🕊️ Saint Tiburtius, a Roman subdeacon, and Saint Susanna, a virgin, are celebrated together as martyrs who bore witness to the faith with their own lives during the persecutions of the Roman Empire. Although their histories are distinct, the Church unites them in liturgical memory for their supreme example of courage and fidelity to Christ. They embody the Gospel's exhortation not to fear those who kill the body, but to confess Christ before men, thus ensuring they will be acknowledged by the Son of Man before the angels of God, as true just ones whose salvation comes from the Lord.
📜 Introit – Psalm 36(37):39-1Salus autem justórum a Dómino... The salvation of the just is from the Lord, and He is their protector in the time of trouble. Be not emulous of evildoers, nor envy them that work iniquity.
💌 Epistle (Heb 11:33-39)
Brethren: The saints by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners. Women received their dead raised to life again. But others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection. And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: Of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth. And all these, being approved by the testimony of faith, were found in Christ Jesus our Lord.
✝️ Gospel (Lk 12:1–8)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed: nor hidden, that shall not be known. For whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness, shall be published in the light: and that which you have spoken in the ear in the chambers, shall be preached on the housetops. And I say to you, my friends: Be not afraid of them who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? Yea, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: you are of more value than many sparrows. And I say to you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the Angels of God.
🤔 Reflections
💡 The hypocrisy of the Pharisees is a poison that corrupts the soul, for it seeks glory from men and not from God; the true disciple, on the contrary, must act in the light of truth, knowing that all will be revealed (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew). The fear the Lord teaches us to have is not of physical death, which is temporary and cannot harm the soul, but the fear of God, who holds power over our eternal destiny. The martyrs understood this perfectly, for they feared not the persecutor's sword, but the judgment of God that follows the denial of the faith (St. Augustine, Sermon 285 on the Martyrs). Faith, as described in the Epistle, is the strength that allows the just not only to endure suffering but to see it as a path to a better resurrection, trading a fleeting life for eternal life and earthly recognition for heavenly acknowledgment (St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job).
📖 The Gospel of St. Matthew presents a parallel discourse (Mt 10:26-33), but frames it explicitly within the context of sending the apostles on a mission, preceding it with the warning that "the disciple is not above his master." Matthew also specifies that the one to be feared is he who can "destroy both soul and body in hell," detailing the nature of eternal perdition. While Luke mentions "five sparrows for two farthings," Matthew speaks of "two sparrows for one farthing," a slight variation that nonetheless underscores the same divine providence over the smallest creatures. St. Mark echoes only the part about what is hidden being revealed (Mk 4:22), but in a context of parables about the Kingdom.
🖋️ St. Paul deepens Christ's exhortation on confessing the faith in his Epistle to the Romans, where he states that "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom 10:9), linking the external act of confession to the internal faith of the heart as a condition for salvation. Regarding fear and suffering, he complements the Gospel's perspective by writing to Timothy that "God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power" (2 Tim 1:7). Furthermore, he provides the theological reason for the courage of the martyrs described in the Epistle to the Hebrews, stating that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom 8:18).
🏛️ The Roman Catechism, promulgated after the Council of Trent, reinforces the doctrine underlying the liturgical texts when it explains the article "I believe in the Communion of Saints." It teaches that the merits and sufferings of the martyrs, like those mentioned in the Epistle, benefit the entire Church, creating a shared spiritual treasury. In dealing with the sacrament of Confirmation, the Catechism emphasizes that it confers a special grace to "confess the name of Christ firmly and courageously," directly echoing the Gospel's command to confess Christ before men without fear. The perennial need for coherence between faith and life, against Pharisaical hypocrisy, is a foundational principle of traditional Catholic morality, demanding the "practice of justice" (Heb 11) as a testimony to the professed faith.