33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Red)
St. Cecilia, virgin & martyr
Ps 17:1bcd, 5-6, 8b & 15
Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
1st Reading: 2 Mac 7:1, 20-31
It happened also that seven brothers were arrested with their mother. The king had them scourged and flogged to force them to eat the flesh of a pig which was prohibited by the law.
More than all of them, their mother ought to be admired and remembered. She saw her seven sons die in a single day. But she endured it even with joy for she had put her hope in the Lord. Full of a noble sense of honor, she encouraged each one of them in the language of their ancestors. Her woman’s heart was moved by manly courage, so she told them:
“I wonder how you were born of me; it was not I who gave you breath and life, nor I who ordered the matter of your body. The Creator of the world who formed man in the beginning and ordered the unfolding of all creation shall in his mercy, give you back breath and life, since you now despise them for love of his laws.”
Antiochus thought that she was making fun of him and suspected that she had insulted him. As the youngest was still alive, the king tried to win him over not only with his words, but even promised to make him rich and happy, if he would abandon the traditions of his ancestors. He would make him his Friend and appoint him to a high position in the kingdom. But as the young man did not pay him any attention, the king ordered the mother to be brought in. He urged her to advise her son in order to save his life. After being asked twice by the king, she agreed to persuade her son. She bent over him and fooled the cruel tyrant by saying in her ancestral language:
“My son, have pity on me. For nine months I carried you in my womb and suckled you for three years; I raised you up and educated you until this day. I ask you now, my son, that when you see the heavens, the earth and all that is in it, you know that God made all this from nothing, and the human race as well. Do not fear these executioners, but make yourself worthy of your brothers—accept death that you may again meet your brothers in the time of mercy.”
When she finished speaking, the young man said, “What are you waiting for? I do not obey the king’s order but the precepts of the law given by Moses to our ancestors. And you who have devised such tortures against the Hebrews, shall not escape the hands of God.
Gospel: Lk 19:11-28
Jesus was now near Jerusalem, and the people with him thought that God‘s reign was about to appear. So as they were listening to him, Jesus went on to tell them a parable. He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country in order to be crowned king, after which he planned to return home. Before he left, he summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds of silver. He said, ‘Put this money to work until I get back.‘ But his compatriots, who disliked him, sent a delegation after him with this message, ‘We do not want this man to be our king.‘
He returned, however, appointed as king. At once he sent for the servants, to whom he had given the money, to find out what profit each had made. The first came in, and reported, ‘Sir, your pound of silver has earned ten more pounds of silver.‘
The master replied, ‘Well done, my good servant! Since you have proved yourself faithful in a small matter, I can trust you to take charge of ten cities.‘ The second reported, ‘Sir, your pound of silver earned five more pounds of silver.‘ The master replied, ‘And you, take charge of five cities!‘
The third came in, and said, ‘Sir, here is your money, which I hid for safekeeping. I was afraid of you, for you are an exacting person: you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.‘
The master replied, ‘You worthless servant, I will judge you by your own words! So you knew I was an exacting person, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? Why, then, did you not put my money on loan, so that, when I got back, I could have collected it with interest?‘
Then the master said to those standing by, ‘Take from him that pound, and give it to the one with ten pounds.‘ But they objected, ‘Sir, he already has ten pounds!‘
The master replied, ‘I tell you, everyone who has will be given more; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for my enemies who did not want me to be their king, bring them in, and execute them right here in front me!‘“
So Jesus spoke, and then he passed on ahead of them, on his way to Jerusalem.
REFLECTION:
It must have been painful for a mother to see her child dying. Doubly agonizing it is for a mother to see her child being killed in front of her. Completely heartbreaking, however, is for a mother to see all her sons die in a single day. This exactly was the fate of the mother of the seven brothers whom King Antiochus put to death for refusing to abandon the tradition of their ancestors. What is amazing here is that “full of a noble sense of honor, she encouraged each one of them in the language of their ancestors“ to bravely face death instead of despising their traditions. Even more remarkable, “she endured it even with joy she had put her hope in the Lord.“
What this mother had undergone reminds us of the suffering that the Mother of God has endured while she was at the foot of the cross witnessing the passion of her dying son Jesus. It was painful for her to see her son dying on the cross. But like the mother of the seven brothers, Mary patiently bore the pains for she knew it was necessary for her son to die as ransom for many.
Coincidentally, we also celebrate today the memorial of another courageous woman, St. Cecilia. She offered her life and suffered martyrdom than to deny her Christian faith.
May we follow the courage of these women to endure everything for the sake of our faith.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
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