Monday, November 27, 2023

28-NOV-'23, The End Times - Tuesday of the 34th Week in OT


Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 504


Reading 1

Daniel 2:31-45

Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar:

"In your vision, O king, you saw a statue,

very large and exceedingly bright,

terrifying in appearance as it stood before you.

The head of the statue was pure gold,

its chest and arms were silver,

its belly and thighs bronze, the legs iron,

its feet partly iron and partly tile.

While you looked at the statue,

a stone which was hewn from a mountain

without a hand being put to it,

struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces.

The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once,

fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer,

and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace.

But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain

and filled the whole earth.


"This was the dream;

the interpretation we shall also give in the king's presence.

You, O king, are the king of kings;

to you the God of heaven

has given dominion and strength, power and glory;

men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell,

he has handed over to you, making you ruler over them all;

you are the head of gold.

Another kingdom shall take your place, inferior to yours,

then a third kingdom, of bronze,

which shall rule over the whole earth.

There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron;

it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others,

just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else.

The feet and toes you saw, partly of potter's tile and partly of iron,

mean that it shall be a divided kingdom,

but yet have some of the hardness of iron.

As you saw the iron mixed with clay tile,

and the toes partly iron and partly tile,

the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.

The iron mixed with clay tile

means that they shall seal their alliances by intermarriage,

but they shall not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

In the lifetime of those kings

the God of heaven will set up a kingdom

that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people;

rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms

and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever.

That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain

without a hand being put to it,

which broke in pieces the tile, iron, bronze, silver, and gold.

The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future;

this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure."


Responsorial Psalm

Daniel 3:57, 58, 59, 60, 61

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

"Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord,

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord,

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"You heavens, bless the Lord,

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord,

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.

"All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever."

R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.


Alleluia

Revelation 2:10c

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Remain faithful until death,

And I will give you the crown of life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Luke 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."


Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections


Remain At Peace in All Things


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.” Luke 21:5–6


In a literal way, this prophecy of our Lord came true. In 70 A.D., the Temple upon which they were commenting was destroyed. After prophesying this, Jesus then goes on to warn the disciples that there will be many confusions that will come. There will be false prophets, wars and insurrections, powerful earthquakes, famines, plagues, “and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.” Why does Jesus prophesy all of these things?


The answer was simple. He was not trying to scare them. He was not simply trying to satisfy their curiosity. Instead, He was warning them and preparing us all so that we do not become misled or terrified when they come. He says, “See that you not be deceived” and “do not be terrified.”


As the old saying goes, “Life is not a bowl of cherries.” While we live in this fallen world, chaos, confusion, deception, abuse, scandal, conflict and the like will be all around us. And when we do come face-to-face with any such difficulty, there is a temptation to fear, anger and despair. Be it family conflicts, civil unrest or even divisions within the Church itself, God wants us to remain at peace and to trust Him always.


Take Jesus’ own life as an example. He was arrested, falsely accused, sentenced to death and crucified. And through it all, He remained at peace, knowing that His suffering would become the very source of new life. God can use all things for good for those who love and serve Him.


Reflect, today, upon the undeniable fact that your life will involve difficulty. Sometimes that difficulty is self-imposed as a result of your sin, and sometimes it is unjustly imposed on account of the sin of another. Truth be told, we should only be concerned about our own sin. If other challenges come your way that are out of your control, then use those challenges as opportunities to trust. Entrust all things to God, every suffering, every persecution, every tragedy, every struggle, everything. If God the Father could bring about the greatest good ever known through the brutal murder of His own divine Son, then He can certainly do the same with all that you offer to Him in trust. Trust at all times and in all circumstances, and our all-powerful Lord will bring good from everything.


Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body


THE CERTAINTY OF THE END AND HIS COMING


“The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall...break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever.” —Daniel 2:44

The vision Daniel interpreted has been the pattern of history (Dn 2:31ff). Great kingdom after great kingdom has been destroyed. Even the Temple and the city of God, Jerusalem, were destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. (Lk 21:6). Jesus prophesied that the fall of Jerusalem would be a prefigurement of the end of the world. “The present heavens and earth are reserved by God’s word for fire; they are kept for the day of judgment, the day when godless men will be destroyed” (2 Pt 3:7). “What we await are new heavens and a new earth where, according to His promise, the justice of God will reside” (2 Pt 3:13).


Despite the historical proof of the accuracy of Jesus’ prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction, many people, even Christians, doubt that Jerusalem’s destruction prefigures the end of the world. However, most of the major critics of Christ’s prophecy of the world’s end have already been thrown on the garbage heap of history. For example, Karl Marx portrayed Christian eschatology as an escape from taking responsibility for justice in this world. He called Christianity “the opium of the people.” Although millions still believe Marx’s critique of Christianity, the breakdown of Marxist Communism in the former Soviet Union proved its weakness. The critics of Christianity and of its eschatology are passing away, but God’s Word will last forever (Lk 21:33).


Let the world end and Jesus return.


Prayer:  Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! (Rv 22:20)


Promise:  “The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future.” —Dn 2:45


Praise:  Praise You, Almighty Father. We glorify You and believe we “will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with great power and glory” (Lk 21:27).


Reflection 3

By Fr. Antoni ORIOL i Tataret

(Vic, Barcelona, Spain)


“There will not be left a stone upon another stone”


Today, we listen astounded to the Lord's severe warning: “The days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” (Lk 21:6). Jesus' words can be placed in the antipodes of the so called “indefinite human progress culture” or, if preferred, of the unstoppable evolution of some techno/scientific and political/military leaders of the human species.


Where from? Where to? This, nobody knows and nobody can tell, other than, in the last instance, a supposed eternal matter that denies God while, at the same time, usurping His attributes. Amazing, how they try to make us swallow it hook, line and sinker, who, on their side, refuse to accept the temporality and precarious status typical of our human condition!


As disciples of the Son of God-Made-Man, Jesus, we hear His very words and, while making them ours, we ponder over them. He is saying: “See that you not be deceived” (Lk 21:8). This is asserted by He, Who came to bear witness of the truth, while affirming that those belonging to the truth listen to His voice.


And He adds: “It will not immediately be the end” (Lk 21:9). Which means, on the one hand, that we still have time for salvation and we must take advantage of that; and, on the other, that the end will come, anyway. Yes, Jesus, will come “to judge the living and the dead”, as we profess in the Creed.


Dear readers of Contemplating Today's Gospel, dear brothers and friends: a few verses further down this fragment I'm commenting on now, Jesus encourages us and consoles us with these words that I repeat in His name: “By your perseverance, you will secure your lives” (Lk 21:19).


By trying to be a warm and cordial echo of these words, and with the energy of a Christian hymn, we shall exhort one another: “Let us persevere, as we are already attaining the summit with our hands!”


Prayers


My most powerful Lord, You warned us of the many hardships that would come our way before Your glorious return. You did so to help prepare us and to strengthen us in those moments of testing. Please give me the grace I need to always trust in You and to surrender over to You every cross I carry. I do believe, dear Lord, that You can bring good from everything, even those things that are most difficult in life. Jesus, I trust in You.


Lord Jesus, your grace and mercy abounds even in the midst of trials and difficulties. Help me to seek your kingdom first and to reject whatever would hinder me from pursuing your way of peace, righteousness, and holiness. Fill me with the joy and hope of your everlasting kingdom.


Lord, may I never grow weary of offering You every pain and suffering I endure.  When serious hardships come my way, help me to give them to You.  When small discomforts come my way, help me to give them to You.  I unite all things to Your glorious Cross, dear Lord, and trust in Your unfathomable power to transform them.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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