November
27, 2015
Friday
of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading
1
2In
a vision I, Daniel, saw during the night, the
four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,[1][2] 3from
which emerged four immense beasts, each
different from the others. 4The
first was like a lion, but with eagle’s wings. While
I watched, the wings were plucked; it
was raised from the ground to stand on two feet like
a man, and given a human mind.[3] 5The
second was like a bear; it was raised up on one side, and
among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks. It
was given the order, “Up, devour much flesh.”[4] 6After
this I looked and saw another beast, like a leopard; on
its back were four wings like those of a bird, and
it had four heads. To
this beast dominion was given.[5]
7After
this, in the visions of the night I saw the fourth beast, different
from all the others, terrifying,
horrible, and of extraordinary strength; it
had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed, and
what was left it trampled with its feet.[6]
8I
was considering the ten horns it had, when
suddenly another, a little horn, sprang out of their midst, and
three of the previous horns were torn away to make room for it. This
horn had eyes like a man, and
a mouth that spoke arrogantly.
9As
I watched, Thrones
were set up and
the Ancient One took his throne. His
clothing was snow bright, and
the hair on his head as white as wool; His
throne was flames of fire, with
wheels of burning fire.[7]
10A
surging stream of fire flowed
out from where he sat; Thousands
upon thousands were ministering to Him, and
myriads upon myriads attended Him.
The
court was convened, and the books were opened. 11I
watched, then, from the first of the arrogant words which
the horn spoke, until the beast was slain and
its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up.
12The
other beasts, which also lost their dominion, were
granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season. 13As
the visions during the night continued, I saw One
like a son of man coming, on
the clouds of heaven; When
he reached the Ancient One and
was presented before him,[8] 14He
received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations
and peoples of every language serve Him. His
dominion is an everlasting dominion that
shall not be taken away, His
kingship shall not be destroyed.
Responsorial
Psalm
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
76“Everything
growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
77“You
springs, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
78“Seas
and rivers, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
79“You
dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
80“All
you birds of the air, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
81“All
you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; praise
and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him!
Alleluia
Luke 21:28
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand
erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
29Jesus
told His disciples a parable. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. 30When
their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
31in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the Kingdom
of God is near.
32Amen,
I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have
taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass
away.”[10]
Notes on Readings:
[1] Daniel
7:1-27 - The significance of this vision is the same as that of
Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2; see footnote on Daniel 2:36-45. To the four succeeding world kingdoms, Babylonian, Median, Persian, and
Greek, is opposed the messianic kingdom of the people of God. The imagery of
this chapter has been used extensively in the Revelation of St. John, where it
is applied to the Roman empire, the persecutor of the Church.
[2] Daniel
7:2 - The great sea: the primordial ocean beneath the earth, according to
primitive cosmology (Genesis 7:11); 49:25. This was thought to contain various monsters (Isaiah 27:1); Job 7:12, and in particular mythological monsters symbolizing the chaos which
God had vanquished in ancient times (Job 9:13); 26:13; etc.).
[3] Daniel
7:4 - The representation of the Babylonian empire as a winged lion, a common
motif in Babylonian art, symbolizes the bestial power hostile to God. The two
wings that were plucked represent Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. On two feet
like a man . . . a human mind: contrasts with what is said in Daniel 4:13, 30.
[4] Daniel
7:5 - A bear: represents the Median empire, its three tusks symbolizing its
destructive nature; hence, the command: "Up, devour much flesh."
[5] Daniel
7:6 - A leopard: used to symbolize the swiftness with which Cyrus the Persian
established his kingdom. Four heads: corresponding to the four Persian kings of
Daniel 11:2.
[6] Daniel
7:7-8 - Alexander's empire was different from all the others in that it was
Western rather than Oriental in inspiration. The ten horns represent the kings
of the Seleucid dynasty, the only part of the Hellenistic empire that concerned
the author. The little horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 B.C.), the worst
of the Seleucid kings, who usurped the throne.
[7] Daniel
7:9-10 - A vision of the heavenly throne of God (the Ancient One), who sits in
judgment (symbolized by fire) over the nations. Some of the details of the
vision, depicting the divine majesty and omnipotence, are to be found in Ezekiel 1.
[8] Daniel
7:13-14 - One like a son of man: in contrast to the worldly kingdoms opposed to
God, which appear as beasts, the glorified people of God that will form his
kingdom on earth is represented in human form (Daniel 7:18). Just as our Lord applied the figure of the stone hewn from the mountain to Himself (Daniel 2:36-45), He also made the title "Son of Man" His most characteristic way of
referring to Himself, as the One in whom and through whom the salvation
of God's people came to be realized.
[9] Daniel
3:24 3,24-90: These verses are inspired additions to the Aramaic text of
Daniel, translated from the Greek form of the book. They were originally
composed in Hebrew or Aramaic, which has not been preserved. The church has
always regarded them as part of the canonical Scriptures.
[10] Luke
21:5-36 - Jesus' eschatological discourse in Luke is inspired by Mark 13 but Luke has made some significant alterations to the words of Jesus found
there. Luke maintains, though in a modified form, the belief in the early
expectation of the end of the age (Luke 21:27, 28, 31, 32, 36), but, by focusing attention throughout the gospel on the importance
of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of some of the signs
of the end from Mark 13 he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a
delay of the parousia. Mark, for example, described the desecration of the
Jerusalem temple by the Romans (Mark 13;14) as the apocalyptic symbol (see Daniel 9:27); 12:11 accompanying the end of the
age and the coming of the Son of Man. Luke (Luke 21:20-24), however, removes the apocalyptic setting and separates the
historical destruction of Jerusalem from the signs of the coming of the Son of Man
by a period that he refers to as "the times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). See also the footnotes on Matthew 24:1-36 and Mark 13:1-37.
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.