis and found a fervent faith in God’s providence, but he could no longer find the Protestant faith of his homeland convincing.
After a series of anatomical discoveries and a stay in Copenhagen, he set out in 1664 on a new study trip, and in Florence he found friends and well-wishers. There he converted to the Catholic Church in 1667 and in the following years made a number of further anatomical and geological discoveries. After a stay in Copenhagen 1672-74, he gave up science and was ordained a priest in 1675 to devote himself to pastoral care among foreign travellers in Tuscany.
In 1677 he was made a bishop and sent to Northern Germany, where he worked in Hanover, Münster, Hamburg and finally Schwerin, where he died in the reputation of sanctity. His mortal remains were taken to Florence and today lie in the Medici burial church of San Lorenzo. In 1988 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. He is loved not only for his pastoral zeal, his deep spirituality and his love for poverty and the poor, but also as an example of the cohesion of natural science and religious knowledge.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr
Gospel: Luke 21:5-11
At that time: While some were speaking of the Temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, Jesus said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’ And they asked him, ‘Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?’ And he said, ‘See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and, “The time is at hand!” Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.’
Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.’
Reflection on the painting
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, one of the great virgin martyrs of the early Church, who lived in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, during the reign of Emperor Maxentius (he would eventually be defeated by Emperor Constantine at the battle of the Melvin Bridge in 312AD). Born of noble lineage and renowned for her eloquence, Catherine converted to Christianity after a vision of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. When she confronted the emperor Maxentius for persecuting Christians, her wisdom was so compelling that she reportedly converted many of his philosophers and close aides. Furious, Maxentius ordered her imprisonment and torture; when the spiked wheel designed for her execution miraculously broke apart, he finally ordered her beheading. The “Catherine wheel” would later become her enduring symbol, not of destruction, but of divine triumph over worldly power.
In art, Catherine is often depicted as a regal young woman crowned and holding a palm of martyrdom, with the broken wheel and a sword at her side. She stands as a figure of luminous intellect and courage, a saint who dared to speak truth to power. Her story reminds us that faith and reason are not enemies, but companions on the journey to truth. She teaches us that true wisdom lies not in winning arguments, but in giving one’s whole life for the truth of the Gospel.
Our powerful painting by Caravaggio is a remarkable fusion of martyrdom iconography, stark realism, and devotional intimacy. In our painting we see Saint Catherine richly dressed, kneeling on a cushion, her gaze meeting ours. At her side lie the broken spiked wheel and the sword of her martyrdom. Caravaggio’s characteristic chiaroscuro heightens the drama; the saint emerges from a dark background under a strong, almost cinematic light.
Caravaggio chose as his model the notorious Roman prostitute Fillide Melandroni, a woman he was deeply infatuated with and who brought both inspiration and turmoil into his life. Her striking features captivated the artist, and she would go on to model for him again in future works. Fillide was both Carvaggio's muse and lover, and ultimately enemy as well. While her documented personal life was entangled with arrests and scandal (accusations of solicitation, carrying weapons, and conflicts with many political figures), in the paintings she is almost transfigured. We only see her in pure beauty and elegance. In that way she embodies many heroines, lifting images of controversy, into images of redemption. In that sense she invites us to reconsider the hidden dignity within every person, the potential for transformation through art and faith.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria,
Painting by Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1571-1610),
Painted 1598–99,
oil on canvas
© Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid