MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - November 22, 2021

 

Tuesday - November 22, 2022

It is difficult to live a saintly life in this world even with the best of intentions. There always exists the dangerous menace of one's being left entirely to oneself and also the probability of one's being absorbed by work, by the necessities of life, and by the occupations of every sort which conditions or our own will impose. Then too, one is most always ignorant of the right road to pursue!

-- St. Peter Eymard

November 22, 2022

MEMORIAL OF SAINT CECILIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR

Lectionary: 504

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    RV 14:14-19

 

I, John, looked and there was a white cloud,

and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man,

with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Another angel came out of the temple,

crying out in a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud,

“Use your sickle and reap the harvest,

for the time to reap has come,

because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.”

So the one who was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth,

and the earth was harvested.

 

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven

who also had a sharp sickle.

Then another angel came from the altar, who was in charge of the fire,

and cried out in a loud voice

to the one who had the sharp sickle,

“Use your sharp sickle and cut the clusters from the earth’s vines,

for its grapes are ripe.”

So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and cut the earth’s vintage.

He threw it into the great wine press of God’s fury.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  96:10, 11-12, 13

 

R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.

 

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.

He has made the world firm, not to be moved;

he governs the peoples with equity.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

let the sea and what fills it resound;

let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!

Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Before the LORD, for he comes;

for he comes to rule the earth.

He shall rule the world with justice

and the peoples with his constancy.

R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

 

Alleluia                                                         RV 2:10C

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Remain faithful until death,

and I will give you the crown of life.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           LK 21:5-11

 

While some people were speaking about

how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,

Jesus said, “All that you see here–

the days will come when there will not be left

a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

 

Then they asked him,

“Teacher, when will this happen?

And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”

He answered,

“See that you not be deceived,

for many will come in my name, saying,

‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’

Do not follow them!

When you hear of wars and insurrections,

do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,

but it will not immediately be the end.”

Then he said to them,

“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues

from place to place;

and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.”

 

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

The Glory of Judgment Day

Are you afraid of being judged by Jesus? Don’t be! The Judgment Day is good news for us, bad news for evil.

 

Consider that the Bible, as a whole, is the story of salvation – it’s your story, your journey to heaven. It began once upon a time in the book of Genesis, when God created humankind and knew full well that you would eventually be one of his masterpieces. He said, “This is good!” He wasn’t speaking generically. He wasn’t speaking only about Adam and Eve and other early humans. The all-knowing Creator was referring to you, also.

 

“This is good!” he said about you in the very moment that you were conceived in your mother’s womb. You became his precious child when your life began; not when you took your first breath, not when your fetal heart began to beat, but when God selected one sperm out of 200 million to unite with one egg, creating a very special you.

 

Throughout your life outside the womb, you’ve been like the Israelites in the Old Testament: You’ve been journeying toward the Savior, sometimes straying in wrong directions, eventually reaching the promised land where you are now. Your story will end in the book of Revelation, when heaven is revealed to you in all its glory.

 

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus and the disciples are discussing the final day of judgment. The responsorial Psalm says, “The Lord comes to judge the earth.” In the first reading, Jesus reaps two kinds of harvests: the earth’s harvest and the grape harvest.

 

In the earth’s harvest, all God’s people are gathered into heaven. This scripture connects back to Matthew 9:37, where Jesus asked for an increase of laborers to work in the harvesting fields of God’s kingdom.

 

In the grape harvest, all evil is cut from the earth and destroyed. This verse connects back to Isaiah 63:3, where the Messiah’s garments are stained by the blood of evil-doers.

 

We are grateful for his sacrificial cure for our sins. Therefore, we are already redeemed. When we die, we the redeemed will be blessed and filled with joy because we’ve been freed from evil. (Even those in purgatory rejoice, because they have escaped Satan and his destructive plans.) In the meantime, Jesus warns us to be careful of false beliefs and unholy decisions.

 

While we are still living out our story on earth, the hurts and struggles and other battles that we endure are used by God – if we agree – to strengthen our victorious living. The earthquakes of disrupted plans, the famines of insufficient love from others, and the plagues of diseases and difficulties are all redeemed by God – if we let him do it – so that no evil has any victory whatsoever. Where evil seems to be winning right now, that’s only temporary. Jesus has already won the battle.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Thank You, my Lord, because You talk to me and teach me how to recognize Your voice and how to look beyond earthly things. 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!”