Saturday - November 23, 2019
All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.
~~St. John Vianney
All our religion is but a false religion, and all our virtues are mere illusions and we ourselves are only hypocrites in the sight of God, if we have not that universal charity for everyone - for the good, and for the bad, for the poor and for the rich, and for all those who do us harm as much as those who do us good.
~~St. John Vianney
November 23 2019
Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 502
Reading 11 MC 6:1-13
As 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,
and 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.
He 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
who rose up in battle against him.
So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there
to return to Babylon.
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news
that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that 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;
that 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.
When 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.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow,
for he knew he was going to die.
So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
"Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: 'Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet 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.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land."
he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais,
famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
and 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.
He 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
who rose up in battle against him.
So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there
to return to Babylon.
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news
that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that 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;
that 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.
When 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.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow,
for he knew he was going to die.
So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
"Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: 'Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet 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.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land."
Responsorial PsalmPS 9:2-3, 4 AND 6, 16 AND 19
R. (see 16a) I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I 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.
Because my enemies are turned back,
overthrown and destroyed before you.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
For 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.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I 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.
Because my enemies are turned back,
overthrown and destroyed before you.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
For 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.
AlleluiaSEE 2 TM 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 20:27-40
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"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.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but 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.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That 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;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."
Some of the scribes said in reply,
"Teacher, you have answered well."
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"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.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but 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.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That 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;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."
Some of the scribes said in reply,
"Teacher, you have answered well."
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
******************************
Are Spouses Reunited in the Afterlife?
On our wedding day we the vows from "till death do us part".....
But Jesus says there are no marriages in heaven. How will this affect my relationship with my spouse after one or both of us have passed from earthly life?
The Catholic Catechism (paragraph 1638) explains: "From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive...." Perpetual means "from this day forward". Eternally. So then, what did Jesus mean when he said that people in heaven do not marry? I'm sure he wasn't implying that only if we leave earth married can we have spouses in heaven. He was teaching about something far deeper and more profound.
To understand it, let's look at what the Catechism means by "a valid marriage". Paragraph 1639 says: "The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself" (as Jesus says in Mark 10:9, "Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate"). Note: a valid marriage is one in which both spouses freely and fully give themselves to each other. Many marriages are not valid because one or both gave lip service, not their hearts, to this vow; they did not or (due to mental disability) could not give themselves whole-heartedly to their spouse.
When the bride and groom truly submit to one another by giving their whole selves to the other (as the famous Ephesians 5:21-33 verses about marriage describe: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ....") they commit themselves to a divine covenant. As the Catechism states, "The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God's covenant with man: 'Authentic married love is caught up into divine love.'..." Sealed by God himself! Paragraph 1640: "Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved."
So what happens to the relationship in the after-life? It becomes much more profound.
Think about what love is like in heaven. Right now, I love Ralph more than I do almost everyone else. In heaven, I will love everyone to the full. While Ralph and I will forever have a special history together, the purified advancement of our marriage bond in heaven will be the authentic, fully self-giving love that we'll have for everyone. Everyone!
Think about what the body is like in heaven. On earth, couples have a physical attraction toward each other that often leads to unity of the bodies (sexual relations). The desire for sexual activity is basic to every creature in order to continue the species. Unlike the animals, though, we have been given the ability to control our instincts and are called to celibacy if we are not in a valid marriage. Humans are higher than animals in the hierarchy of God's creations. To choose celibacy, as priests, religious, and non-married couples are called to do, is to embrace this superiority.
This is why Jesus said that some "live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12). It might be hard to imagine, but love -- full and complete and intimate and deeply profound -- surpasses the animal nature in us. This is what love is like in heaven. It surpasses the animal nature's physical desires. We will be "like angels" (Luke 20:36); we will not be like animals.
In short, there is no need for marriage in heaven. But we will love the one who had been our earthly spouse more than we can right now. And those who have ex-spouses who reach heaven will have a wonderfully full love for the one they had divorced. If you have a spouse who has passed from earth to at least purgatory where sin no longer exists, that one is loving you more right now than you ever knew before. He or she is praying for you with perfect love -- your personal patron saint.
The kingdom of God on earth is an incomplete version of heaven. From it we can get clues of what life will be like. I can imagine Ralph and me, after we have both passed on into eternity, continuing to pray together for our children and others like we do now but much more effectively. I can imagine us having great fun together in the same-but-better holy ways that we do now. And in the fullness of love that is God's holy presence permeating everything and everyone, we'll celebrate the anniversary of our earthly bonding throughout eternity, but not by going away alone together for a romantic getaway. We'll be partying with all the saints and angels.
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God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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