Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 11-14-05

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

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From: 1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63

Alexander the Great and His Successors (Continuation)

[10] From them (the descendants of Alexander the Great's officers)
came forth a sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the
king; he hadbeen a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in the one
hundred and thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.

Many Jews are Led Astray

[11] In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled
many, saying, “Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round
about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon
us.” [12] This proposal pleased them, [13] and some of the people
eagerly went to the king. He authorized them to observe the ordinances
of the Gentiles. [14] So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem,
according to Gentile custom, [15] and removed the marks of
circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the
Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.

Observance of the Law is Proscribed

[41] Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one
people, [42] and that each should give up his customs. [43] All the
Gentiles accepted the command of the king. Many even from Israel
gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath.

The Temple Profaned, the Books of the Law Set on Fire. Religious Persecution

[54] Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and
forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar
of burnt offering. They also built altars in the surrounding cities of
Judah, [55] and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the
streets. [56] The books of the law which they found they tore to
pieces and burned with fire. [57] Where the book of the covenant was
found in the possession of any one, or if any one adhered to the law,
the decree of the king condemned him to death.

[62] But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts
not to eat unclean food. [63] They chose to die rather than to be
defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die.

Commentary:

1:1-64 Greek domination was a terrible trial for the Jewish people.
During the Greek period they stayed loyal to the Covenant that God
made with the patriarchs, defending it against the Greek religion and
culture which were imposed on the East as a result of Alexander the
Great’s conquests. Pagan customs were introduced into Jerusalem and
Judah, firstly, through the infidelity of many Jews who were attracted
by the novelty and splendor of Hellenistic culture, and, secondly,
because Antiochus Epiphanes tried to weld his territories
together politically by imposing Greek civilization and religion. To
do this in Judea he attacked the three pillars of the Jewish
religion--the temple of Jerusalem; religious customs, particularly
circumcision and the sabbath observance; and the books of the Law of
Moses. It seemed inevitable that Judaism would disappear or else be
merged with the Greek world, as happened in other Eastern nations
influenced by Hellenism. But, in fact, Israel kept its religious
identity thanks to a special providence of God; this enabled it to
continue to be the chosen people from whom would be born the Messiah,
Jesus Christ. That is the message of the books of the Maccabees, a
message perceived by Church tradition when it acknowledged them as
being part of Holy Scripture. When speaking about these books, St
Augustine was well aware that the Jews did not regard them as being on
the same level as the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, “but they
[these books] will not have been received by the Church in vain if
they are read or listened to calmly, and especially those parts that
deal with the Maccabees themselves who, for the sake of God’s Law,
were true martyrs and suffered terrible and humiliating things” (St Augustine,
"Contra Gaudentium", 1, 31, 38).

1:1-10. “The land of Kittim” (in Greek, "khettim"), originally
referred to the island of Cyprus, but it also applied to Greece and
Macedonia. Alexander the Great died in Babylonia in the year 323 BC.
His successors, called the Diadochi, fought among themselves over the
division of the empire. Ptolemy I gained control of Egypt, and founded
the dynasty of the Lagids. Seleucus, the first of the Seleucid kings,
took Babylon. To begin with, Palestine was part of the Ptolemy
domains, but in the year 197 BC, after the battle of Baniyas in which
Egypt was defeated, it came under the control of the Seleucids.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, son of Antiochus III and brother of Seleucus
IV (cf. 2 Mac 4:7), had been sent to Rome by his father as a hostage
(in accordance with the treaty of Apamea, 188 Bc). The one hundred and
thirty-seventh year, counting from 312 BC when the Seleucid dynasty
was founded, was 175 BC.

1:11-15. Conforming to Greek ways was equivalent in that situation to
turning one’s back on the Lord and on the Covenant. Gymnasia were
presided over by Greek gods, and “becoming like the Gentiles” involved
disguising the signs of circumcision when taking part undressed in
gymnasium sports. Belonging to the people of God entailed a moral
lifestyle different from that of the Gentiles, just as being a member
of the Church, the new people of God, requires a person to avoid
practices and attitudes contrary to the natural law and Christian ethics.

Apropos of this, St Paul taught the first Christians: “We beseech and
exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you
ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, you do so more
and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the
Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you
abstain from immorality; that each of you know how to control his own
body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathen
who do not know God” (1 Thess 4:1-5). “Reject the deception of those
who appease themselves with the pathetic cry of ‘Freedom! Freedom!’
Their cry often masks a tragic enslavement because choices that prefer
error do not liberate. Christ alone sets us free, for he alone is the
Way, the Truth and the Life" (St J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 26).

