MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Thursday - November 25, 2021

Thursday - November 25, 2021

A man who governs his passions 

is master of the world. 

We must either command them, 

or be enslaved by them. 

It is better to be a hammer than an anvil. 

-- St Dominic

November 25, 2021

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 506

 

Reading 1                                                     Dn 6:12-28

Some men rushed into the upper chamber of Daniel’s home

and found him praying and pleading before his God.

Then 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.”

To 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.”

The king was deeply grieved at this news

and he made up his mind to save Daniel;

he worked till sunset to rescue him.

But these men insisted.

They said, “Keep in mind, O king,

that under the Mede and Persian law

every royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable.”

So 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.”

To 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.

 

Then the king returned to his palace for the night;

he refused to eat and he dismissed the entertainers.

Since sleep was impossible for him,

the king rose very early the next morning

and hastened to the lions’ den.

As 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?”

Daniel answered the king: “O king, live forever!

My 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!”

This gave the king great joy.

At his order Daniel was removed from the den,

unhurt because he trusted in his God.

The 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.

 

Then King Darius wrote to the nations and peoples of every language,

wherever they dwell on the earth:  “All peace to you!

I 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.

    He is a deliverer and savior,

        working signs and wonders in heaven and on earth,

        and he delivered Daniel from the lions’ power.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Daniel 3:68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74

 

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

 

“Dew and rain, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Frost and chill, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Ice and snow, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Nights and days, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Light and darkness, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord;

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

“Let the earth bless the Lord,

    praise and exalt him above all forever.”

R.    Give glory and eternal praise to him.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Lk 21:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Stand erect and raise your heads

because your redemption is at hand.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples:

“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,

know that its desolation is at hand.

Then 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,

for these days are the time of punishment

when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.

Woe 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.

They 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.

 

“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.

People will die of fright

in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of Man

coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

But when these signs begin to happen,

stand erect and raise your heads

because your redemption is at hand.”

**************************************

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE SECOND COMING

The first part of Jesus' prophecy in today's Gospel passage has already come true. Jerusalem was surrounded by Roman soldiers in the year 70 A.D., who attacked the Holy City when it was crowded with Jews making a pilgrimage to celebrate the Passover. A few weeks later, the Roman general Titus encircled the city with his entire army and cut off all communication and food supplies.

 

The resulting famine was disastrous. On July 23rd, a Roman soldier flung a blazing torch into the Temple, striking close to the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctuary, the most sacred place of the whole world. The fire consumed everything and spread to other buildings. Soon, the whole Temple Mount was nothing but corpses and smoldering ruins. Few people survived. All that remained were the three towers of Herod's palace and the western wall of the mount (now known as the "Wailing Wall").

 

Jesus had said, "Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." Since the fall of Jerusalem under the Romans, we've been living in the "times of the Gentiles," the completion of which will take place when, as Jesus described next, the Son of Man will come on a cloud with great power and glory (his Second Coming).

 

Only God knows when the Second Coming will occur; whenever we guess, we're wrong. Meanwhile, throughout all of the more than 2,000 years of the times of the Gentiles, there have been "signs in the sun, the moon and the stars." We've had devastating natural disasters, and nations have been in anguish and dismay since the beginning of humankind. People have been dying from fright since the first disaster, and this will not end until Christ resurrects the whole world from the death and destruction of sin and the contamination of demons.

 

At the end of the times of the Gentiles, Christ will transform the earthly world into Paradise, evil will be destroyed, and all suffering will end.

 

The question is: What will we do today about the sufferings and the presence of evil that's on Earth now? Are we going to just sit and wait for our divine rescuer? Or are we going to go out into the world to bring Christ to the people who need a rescuer here and now?

 

For anyone to experience the Second Coming of Christ they must first experience the First. Jesus will be born within them when conversion begins in their hearts. His conception in them begins when we reveal what Jesus is really like by giving them his love and by letting them know that Jesus is the source of that love.

 

Rather than focus on what the Second Coming will be like, we're called to conquer the power of death by sharing Christ with others today.

 

Today's Prayer

 

My Lord, Teach me to discover that nothing escapes from Your sight and that our lives, the world, and our salvation are safe in Your hands. Amen.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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!”