34th Week in Ordinary Time
29th November 2023 (Wednesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
In those days: King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king's colour changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. “I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold round your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. You have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honoured. “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is the interpretation of the Matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 (R. 59b)
R/. Sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Be faithful unto death, says the Lord, and I will give you the crown of life.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 21:12-19
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Put to test but not lost!
Guidlines: Fidelity to truth and to the Lord will certainly bring a lot of opposition and persecution upon those who stand for truth and God. But it is worth standing!{alertSuccess}
1. Following Christ and his values is not an easy task. It will invite many adversities and afflictions. For that matter, anyone who stands for God and good will come across suffering and persecution. The simple reason is a world whose values are shallow and compromising cannot accept such contrasts and challenges.
2. The same will be the fate of the disciples of Christ. If they are truly faithful to their master, then they too will have the same fate as their master – opposition, persecution, trial, and death. In the gospel, Jesus predicts what would befall his disciples because of their fidelity. They will be unjustly opposed, arrested, put to trial and persecuted. They will be betrayed even by their own family and even put to death.
3. People of the world turn and rise against the people of God. A sample of this we see in the first reading. King Belshazzar along with his household and a number of his lords commits a sacrilege by drinking from the holy vessels of the temple of Jerusalem. He has lifted himself against the Lord of heaven. They have praised the gods of silver and gold, etc. while they do not honour the true God in whose hand is all breath and all our ways.
4. Similarly, there are many who divinize the merely earthly and the worldly. They desecrate and profane the sacred. They do not honour and adhere to the true God but pose themselves against Him. Naturally, these cause trouble for the true followers.
5. In such times, what must the followers do? Do not be disturbed or waver in your minds. But trust and confide in God’s minute care because “not a hair of our head will perish”. Besides, He will supply the wisdom to confront and defeat the enemy. Endure to the end. Be convinced of the just judgment of God.
6. As in the case of the king, there will be for sure a “writing on the wall” against all who do evil. The same words of judgment, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin” will apply to every evil-minded. God numbers the days of every evil kingdom and brings it to an end. Evil people are weighed in the balances and found wanting. Their kingdom, that is all that they possess and hold dear will be dispersed.
Practice: The times of suffering and persecution are not fighting a losing battle. It is indeed an opportune time to bear testimony to our faith and love for the Lord{alertSuccess}