33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Ps 9:2-3, 4 & 6, 16 & 19
I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/Red/White)
St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin & martyr / Memorial of Blessed Virgin Mary
1st Reading: 1 Mac 6:1-13
When king Antiochus was making his way through the upper regions of Persia, he received news about Elymais, a city renowned for its wealth in silver and gold. They kept in the wealthy temple of their city golden armor, breastplates and weapons, left there by the Macedonian king, Alexander, the son of Philip, the first sovereign of the Greeks. So Antiochus went there. But the inhabitants came out armed against him when they learned of his intention, so his attempt to take the city failed. He had to turn back; and he returned much embittered to Babylon.
While he was still in Persia, it was reported to him that the armies sent to Judea had been defeated. They told him that although Lysias had gone with a strong army, he had to flee before the Jews, who had been strengthened with the weapons and the abundant booty taken from the neighboring armies. He heard, too, that the Jews had destroyed the abominable idol he had erected on the altar in Jerusalem; and had rebuilt the temple walls to the same height as before; and had also fortified the city of Beth-zur.
When he received this news, he was terrified and deeply upset. He fell sick and became greatly depressed because things had not turned out the way he had planned. So he remained overcome by this terrible anguish for many days. He felt that he was dying, so he called his friends and said to them, “Sleep has fled from my eyes and I am greatly crushed by my anxieties. And I keep on asking why such grief has come upon me—I who was generous and well loved when in power—and now I am so discouraged.
Now I remember the evils I did in Jerusalem, the vessels of gold and silver that I stole, the inhabitants of Judea I ordered to be killed for no reason at all. I now know, that because of this, these misfortunes have come upon me; and I am dying of grief in a strange land.”
Gospel: Lk 20:27-40
Then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection, and they asked Jesus this question, “Master, in the law Moses told us, ‘If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and any child born to them will be regarded as the child of the deceased.‘ Now, there were seven brothers: the first married, but died without children. The second married the woman, but also died childless. And then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife? For all seven had her as a wife.“
And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come, and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die, for they are like the angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born of the resurrection.
Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to him everyone is alive.“
Some teachers of the law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, you have spoken well.“ They didn‘t dare ask him anything else.
REFLECTION:
“Many are the plans in man‘s but it‘s the decision of the Lord that prevails“, the Book of Proverbs says. King Antiochus, in the first reading had so many evil plans. But things had not turned out the way he had planned so he remained overcome by terrible anguish.
Many times, we are also in the same position where our plans and the Lord‘s purposes are not in sync and so we become frustrated. In most cases, our plans are shaped by our beliefs and orientation. Plans born out of wrong beliefs are meant to fail, as shown to us in the gospel reading. The Sadducees had the plan to insist upon Jesus and to shame him that there is no resurrection. But Jesus refuted them.
So how do we keep our plans in conformity with the Lord‘s purposes? Two things: Godly desire and Godly goal. We must desire only good things and we must pursue only good things. Let God‘s purposes prevail in us by seeking Him and His will in prayer regularly.
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
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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