Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-13-4. Memorial of St. Lucy, virgin & martyr

December 13, 2004
Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr

Reading I
Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a

When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,
the spirit of God came upon him,
and he gave voice to his oracle:

The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of a man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:
How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;
your encampments, O Israel!
They are like gardens beside a stream,
like the cedars planted by the LORD.
His wells shall yield free-flowing waters,
he shall have the sea within reach;
His king shall rise higher,
and his royalty shall be exalted.

Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle:

The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
The utterance of one who hears what God says,
and knows what the Most High knows,
Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.
I see him, though not now;
I behold him, though not near:
A star shall advance from Jacob,
and a staff shall rise from Israel.

Responsorial Psalm
25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

R (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Gospel
Mt 21:23-27

When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
"By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John's baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?"
They discussed this among themselves and said,
"If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?'
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,' we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet."
So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know."
He himself said to them,
"Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."

St. Lucy (Santa Lucia) was a young Sicilian girl who vowed to live as a virgin in devotion to Christ. Her mother, however, arranged a marriage for her to a pagan suitor. To dissuade her mom by proof of a miracle, Lucy prayed at the tomb of St. Agatha that her mother's hemmhorage would stop. When the miracle happened, her mother agreed to leave aside the topic of marriage.

Lucy's suitor, however, had other plans, and revealed Lucy as a Christian. Authorities went to collect her, planning on forcing her into prostitution -- but they were unable to budge her, even after tying her to a team of oxen. She was then tortured by having her eyes torn. They'd planned on torturing her by fire, too, but the fires kept going out. She was then killed by being stabbed in the throat with a dagger.

Because of the above, St. Lucy is the patron of those with eye problems, and is often depicted carrying her eyes (often on a plate), being tied to a team of oxen, with St. Agatha, or before her judges.

From: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a

Balaam's Third Oracle (Continuation)

[2] And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and saw Israel encamping tribe by tribe.
And the Spirit of God came upon him, [3] and he took up his discourse, and
said, "The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye
is opened, [4] the oracle of him who bears the words of God, who sees the
vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes uncovered: [5] how
fair are your tents, 0 Jacob, your encampments, 0 Israel! [6] Like valleys
that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like alose that the Lord has
planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. [7] Water shall flow from his
buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, his king shall be higher than
Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted."

[15] And he took up his discourse, and said, "The oracle of Balaam the son
of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, [16] the oracle of him
who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who
sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes
uncovered: [17] I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: a star
shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel."

Commentary:

24:3-9. This third oracle consists not so much in words placed by God on
Balaam's lips, as in the vision given to him, which shows the splendor of
Israel (expressed in images of luxuriant scenery); it also alludes to a
victorious king and recalls, once more, deliverance from Egypt.

24:15-24. The three blessings are followed by four oracles about
nations--Israel, Amalek, the Kainites and Asshur. The first tells about the
coming of a king symbolized by a star and a scepter (v. 17). In the ancient
East stars were considered to be gods and goddesses. This passage of Numbers
may contain a reference to David and his star: in fact, from very early on
this text was given a messianic interpretation; Jewish traditions link the
coming of the Messiah with the appearing of a star--cf. some Aramaic
translations ("targumin") of this text. In St Matthew's Gospel there is
mention of a star in the episode of the Magi who came to adore Jesus (cf. Mt
2:1-12). And in the second Jewish revolt against Rome (132-135 AD), a famous
Jewish teacher, Rabbi Akiha, changed the name of the Jewish leader of the
rebellion from Ben Kosheba, to Bar Kokheba, that is, "son of the
star"--another indication of the connection between the star and the
expected Messiah.

The Fathers interpreted the star that Balaam speaks about, as being the one
the Magi saw. From this they went on deduce that the Wise Men came from
Mesopotamia, which was where Balaam came from.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 21:23-27

The Authority of Jesus is Questioned

[23] And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders
of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what
authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"
[24] Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you a question; and if you
tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do
these things. [25] The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or
from men?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,'
he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?' [26] But if we
say, 'From men,' we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John
was a prophet." [27] So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he
said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these
things."

Commentary:

23-27. When the chief priests and elders ask "By what authority are you
doing these things?" they are referring both to his teaching and to his
self-assured public actions--throwing the traders out of the Temple,
entering Jerusalem in triumph, allowing the children to acclaim him,
curing the sick, etc. What they want him to do is to prove that he has
authority to act in this way or to admit openly that he is the Messiah.
However, Jesus knows that they are not well-intentioned and he declines
to give them a direct answer; he prefers to put a question to them that
forces them to make their own attitude clear. He seeks to provoke them
into examining their consciences and changing their whole approach.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Lucy is one of the more popular saints of the Church, but there is
little historical data about her. She is mentioned in the First
Eucharistic prayer and there are many cities, towns, churches and
other things that are named after her throughout the world.

St. Lucy was a Christian living in pagan Sicily during the end of the
third century. Lucy was misunderstood by the people around her
especially when she decided to devote her life to Jesus by remaining
a virgin and never marrying. Her mother tried to force her into
marriage, but ceased when an illness of her was cured due to the
prayers of Lucy to St. Agatha. Although her mother no longer tried to
force her into marriage, her bridegroom was still expecting to marry
her.

