Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for November 23, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
The Youtube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:
I am Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. It’s the Solemnity to Christ the King November 23rd and I’m coming to you from the ravine on the property of the shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. Here you see the recollections of St. Isaac Jogues about the death of St. Renee Goupil September 29, 1642. He was tomahawkked after having finished the rosary. And as he was dying, he just cried out, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” He used the holy name of Jesus, the word that means God saves, entrusting himself to salvation to the Lord whom he had spent his life giving witness to. Today on this Solemnity of Christ the King, we remember that Jesus is the God who saves us too. And in the gospel, we see not only the depiction of Jesus’ last hours as he was dying on Calvary, but that great scene between the two thieves. The thief on Jesus’ left said, “If you’re truly the Messiah, save yourself and us.” But the other, the good thief, turned to Jesus and he said um to the first the thief, “Do you do you not realize that we’re under the same condemnation? This man’s done nothing wrong.” Then he turned and he said, “Jesus, God saves, remember me when you enter into your kingdom.” And Jesus turned to him and with the laressa, the king of kings said that he wasn’t just going to remember him after he died. What a strange request that is because we can’t remember when we’re really dead, but this good thief recognized that Jesus would somehow have the ability to remember after he had died. Jesus turned to him and said, “You will be with me in paradise today.” And so that’s what we pray for throughout the month of November. We turn to Christ the King, God who saves. And we want to enter into his kingdom. We recognize that that salvation is not meant to come to us just at the very end of our life. It’s supposed to come to us in the present when we turn to Jesus in this world and experience the fruits of what he won for us on Calvary. So that today we can enter into communion with him through prayer, through the sacraments, through the Christian moral life. So that when our last day comes like it did for that good thief, we might see Jesus turn to us and with that same large S, give us his kingdom. Today you will be with me in paradise. We pray for that. We pray for the work of missionaries all throughout the globe who are trying to bring people everywhere to experience Christ as their universal king to enter into his kingdom here on earth and then to enter the kingdom of heaven with St. Renee Goupil, St. Isaac Jogues and all the saints. God bless you.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on
Gospel
The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,
“He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
“If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”
Above him there was an inscription that read,
“This is the King of the Jews.”
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
“Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.”
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
“Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal.”
Then he said,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
He replied to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”
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