Learn to be silent sometimes for the edification of others,
that you may learn how to speak sometimes.
~~St. Vincent Ferrer
Learn to be silent sometimes for the edification of others,
that you may learn how to speak sometimes.
~~St. Vincent Ferrer
MEMORIAL OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Lectionary: 503
Reading I
RV 14:1-3, 4B-5
I, John, looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion,
and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
I heard a sound from heaven
like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder.
The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
They were singing what seemed to be a new hymn before the throne,
before the four living creatures and the elders.
No one could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been ransomed from the earth.
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
They have been ransomed as the first fruits
of the human race for God and the Lamb.
On their lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished.
Responsorial Psalm PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Alleluia MT 24:42A, 44
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia
Gospel LK 21:1-4
When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, “I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”
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IT TAKES TRUST TO FOLLOW JESUS
Today’s first reading describes the redeemed. The number 144,000 was derived from the mathematical square of the 12 tribes of Israel multiplied by a thousand (i.e., a very large amount) and means “ALL”: the new Israel embracing all followers of Christ from every nation and language.
This scripture is not just about heaven nor the world after the Second Coming of Christ. We today, here in our contemporary world, have been redeemed from the destruction of sin. We are saints because we’ve been washed clean by our baptisms. We remain saints by our daily decisions to continue following Christ. Though we still sin, we return to our saintly nature through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and through the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass.
However, following Jesus requires a tremendous amount of trust. Look at the widow in today’s Gospel reading. How could she give what she could not afford? Did she believe that God would reward her with a kitchen full of groceries? Probably not. That wasn’t the point Jesus was trying to make. What she gave more of, Jesus implied, was love. She was more in love with God than those who based their donations on the surplus of their wealth. Her stewardship was based on her love for God and her awareness of his love for her.
Trust comes from a mutual exchange of genuine love. We’ve become distrustful because people have violated our trust. Of course, we know that God is far more trustable than they are. Thus, we can be like that widow who loved God so much that trusting him to take care of her felt natural.
Think of Christian parents who send their grown children off into their adult lives. The newly fledged, inexperienced young adults explore their independence in a college or work environment where there are many temptations to discard what their parents have taught them. This usually coincides with letting go of their parents’ faith in order to take personal ownership of the faith, which can take years and which makes them even more vulnerable to temptation, especially in today’s culture.
Parents who love Jesus find themselves praying for their children much more fervently now. Trusting Jesus becomes crucial for sanity! Their ability to influence their children’s lives has become like the widow’s two small coins. There is very little to give their children that will make a difference, but they give it with great love. It’s a sacrificial love that their children won’t understand until they have children of their own. But Jesus understands, approves, and appreciates the gift.
If you are currently experiencing the suffering that comes from that kind of sacrificial love, be assured that your prayers for your children are healing balm for Jesus. Although they have rejected your faith and your guidance, Jesus feels the pain worse than you do. You could be anesthetizing yourself from the angst of knowing that your children have rejected you and your faith, by convincing yourself that “it’s really all okay; to each his own,” but Jesus would miss the union that he longs to have with you. Your tears, your heartbreak, your prayers that come from deep longings for your children’s spiritual welfare are your gift to Jesus: You are sharing in his burdens, lightening his load.
When we entrust the little we have to our Lord’s mighty power, God redeems their value. We live the life of the redeemed!
Today's Prayer
My Lord, may my confidence in You help me to overcome my deepest fears. Thank You, Lord, because You want to be my security. Amen.
God Bless You.....
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