November
21, 2015
Memorial
of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Reading
1
1As
King Antiochus was traversing the inland provinces, he heard that in Persia
there was a city called Elymais, famous for its wealth in silver and gold,[1] 2and
that its temple was very rich, containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons left there by
Alexander, son of Philip, king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
3He
went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city. But he could not do
so, because his plan became known to the people of the city 4who rose up in
battle against him. So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there to
return to Babylon.
5While
he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news that the armies sent into the
land of Judah had been put to flight; 6that Lysias had gone at first with a
strong army and been driven back by the children of Israel; that they had grown
strong by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions taken from the
armies they had destroyed; 7that they had pulled down the Abomination which he
had built upon the altar in Jerusalem; and that they had surrounded with high
walls both the sanctuary, as it had been before, and his city of Beth-zur.
8When
the king heard this news, he was struck with fear and very much shaken. Sick
with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed. 9There he
remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow, for he knew he was going to die.
10So
he called in all his Friends and said to them: “Sleep has departed from my
eyes, for my heart is sinking with anxiety. 11I said to myself: ‘Into what
tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
12Yet
I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’ But I now recall the evils I did in
Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver that were in
it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed. 13I
know that this is why these evils have overtaken me; and now I am dying, in
bitter grief, in a foreign land.”
Responsorial
Psalm
2 I
will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will declare all your
wondrous deeds. 3I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your
name, Most High.
R.
I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
4Because
my enemies are turned back, overthrown and destroyed before you. 6You rebuked
the nations and destroyed the wicked; their name you blotted out forever and
ever.
R.
I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
16The
nations are sunk in the pit they have made; in the snare they set, their foot
is caught. 19For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor shall the hope of
the afflicted forever perish.
R.
I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
Alleluia
see 2 Timothy 1;10
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Our
Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and
brought life to light through the Gospel.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
27Some
Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put
this question to Jesus,[2] 28saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no
child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.
29Now
there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. 30Then
the second 31and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died
childless. 32Finally the woman also died. 33Now at the resurrection whose wife
will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”
34Jesus
said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; 35but those who are
deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither
marry nor are given in marriage. 36They can no longer die, for they are like
angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will
rise.[3]
37That
the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he
called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; 38and
He is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
39Some
of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” 40And they no
longer dared to ask Him anything.
Notes
on Readings:
[1] 1 Maccabees 6:1 - Elymais: the mountainous region of Elam, north of the Persian Gulf. This
section continues the story from 1 Maccabees 3:37 and pertains to events
preceding those in 1 Maccabees 4:37-39 .
[2] Luke
20:28-33 - The Sadducees' question, based on the law of levirate marriage
recorded in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, ridicules the idea of the resurrection. Jesus rejects their naive
understanding of the resurrection (Luke 25:5-10) and then argues on behalf of the resurrection of the dead on the basis of the
written law (Luke 20:37-38) that the Sadducees accept. See also the footnotes on Matthew 22:23-33.
[3] Luke 20:36 - Because
they are the ones who will rise: literally, "being sons of the
resurrection."
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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.