Greetings on this the Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Readings: 1 Mc 2:15-29; PS 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15; Lk 19:41-44
Notes:
- Monday, the abandoning of the temple in favor of the Greek gymnasium.
- Tuesday, Eleazar refusing to violate his faith.
- Wednesday, Mother and her seven sons.
- Thursday, Mattathias and his sons.
- Friday, Judas and the purification of the temple, Hanukkah, November 28th, 2021.
- Saturday, King Antiochus, dies a defeated oppressor, realizes the depth of his self delusion.
First reading
After the desecration of the Temple, the temple was used for improper purposes and for false gods.
Mattathias, first among the Zealot and Essenes to come, fights back!
(I give Mattathias the title but really this is honorific only).
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
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.
Alleluia Verse
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
Gospel Portion
This warning of Jesus applies even today.
We must know the time of our visitation – for every human must.
Know this, he is speaking to the false faith practice and disingenuous lifestyles.
We must always move toward righteousness and Musar.
Take the hint from King Antiochus (Saturday’s reading to come):
I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come, and in what floods of sorrow am I now! Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule – seriously?
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/6?11
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem, when I carried away all the vessels of silver and gold that were in it, and for no cause gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1maccabees/6?12
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.”
Peace be with you,
Deacon Gerry
Deacon Gerry Palermo 