1:41-53. Up to this point the Jews have been governed by their own
laws, which were both religious and civil. In order to unify his
empire politically, Antiochus wants to impose a single form of
religious practice. Those Jews who had a liking for things Greek had
no difficulty in accepting the king’s laws: they were already
conforming to them, and now they became formal apostates of Judaism.
Other Jews, maybe majority, conformed out of fear. But there were
others still, whom the sacred writer sees as the true Israel (v. 53),
who were forced to go underground to stay loyal to their religion.

1:54-64. The author recalls with great sadness the exact day when an
altar, or perhaps a statue, dedicated to Zeus Olympus was erected in
the temple of Jerusalem--8 December 167 BC. The revulsion God-fearing
Jews felt towards that object can be seen from the name used to
describe it--”a desolating sacrifice” (“abominatio desolationis”, the
abomination of desolation: cf. Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). ln Hebrew the
words used sound like the name of the “Baal of the heavens”, the
Canaanite idol which Israelites in ancient times found so attractive
and against which the prophets strove (cf. 1 Kings 18:20-40). But the
phrase also, literally, means something abominable which leads to
total perdition. It is, in the last analysis, a symbol of idolatrous
worship which seeks to impose itself by force on worship of the true
God. Our Lord Jesus Christ will use the very same expression,
“desolating sacrifice”, “abomination of desolation”, to announce the
tribulation which will overwhelm Jerusalem (as it indeed did when the
Romans destroyed it in 70 AD) and which will be a sign of the
tribulations that will happen at the end of time (cf. Mt 24:15-25 and par.).

The events narrated briefly here and the violence done to the Jews, as
also exemplary acts of fideIity,are reported in more detail in 2
Maccabees 6:1-11, 18, 31; 7:1-42. It was a very testing time for
Israel, a time of purging and purification. When God allows
persecution to happen, he does so to elicit fidelity: this is true for
Israel and later for the Church.

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: Luke 18:35-43

The Cure of the Blind Man of Jericho

[35] As He (Jesus) drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the
roadside begging; [36] and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired
what this meant. [37] They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing
by." [38] And he cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" [39]
And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but
he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" [40] And
Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to Him; and when he came
near, He asked him, [41] "What do you want Me to do for you?" He said,
"Lord, let me receive my sight." [42] And Jesus said to him, "Receive
your sight; your faith has made you well." [43] And immediately he
received his sight and followed Him, glorifying God; and all the
people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Commentary:

35-43. The blind man of Jericho is quick to use the opportunity
presented by Christ's presence. We should not neglect the Lord's
graces, for we do not know whether He will offer us them again. St.
Augustine described very succinctly the urgency with which we should
respond to God's gift, to His passing us on the road: "`Timeo Jesum
praetereuntem et non redeuntem': I fear Jesus may pass by and not come
back." For, at least on some occasion, in some way, Jesus passes close
to everyone.

The blind man of Jericho acclaims Jesus as the Messiah--he gives Him
the messianic title of Son of David--and asks Him to meet his need, to
make him see. His is an active faith; he shouts out, he persists,
despite the people getting in his way. And he manages to get Jesus to
hear him and call him. God wanted this episode to be recorded in the
Gospel, to teach us how we should believe and how we should pray--with
conviction, with urgency, with constancy, in spite of the obstacles,
with simplicity, until we manage to get Jesus to listen to us.

"Lord, let me receive my sight": this simple ejaculatory prayer should
be often on our lips, flowing from the depths of our heart. It is a
very good prayer to use in moments of doubt and vacillation, when we
cannot understand the reason behind God's plans, when the horizon of
our commitment becomes clouded. It is even a good prayer for people
who are sincerely trying to find God but who do not yet have the great
gift of faith.

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.

Monday, November 14, 2005
St. Nicholas Tavelic, OFM, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs (Memorial)

First Reading:
Psalm:
Gospel:

1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63
Psalm 119:53, 61 134, 150, 155, 158
Luke 18:35-43

This synthesis of faith was not made to accord with human opinions, but rather what was of the greatest importance was gathered from all the Scriptures, to present the one teaching of the faith in its entirety. And just as the mustard seed contains a great number of branches in a tiny grain, so too this summary of faith encompassed in a few words the whole knowledge of the true religion contained in the Old and the New Testaments.

