November
18, 2015
Wednesday
of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Saint
of the Day: Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne
Reading
1
1It happened that seven brothers with
their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king, to
force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law.
20Most admirable and worthy of
everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who
saw her seven sons perish in a single day, yet
bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.
21Filled with a noble spirit that
stirred her womanly heart with manly courage,
she
exhorted each of them in
the language of their ancestors with these words:
22“I do not know how you came into
existence in my womb; it
was not I who gave you the breath of life, nor
was it I who set in order the
elements of which each of you is composed.
23Therefore, since it is the Creator of
the universe who
shapes each man’s beginning, as He brings about the origin of everything, He,
in His mercy, will
give you back both breath and life, because
you now disregard yourselves for the sake of His law.”
24Antiochus, suspecting insult in her
words, thought
he was being ridiculed. As
the youngest brother was still alive, the king appealed to him, not
with mere words, but with promises on oath, to
make him rich and happy if he would abandon his ancestral customs: he
would make him his Friend and
entrust him with high office.
25When the youth paid no attention to
him at all, the
king appealed to the mother,
urging
her to advise her boy to save his life. 26After he had urged her for a long
time, she
went through the motions of persuading her son.
27In derision of the cruel tyrant, she
leaned over close to her son and said in their native language: “Son,
have pity on me, who carried you in my womb for nine months, nursed
you for three years, brought you up, educated
and supported you to your present age.
28I beg you, child, to look at the
heavens and the earth and
see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of
existing things; and in the same way the human race came into existence. [1]
29Do not be afraid of this executioner, but
be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so
that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them.”
30She had scarcely finished speaking
when the youth said: “What
are you waiting for? I
will not obey the king’s command. I
obey the command of the law given to our fathers through Moses.
31But you, who have contrived every
kind of affliction for the Hebrews, will
not escape the hands of God.”
Responsorial
Psalm
R.
(15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
17Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to
my outcry;
hearken
to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R.
Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
5My steps have been steadfast in your
paths, my feet have not faltered.
6I call upon you, for you will answer
me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word.
R.
Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
8bKeep me as the apple of your eye; hide
me in the shadow of your wings.
15But I in justice shall behold your
face; on waking, I shall be content in your presence.
R.
Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
I
chose you from the world,
to
go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
11While people were listening to Jesus
speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they
thought that the Kingdom of God
would
appear there immediately.[2]
12So he said, “A nobleman went off to a
distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. 13He called ten of his servants and gave them
ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’[3]
14His fellow citizens, however,
despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, ‘We do not want this
man to be our king.’
15But when he returned after obtaining
the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to
learn what they had gained by trading.
16The first came forward and said, ‘Sir,
your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.’ 17He replied, ‘Well done, good servant! You
have been faithful in this very small matter; take
charge of ten cities.’
18Then the second came and reported, ‘Your
gold coin, sir, has earned five more.’
19And to this servant too he said, ‘You,
take charge of five cities.’
20Then the other servant came and said, ‘Sir,
here is your gold coin; I
kept it stored away in a handkerchief, 21for I was afraid of you, because you
are a demanding man; you
take up what you did not lay down and
you harvest what you did not plant.’
22He said to him, ‘With
your own words I shall condemn you, you
wicked servant.
You
knew I was a demanding man, taking
up what I did not lay down and
harvesting what I did not plant; 23why did you not put my money in a
bank? Then
on my return I would have collected it with interest.’
24And to those standing by he said, ‘Take
the gold coin from him and
give it to the servant who has ten.’ 25But they said to him, ‘Sir,
he has ten gold coins.’ 26He replied, ‘I tell you, to
everyone who has, more will be given, but
from the one who has not, even
what he has will be taken away.
27Now as for those enemies of mine who
did not want me as their king, bring
them here and slay them before me.’” 28After he had said this, he
proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.[4]
Notes on Readings:
[1] 2
Maccabess 7:28 - God did not make them out of existing things: that is, God made
all things solely by His omnipotent will and His creative word; compare with Hebrews 11:3.
[2] Luke
19:11-27 - In this parable Luke has combined two originally distinct parables:
(1) a parable about the conduct of faithful and productive servants (Luke 19:13) , 15b-26 and (2) a parable about a rejected king
(Luke 19:12,14-15a, 27). The story about the conduct of servants occurs in another form in Matthew 25;14-20 . The story about the rejected king may have originated with a contemporary
historical event.
After the death of Herod the Great, his son Archelaus traveled to Rome to
receive the title of king. A delegation of Jews appeared in Rome before Caesar
Augustus to oppose the request of Archelaus. Although not given the title of
king, Archelaus was made ruler over Judea and Samaria. As the story is used by
Luke, however, it furnishes a correction to the expectation of the imminent end
of the age and of the establishment of the kingdom in Jerusalem (Luke 19:11). Jesus is not on His way to Jerusalem to receive the kingly power; for that, He
must go away and only after returning from the distant country (a reference to
the parousia) will reward and judgment take place.
[3] Luke
19:13 - Ten gold coins: literally, "ten minas." A mina was a monetary
unit that in ancient Greece was the equivalent of one hundred drachmas.
[4] Luke
19:28-⇒
21:38 - With the royal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, a new section of Luke's
gospel begins, the ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem before His death and
resurrection. Luke suggests that this was a lengthy ministry in Jerusalem (Luke 19:47; 20:1; 21:37-38; 22:53 and it is characterized by Jesus' daily teaching in the temple (Luke 21:37-38). For the story of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, see also Matthew 21:1-11;
Mark 11:1-10 ; John 12;12-19 and the footnotes there.
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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.