When the groom found out that Lucy would never marry him, he
turned her over to the Roman authorities as a Christian, and she was
arrested. The governor tried to force her into prostitution but when
the guards tried to take her away she was completely immovable,
even the force of a team of oxen could not budge her from her spot.
The governor was furious and ordered her to be tortured and killed.
During her torture, her eyes were poked out, but she regained use of
them before she died. Lucy was sentenced to death by burning at
the stake but the fires would not light to burn her. Finally, she was
executed by being stabbed in the throat. Lucy died around the year
304, and is the patron of those with eye problems, and of Syracuse
and Sicily.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Those whose hearts are pure are temples of the Holy Spirit. -St. Lucy

TODAY IN HISTORY

1545 Council of Trent opens

TODAY'S TIDBIT

The Council of Trent, the 19th ecumenical council of the Church, was
originally convened by Pope Paul III and held twenty-five sessions
before ending on December 4, 1563. This council is considered by
many historians as one of the greatest ecumenical councils held in
the West and is often seen as the Catholic response to the questions
raised by the Protestant Reformation.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Lucy, for all who are
blind. Please pray for all who are blinded by habitual sin, that Lucy
may help them see the Grace of God.

DAILY SODALITY

December 13

THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE

Presence of God.

Grace I Ask:
To come to know Christ better.

The Idea:
Let us take a look at the Leader who calls us to His service. There is another aspect to following Him that we have not thought much about before. This is the fact that as our leader, Christ shows us in His life the way the battle must be fought, the way the world can be won. For that is what He came on earth to do, and He chose the best way to do it. Men who want to become great in any line of work study the lives and techniques of other who have been great in that line.

My Personal Application:
I want, if possible, to help save the world. Christ is the Savior – He has done the job perfectly as my leader and calls me now to take my part in it, share the task after and with Him. He shows me in His life the best way to do the job. As my life is more like His, so it will be more a successful life for this great work. And to make my life like His, I must study His life carefully and try to understand it.

Have I ever read a book on the life of our Lord? Do I own a New Testament? Read it? Suppose a non-Catholic challenged me today: “You try to tell me about Christ! Have you ever read the four Gospels all the way through?” What’s my answer?

I Speak to Christ
Dear Lord, I will study your life again carefully; read it slowly, thoughtfully in the Gospels. Your life is the most important life ever lived. I will read what other people have written about you. And I want it to be a model of mine. Open my eyes to it.

Thought for Today:
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Learn of me.”

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Don’t Let Fear Close Your Mind or Your Heart
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Monday, December 13, 2004

Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17; Matthew 21: 23-27

In a world filled with too much talk, the art of listening is one of the most valuable habits we can ever acquire. Listening can give us access to ideas we’ve never conceived of and insights that might never have occurred to us in a thousand years. And it can open for us the innermost doors of many hearts.

However, despite its manifest and myriad advantages, listening is a skill in short supply. And that is so for many reasons. Sometimes we’re just too full of our own ideas and agendas to make room for anyone else’s. Sometimes we’re too distracted by all the “noise” inside our own heads to listen attentively and peacefully. But worst of all, sometimes we’re afraid to listen, afraid we might hear some valid challenge to our way of living and thinking. We might hear something that would require us to move, to change, to give up one thing and take on something else quite different.

It was that kind of fear that closed the ears and the hearts of the chief priests and elders to whom Jesus spoke. They didn’t want to change, so they attacked Jesus, plotted against Him, and ultimately killed Him.

It’s a dire warning to us all, to see the lengths to which fear can drive ordinary human beings. And it poses an important question: Is fear of any sort causing me to close my mind or my heart to anyone? If it is, it’s time to give that fear to God, so that my heart may be free and open and listening to every single one of God’s creatures, and, indeed, to God Himself.

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

December 13, 2004

St. Lucy

(d. 304)

Every little girl named Lucy must bite her tongue in disappointment when she first tries to find out what there is to know about her patron saint. The older books will have a lengthy paragraph detailing a small number of traditions. Newer books will have a lengthy paragraph showing that there is little basis in history for these traditions. The single fact survives that a disappointed suitor accused Lucy of being a Christian and she was executed in Syracuse (Sicily) in the year 304. But it is also true that her name is mentioned in the First Eucharistic Prayer, geographical places are named after her, a popular song has her name as its title and down through the centuries many thousands of little girls have been proud of the name Lucy.

One can easily imagine what a young Christian woman had to contend with in pagan Sicily in the year 300. If you have trouble imagining, just glance at today’s pleasure-at-all-costs world and the barriers it presents against leading a good Christian life.

Her friends must have wondered aloud about this hero of Lucy’s, an obscure itinerant preacher in a far-off captive nation that had been destroyed more than 200 years before. Once a carpenter, he had been crucified by the Roman soldiers after his own people turned him over to the Roman authorities. Lucy believed with her whole soul that this man had risen from the dead. Heaven had put a stamp on all he said and did. To give witness to her faith she had made a vow of virginity.

