Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for September 26, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, coming to you from a Manhattan rooftop on September 26th, the memorial of the twin brother doctors, St. Cosmas and Damian. Today in the gospel, Jesus and the disciples are praying and out of Jesus’ prayer, he turns to them and says, “Who do the crowd say that the son of man is?” And they tell them what the polls say. Some say he’s John the Baptist risen from the dead. That was Herod’s question yesterday.
Some say Elijah or one of the ancient prophets has arisen. Jesus was in other words being numbered among the most important people who ever lived. But it wasn’t enough. Jesus after the reflection of prayer that the disciples themselves were doing said, “But who do you say that I am?” And that’s when Peter said, “The Christ of God, the Messiah, the anointed one of God, the long awaited.” And so then St. Luke tells us strangely Jesus rebuked them because they were obviously buzzing about it and he was telling them to calm down and not to tell anybody about it at that time. He didn’t want the lead to get out ahead of time so that people would be treating him as the long-awaited political messiah, the son of David, to kick out the Romans. He wanted to be accepted under his own terms.
And so that was why he gave what scholars call the messianic secret to stay quiet about it so that he would be able to do his work without being boxed in to the mistaken political categories of the Messiah. And then Jesus revealed to them that the son of man, he was going to be betrayed, suffer greatly at the hands of the Pharisees, the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes, be killed, and in the third day be raised. He specifically said that he wasn’t going to be the political messiah that people thought. He was going to be the suffering Messiah who through that suffering would become the savior of the world. Jesus gave his first disciples the command not to share that he was the Messiah. He’s now given us the opposite. He’s told us to go to the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. That is the mission of the church today because we’re not worried about people thinking Jesus is just going to be an earthly political leader. But we want everyone to be able to receive the gift he offered, the gift of salvation, the gift of divine love on his own terms. Saints Cosmos and Damian whom the church celebrates today live this way. They were doctors in Delalatia or modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina who were called the inauguroy, the penniless ones. They never charged for their medical services when they were treating. And after the gratitude of people whose lives they helped or saved turned to them, that’s when they were able to be open to a much greater healing that Cosmos and Damian shared. being great apostles in the middle of the world that they were working for in spreading the love of that Messiah of God.
Today we pray for all missionaries that they may have the effectiveness of St. Cosmas and Damian however they bring the gospel. God bless you. At the end of today’s reflection, brothers and sisters, I just want to make a special invitation to you. We’re getting closer to the month of October, which is two things. First, it’s World Mission Month, which we pray for and sacrifice for missionaries, which has its culmination on World Mission Sunday, which this year is October 19th. And secondly, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. In honor of both of these month-long celebrations, the Pontifical Mission Societies USA are going to be getting together with anybody who wants to join us from all over the country and world to pray the World Mission Rosary. This was put together by my predecessor, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, when he was director of the Pontifical Mission Societies to pray through our Lady’s intercession, the holy rosary for missionaries and those they’re serving in each of the continents of the world.
Below on this email, you’ll be able to click on a box which will allow you to sign up to join us. I hope you will pray the World Mission Rosary with us throughout the month of October.
Gospel
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”