-- St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Catholic Culture

Collect:
Father of all that is good, keep us faithful in serving you, for to serve you is our lasting joy. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Recipes:

» Pumpkin Tarts

Activities:

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Prayers:

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» Daily Acceptance of Death

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November 14, 2005

Monday of the Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. Josaphat, bishop and confessor

I waited, waited for the LORD; who bent down and heard my cry, Drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp, Set my feet upon rock, steadied my steps, And put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God (Psalm 40).

Before the reform of the General Roman Missal today was the feast of St. Josephat. His memorial is now celebrated on November 12.

Purgatory Is Temporary
Purgatory is not eternal. Its duration varies according to the sentence pronounced at each particular judgment. It may be prolonged for centuries in the case of the more guilty souls, or of those who, being excluded from the Catholic communion, are deprived of the suffrages of the Church, although by the divine mercy they have escaped hell. But the end of the world, which will be also the end of time, will close for ever the place of temporary expiation. God will know how to reconcile His justice and His goodness in the purification of the last members of the human race, and to supply by the intensity of the expiatory suffering what may be wanting in duration. But, whereas a favorable sentence at the particular judgment admits of eternal beatitude being suspended and postponed, and leaves the bodies of the elect to the same fate as those of the reprobate; at the universal judgment, every sentence, whether for heaven or for hell, will be absolute, and will be executed immediately and completely. Let us, then, live in expectation of the solemn hour, when ' the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God." He that is to come will come, and will not delay, as the Doctor of the Gentiles reminds us; His arrival will be sudden, as that of a thief, we are told, not only by St. Paul, but also by the prince of the apostles and the beloved disciple; and these in turn are but echoing the words of our Lord Himself: "As lightning cometh out of the east and appears even unto the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."

Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

Things to Do:

Say a prayer for the Poor Souls, for instance, recite the Little Litany of the Holy Souls;
Offer up some small sacrifice for the relief of the most abandoned soul. "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins" (Mc. 12:46).

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Stay Connected or You'll Lose Your Way
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Monday, November 14, 2005

I Maccabees 1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-63 / Lk 18:35-43

We have the beginnings of a great tragedy in today's reading from the book of Maccabees. The Greeks had decided to impose their own language and culture on the various parts of their empire. And that meant zero tolerance for the religion of all conquered peoples, including the Jews. The temple at Jerusalem was converted into a gymnasium, and all Jewish religious observances were forbidden under pain of death.

It was decision time for the Jews, young and old, and many of them forgot what it was that made them special, what made them who they were: It was their conscious connection to the Lord. Hoping to win acceptance and advancement from those who held power, many of the Jews turned their backs on their connection to the Lord. And in doing so they lost their identity and lost their way.

It's a temptation that presents itself in every age, if not in so dramatic a way. We face it now, the temptation to give in to a culture that in so many ways has considerable appeal, but is simultaneously seriously flawed. It's hard not to fall victim to its subtle allures and distorted values without even noticing we've done so. Only one thing can prevent that from happening, and that is serious time spent with the Lord every day.

Take that time every day. Let Him help you remember who you are and what really matters. Let Him give you the energy to be faithful and true.

The Worod Among Us

Monday, November 14, 2005

Meditation
1 Maccabees 1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-63

From their sojourn in Egypt to the time of Hitler and beyond, the Hebrew people have always lived precariously in the midst of hostile neighbors. They survived conquest by Assyria and captivity in Babylon, returning in rags to rebuild their homeland. Alexander the Great was the first Greek to sweep through the area, and by 175 b.c., the Jews were under a more serious threat from Alexander’s Seleucid successors.

The ruler Antiochus IV determined to consolidate his power by putting an end to divisive nationalism. He urged everyone in his kingdom to adopt the “superior” Greek culture. Many Israelites accepted these ways. Why not pay lip service to pagan gods just as the agnostic Greeks did? Where was the harm in eating pork in order to preserve one’s life? Was it really that important to be circumcised?

