MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Wednesday - November 24, 2021

Wednesday - November 24, 2021

What does it profit you to give God one thing if he asks of you another? Consider what it is God wants, and then do it. You will satisfy your heart better than with something toward which you are inclined.

~~St. John of the Cross

November 24, 2021

Memorial of Saint Andrew Dŭng-Ląc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs
Lectionary: 505

 

Reading 1                                                     Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,

with whom he drank.

Under the influence of the wine,

he ordered the gold and silver vessels

which Nebuchadnezzar, his father,

had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,

to be brought in so that the king, his lords,

his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.

When the gold and silver vessels

taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in,

and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers

were drinking wine from them,

they praised their gods of gold and silver,

bronze and iron, wood and stone.

 

Suddenly, opposite the lampstand,

the fingers of a human hand appeared,

writing on the plaster of the wall in the king’s palace.

When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched;

his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook,

and his knees knocked.

 

Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king.

The king asked him, “Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile,

whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?

I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,

that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.

I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties;

if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means,

you shall be clothed in purple,

wear a gold collar about your neck,

and be third in the government of the kingdom.”

 

Daniel answered the king:

“You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else;

but the writing I will read for you, O king,

and tell you what it means.

You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.

You had the vessels of his temple brought before you,

so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers,

might drink wine from them;

and you praised the gods of silver and gold,

bronze and iron, wood and stone,

that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence.

But the God in whose hand is your life breath

and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.

 

By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.

 

“This is the writing that was inscribed:

MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.

These words mean:

MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;

TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;

PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67

 

R.    (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.

 

“Sun and moon, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“All you winds, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Fire and heat, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Cold and chill, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Rv 2:10c

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Remain faithful until death,

and I will give you the crown of life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 21:12-19

Jesus said to the crowd:

“They will seize and persecute you,

they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,

and they will have you led before kings and governors

because of my name.

It will lead to your giving testimony.

Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,

for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking

that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

You will even be handed over by parents,

brothers, relatives, and friends,

and they will put some of you to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.

By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

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HOW STRONG IS YOUR FAITH?

 

How strong is your faith? Don't measure it by how readily your prayers get answered. We're wrong if we assume that "I didn't get the help I prayed for because I don't have enough faith. If I had prayed more faithfully, God would have given me what I asked for and everything would have turned out better." Or, "I can't hear God, I can't be sure of what he's telling me, because my faith is weak, and that's why my life is not going as smoothly as it should."

 

No, our hearing might be weak or our ability to trust what the Lord is saying or doing might not be as strong as it should be, but faith is not measured by how easily our problems are solved. Faith is measured, as Jesus points out in today's Gospel reading, by our perseverance.

 

A few years ago, God demonstrated this lesson for me through a lizard. While I was driving to the office, a little lizard climbed to the passenger-side window, clinging for his life. It probably had come from my yard, but now it was going off to a place it had never been before. As we traveled the highway, the wind could easily have blown it loose from its grip and it would have fallen to the road and been squished by traffic. "Hang on, little lizard," I told it, remembering that God has said the same thing (more or less) to me many times.

 

Its head and its tail began succumbing to the force of the wind, but the lizard persisted in gripping the glass with its suction-cup toes. "Don't try to find a way out of this mess!" I told it, knowing that giving up just one toe-hold of suction could spell disaster.

 

What are you willing to endure for the sake of the kingdom of God? Can you endure a little longer and persevere by relying on the strength of Jesus when you don't feel strong enough to stick with the journey?

 

God has given me good news to report to you: The lizard made it safely to our destination, which has now become its new home. God also wants you to know that you, too, will arrive safely wherever he is taking you, if you just hang on.

 

He is taking you on a mission -- his mission. How much persecution are you willing to put up with because of your faith? Are you willing to risk losing your job when you're asked to do something unethical? How much grief from your family are you willing to tolerate (without retaliating) when they criticize you for going to Mass during a family gathering? How in love with Jesus in the Eucharist are you when tempted to leave the Church because priests or other Church leaders are not the Christ-like servants you want them to be?

 

If we let hardships, injustices, and persecutions cause us to lose our grips, we've given our lives over to the control of the worldly winds that blow. A strong faith is a determination to be holy and to continue the mission of Christ regardless of the reactions of others and the circumstances around us. Determination gives us the stamina and courage to put our faith into action regardless of the obstacles.

 

A strong faith lasts beyond reason, beyond common sense, beyond comfort, beyond worldly wisdom, beyond the natural instinct to seek vengeance for injustices or to quit. And this is the kind of faith that provides us with peace even while we're still waiting for our prayers to make a difference.

 

If your faith isn't this strong, turn to the Holy Spirit and make him your closest ally and support. Ask for supernatural perseverance. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 12:9). Since the Spirit of God dwells within us, we have all the faith that Jesus has. Now, that's a mighty strong suction on our determined little toes!

 

Today's Prayer

 

Beloved Jesus, Give me the grace of looking at You when hardships are severe. Hold me with Your love to be faithful to You, to trust You and to learn from those who walked the path of holiness before us. 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!”