November
26, 2015
Thursday
of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
In
the USA : Thanksgiving Day
Saint
of the Day: Saint Peter of Alexandria, Bishop & Martyr (311)
Reading
1
12Some
men rushed into the upper chamber of Daniel’s home and
found him praying and pleading before his God. 13Then
they went to remind the king about the prohibition: “Did
you not decree, O king, that
no one is to address a petition to god or man for
thirty days, except to you, O king; otherwise
he shall be cast into a den of lions?” The
king answered them, “The decree is absolute, irrevocable
under the Mede and Persian law.”
14To
this they replied, “Daniel, the Jewish exile, has
paid no attention to you, O king, or
to the decree you issued; three
times a day he offers his prayer.” 15The
king was deeply grieved at this news and
he made up his mind to save Daniel;
he
worked till sunset to rescue him. 16But
these men insisted. They
said, “Keep in mind, O king, that
under the Mede and Persian law every
royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable.”
17So
the king ordered Daniel to be brought and cast into the lions’ den. To
Daniel he said, “May
your God, whom you serve so constantly, save you.”[1] 18To
forestall any tampering, the
king sealed with his own ring and the rings of the lords the
stone that had been brought to block the opening of the den.
19Then
the king returned to his palace for the night; he
refused to eat and he dismissed the entertainers. Since
sleep was impossible for him, 20the
king rose very early the next morning and
hastened to the lions’ den. 21As
he drew near, he cried out to Daniel sorrowfully, “O
Daniel, servant of the living God, has
the God whom you serve so constantly been
able to save you from the lions?”
22Daniel
answered the king: “O king, live forever! 23My
God has sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so
that they have not hurt me. For
I have been found innocent before him; neither
to you have I done any harm, O king!” 24This
gave the king great joy. At
his order Daniel was removed from the den, unhurt
because he trusted in his God.
25The
king then ordered the men who had accused Daniel, along
with their children and their wives, to
be cast into the lions’ den. Before
they reached the bottom of the den, the
lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
26Then
King Darius wrote to the nations and peoples of every language, wherever
they dwell on the earth: “All peace to you! 27I
decree that throughout my royal domain the
God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared: “For He is the living God, enduring forever; His
Kingdom shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be without end. 28He
is a deliverer and savior, working
signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, and He delivered Daniel from the lions’ power.”
Responsorial
Psalm
R.
(59b) Give glory and eternal praise to Him.
68“Dew
and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him.
69“Frost
and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him.
70“Ice
and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him.
71“Nights
and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him.
72“Light
and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him.
73“Lightnings
and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to Him.
74“Let
the earth 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
20Jesus
said to His disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that
its desolation is at hand.[2] 21Then
those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Let
those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not
enter the city, 22for these days are the time of punishment when all the
Scriptures are fulfilled.
23Woe
to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity
will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. 24They will
fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and
Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until
the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.[3][4]
25“There
will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be
in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People
will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the
powers of the heavens will be shaken.[5] 27And
then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because
your redemption is at hand.”
Notes on Readings:
[1] Daniel
6:17 - The lions' den: a pit too deep to be easily scaled; its opening was
blocked with a stone (verse 18).
[2] 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 (see 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.
[3] Luke
21:24 - The times of the Gentiles: a period of indeterminate length separating
the destruction of Jerusalem from the cosmic signs accompanying the coming of
the Son of Man.
[4] Luke
21:20-24 - The actual destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in A.D. 70 upon which
Luke and his community look back provides the assurance that, just as Jesus'
prediction of Jerusalem's destruction was fulfilled, so too will be his
announcement of their final redemption (Luke 21:27-28).
[5] Luke
21:26 - The powers of the heavens: the heavenly bodies mentioned in Luke 21:25 and
thought of as cosmic armies.
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.