What a hubbub this caused among her pagan friends! The kindlier ones just thought her a little strange. To be pure before marriage was an ancient Roman ideal, rarely found but not to be condemned. To exclude marriage altogether, however, was too much. She must have something sinister to hide, the tongues wagged.

Lucy knew of the heroism of earlier virgin martyrs. She remained faithful to their example and to the example of the carpenter, whom she knew to be the Son of God.

Comment:

If you are a little girl named Lucy, you need not bite your tongue in disappointment. Your patron is a genuine, authentic heroine, first class, an abiding inspiration for you and for all Christians. The moral courage of the young Sicilian martyr shines forth as a guiding light, just as bright for today’s youth as it was in A.D. 304.

Quote:

“The Gospel tells us of all that Jesus suffered, of the insults that fell upon him. But, from Bethlehem to Calvary, the brilliance that radiates from his divine purity spread more and more and won over the crowds. So great was the austerity and the enchantment of his conduct.”
“So may it be with you, beloved daughters. Blessed be the discretion, the mortifications and the renouncements with which you seek to render this virtue more brilliant.... May your conduct prove to all that chastity is not only a possible virtue but a social virtue, which must be strongly defended through prayer, vigilance and the mortification of the senses” (Pope John XXIII, Letter to Women Religious

The Word Among Us

Monday, December 13, 2004

Meditation
NUMBERS 24:2-7, 15-17a

Fair tents? Prospering like lush gardens? As strong as tall cedars? Nourished by flowing waters? A laughable description at best! It’s easy to read Balaam’s prophecy as comforting words of hope and miss out on the somewhat humorous disconnect in this passage. At the time when Balaam uttered these words, the Israelites were not much more than a ragged band of nomads and ex-slaves wandering in the desert.

What Balaam saw was the Israelites as they would become, not as they were. And that’s why this is such a hope-filled passage. This is the way God always sees things, the way he always looks at us. He doesn’t see sins. He sees the blood of his Son washing us clean. He doesn’t see weaknesses and failures. He sees us clothed in the strength and dignity of Christ. As he looks down from heaven, he sees his children spotlessly pure and filled with his Spirit. And that includes you!

God always sees us in light of his perfect plan and intentions for our lives. So often, our sight is fixed on the ragged edges of who we are or what we’ve done. But we don’t have to mire ourselves in problems, sins, and difficulties. We will always be far more than the sum of all our troubles. Why? Because we will always be beloved children of an all-loving God. And it’s this central truth that can set us free from anxiety and empower us to enjoy the gifts and talents God has given us—and to look forward with eager anticipation toward everything that he still wants to lavish upon us.

So what can you do today to respond to this amazing passage? Simply enjoy who you are. You are a child of God. You are precious in his sight, chosen and beloved from before time began. You are a member of God’s own family, and as such you have great dignity and honor. Nothing can rob you of your place in God’s house; nothing can convince him to disown you or to abandon you. So marvel today in who you are—and in who you are destined to become!

“Father, how great is your plan for my life! It is so much bigger and better than I can possibly imagine. I stand in awe and praise you for your power and incomparable love.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, December 13, 2004 >>

St. Lucy

Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17

Psalm 25

Matthew 21:23-27

View Readings

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

“Jesus answered: ‘I too will ask a question. If you answer it for Me, then I will tell you...’ ” —Matthew 21:24

Santa Claus is coming to town! Our culture tells us that we’ll get nothing from Santa if we were naughty instead of nice.

Jesus Christ is coming to town! Today’s Gospel tells us that we’ll get nothing from Jesus if we aren’t interested in the truth.

For the chief priests and elders, giving a truthful answer to Jesus’ question wasn’t even a consideration (Mt 21:25ff). They were interested only in the politically correct solution to the sudden predicament Jesus thrust upon them. As a result, Jesus gave them nothing (Mt 21:27).

Balak, king of Moab, wanted Balaam, the professional “curser,” to curse Israel so he could defeat the Israelites (Nm 22:4-6). Although the Lord revealed to Balak through Balaam that He would not allow the Israelites to be cursed (Nm 22:12ff), Balak was not interested in God’s truth, but only in his own agenda. As a result, not only did God give Balak nothing, but, to Balak’s dismay (Nm 24:10), He blessed the Israelites abundantly (Nm 24:3ff).

Pontius Pilate wanted an answer from Jesus, and Jesus changed the subject to the truth (Jn 18:37). “ ‘Truth!’ said Pilate. ‘What does that mean?’ ” (Jn 18:38) Pilate received nothing from Jesus. Similarly, when Herod questioned Jesus, he had no interest in the truth at stake. Therefore, Jesus had absolutely nothing to give Herod (Lk 23:9).

It’s your turn. Jesus Christ is coming to town. Jesus the Truth (Jn 14:6) will have nothing but the truth to give you. How much will you get from Jesus this Christmas?

Prayer: Father, I commit myself to the truth so as to hear Your voice (Jn 18:37).

Promise: “A Star shall advance from Jacob, and a Staff shall rise from Israel.” —Nm 24:17

Praise: St. Lucy’s life was miraculously preserved until, like Jesus, her appointed time had come.

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