Saints Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his Companions, Martyrs
Monday of week 34 in Ordinary Time
Reading: Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20
Daniel’s steadfast trust in God shines with extraordinary clarity in today’s reading. Taken into exile, surrounded by a foreign culture, pressured to conform, and stripped of all external support, Daniel nevertheless anchors his heart in the Lord with serene confidence. His refusal to defile himself is not rebellion but faith, an interior certainty that God is worthy of complete trust even when circumstances appear overwhelming. And God responds: Daniel and his companions grow in wisdom, strength, and favor, showing that fidelity invites divine grace in ways human calculation could never achieve. On the feast of Saints Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his companions, we see the same courage echoed centuries later, Christians who, like Daniel, trusted God more than fear, choosing faithfulness even unto death. Their witness reveals that trust is not passive; it is a powerful force that shapes identity, sustains integrity, and becomes a path through which God works wonders. To trust as Daniel did is to believe that God’s presence is stronger than any pressure, and His promises more real than any threat. Let’s reflect: Do I trust God with the same steady confidence as Daniel, remaining faithful even when I feel pressured, isolated, or afraid?
Don Giorgio