MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Thursday - November 18, 2021

 

Thursday - November 18, 2021

The family is the most ancient institution which God founded in Paradise, when He called the first pair of human beings into existence. The first blessing which God gave was for the well being of the family. With family life, the history of the world commences.

 

-- St. John Vianney

November 18, 2021

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 500

 

Reading 1                                                     1 Mc 2:15-29

The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy

came to the city of Modein to organize the sacrifices.

Many of Israel joined them,

but Mattathias and his sons gathered in a group apart.

Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias:

“You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city,

supported by sons and kin.

Come now, be the first to obey the king’s command,

as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah

and those who are left in Jerusalem have done.

Then you and your sons shall be numbered among the King’s Friends,

and shall be enriched with silver and gold and many gifts.”

But Mattathias answered in a loud voice:

“Although all the Gentiles in the king’s realm obey him,

so that each forsakes the religion of his fathers

and consents to the king’s orders,

yet I and my sons and my kin

will keep to the covenant of our fathers.

God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.

We will not obey the words of the king

nor depart from our religion in the slightest degree.”

 

As he finished saying these words,

a certain Jew came forward in the sight of all

to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein

according to the king’s order.

When Mattathias saw him, he was filled with zeal;

his heart was moved and his just fury was aroused;

he sprang forward and killed him upon the altar.

At the same time, he also killed the messenger of the king

who was forcing them to sacrifice,

and he tore down the altar.

Thus he showed his zeal for the law,

just as Phinehas did with Zimri, son of Salu.

 

Then Mattathias went through the city shouting,

“Let everyone who is zealous for the law

and who stands by the covenant follow after me!”

Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons,

leaving behind in the city all their possessions.

Many who sought to live according to righteousness and religious custom

went out into the desert to settle there.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15

 

R.    (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

 

God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,

    from the rising of the sun to its setting.

From Zion, perfect in beauty,

    God shines forth.

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Gather my faithful ones before me,

    those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

And the heavens proclaim his justice;

    for God himself is the judge.

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Offer to God praise as your sacrifice

     and fulfill your vows to the Most High;

Then call upon me in time of distress;

    I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me.”

R.    To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Ps 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,

he saw the city and wept over it, saying,

“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–

but now it is hidden from your eyes.

For the days are coming upon you

when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;

they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.

They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,

and they will not leave one stone upon another within you

because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

 

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Thankfulness Makes for Peace

How can we feel thankful when so much is wrong, so much is difficult, so much is not the way we'd like it to be? In today's Gospel passage, we see Jesus crying. We know this same sorrow. We have felt the pain of crying for others, grieving over the harm that they are doing to themselves by remaining in sin or addictions or bad decisions, mourning also because of the harm that they are doing to us and to others.

 

When we have felt this way, we have felt his pain, Christ's own pain.

 

As he came within sight of Jerusalem while making his way down the Mount of Olives, Jesus stopped to look across the narrow valley and gaze into the soul of the city. He longed to give his peace to all those who lived there. Don't you sometimes feel the same way toward people you know?

 

United to Jesus, we can say: "If you only knew what makes for peace, but you have completely lost it from view!" We see how darkness surrounds them and how sin is infiltrating their walls. We're aware that if they had heeded our warnings or followed our advice, they would not be doing so poorly.

 

Crying because you care about someone who's rejecting the saving power of God is a great blessing to Jesus who cries with you.

 

But, what about the ways we reject God help? How can we feel thankful when it's us who have lost peace? Jesus has cried for you, too. Do you have any turmoil or stress within you? Jesus yearns to give you his peace.

 

Whatever is disturbing us, if we expect it be resolved the way we want it fixed and as fast as we demand it, we shall meet with disappointment and failure and hopelessness. We cannot see the good that God is doing while we're focused on our miseries and our own so-called solutions.

 

Stuck in our limited perspectives, we fail to recognize the time of Christ's visitation. Thus we reject what he offers us and we fail to notice that he is right here in front of us offering us a greater good than what we think we need. We fail to recognize how he's trying to bless our lives. Stuck in our frustrations, we reject what he offers, and thus we blunder deeper into the disasters that we're desperately trying to avoid.

 

The way out of this mess is to remember that we don't know everything and we really don't understand what's best for us. We cannot see how God, in his great love for us, is already turning our problems into blessings -- and this blindness is okay!

 

The way out of the mess is to thank God for whatever he is doing, trusting that of course his plans are good and that his timing is perfect. Thankfulness is what makes for peace.

 

Today's Prayer

 

My Lord, Open my senses, my heart and my mind, to be able to answer Your everyday calling. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”