The voices of those urging accommodation seemed reasonable, just as they do today. Those who clung to the traditional ways of speech, worship, and culture seemed stubborn, behind the times, fanatic, even barbaric, again just as they do today. Does God really expect you to have more than two children? How cruel that the male-dominated church excludes women from public ministry! Where will we draw the line? We must prayerfully discern what entertainment enters our airwaves, what causes we will indirectly support with our shopping dollars, what proposed laws and actions of our government we will tolerate. St. Paul advised, “Do not be conformed to this world”—one translation says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mold”—“but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Romans 12:2). Now that is a rallying cry we can all respond to. Together, we can change this world!

“Holy Spirit, you have made us your new creation. Re-create us in your image and move us with passion and conviction when the world tries to squeeze us into its mold.”

Psalm 119:53,61,134,150,155,158; Luke 18:35-43

Great commentaries. thank you.

Faith-sharing bump.

I love the passage about the blind man crying, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" And the Lord showed his great compassion for the afflicted by healing this man. A most moving story. At times when I have prayed to the Lord, that phrase comes to mind: Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.

A Voice in the Desert

Monday November 14, 2005 Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63)

Gospel (St. Luke 18:35-43)

In the Gospel reading today, we hear about this blind man who calls out to Jesus with the desire to see. Of course, we can all understand what that desire is all about. Here is somebody who has no ability to see anything; consequently, he wants to see. But for those of us who have eyesight, what we need to do is to pray that our spiritual blindness would be lifted so that we will be able to see clearly what God’s Will is.

This becomes critically important when we align this idea with the first reading. We hear about the horrible things that took place with regard to the Jewish people at the time of King Antiochus Epiphanes, as he set up the horrible abomination upon the altar, as he forced the people to embrace Gentile customs and to abandon the covenant of God and their ancestral ways. We need to see that what happened in the past is precisely what is going to happen in the future. It is the model for what is going to be. When you look at Scripture, over and over again we see the same patterns repeating themselves. We are told, for instance, in the Book of the Prophet Daniel, that at the very end of the world there is going to be a horrible abomination that is going to be erected upon the altar.

Well, we do not know that this is the end of the world (in fact, we know it’s not) but we do not know what is going to happen in the near future. We do know that they have already prepared their one world religion and it is ready to be implemented whenever they decide that they are going to try to do it. It will be something that is supposedly going to be acceptable to most everyone, except, I suppose, some groups of radicals that are not going to accept it. And you can talk about Jesus, just like the New-Agers do – but they do not mean the same thing about Jesus that we do. Think about what is out there. The Jehovah’s Witnesses talk about Jesus, the Mormons talk about Jesus, and neither one believe that He is God. They will talk about Him even being a savior, but they still do not believe He is God. They do not believe in the Holy Trinity. They certainly do not believe in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Yet they want to talk about Jesus, and therefore people are swept away by it. But this is going to be even worse. So we need to be very careful.

And we need to ask ourselves, when we hear the words that are spoken about the Jewish people, whether we would be in the same situation. It said, Many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. We do not have to worry so much about eating food that is unclean because the Lord took care of that, but the question is: Are we going to profane the holy covenant or are we going to remain faithful even if that means being put to death? Are we willing to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and to His Church to the end?

Now it is easy to sit back today and say, “Oh, yeah, I don’t want to deny Jesus,” but we need to make sure that we have the grace not to do so. Once again, the only way is prayer because otherwise, if we are left to ourselves, we know our human nature well enough. How many times have we determined even to do something simple like go on a diet? Three or four days later, that is completely over because in our weakness we fall flat on our face. We can’t even say no to a candy bar! What are we going to do to somebody who is threatening to kill us? If that is the case, we realize our human weakness is so profound that by ourselves we will not remain faithful, but only by the grace of God can we remain faithful.

So, number one, we have to be so completely convinced of the truth of what it is we believe that we would be willing to die for that truth. Remember that the truth here is a person, and the person is Jesus Christ. Secondly, we need to be deeply rooted in our relationship with Christ so that it is not just something up in our heads that we would say, “Oh, yeah, this is what the Church teaches and I believe it,” but rather it is in our hearts because there is a Person with Whom we have fallen completely in love. Therefore, because of our love for Him we would never do anything that would violate Him. That is what we have to be about. And we need to pray for the spiritual insight to recognize anything–absolutely anything–that is going to gravitate against the Faith so that we will not be swept away even by the smallest, little things that are going to be fallacious.

We have to be very clear about praying to see, about praying to remain faithful, about praying so that we will be completely united with Christ in absolutely

One Bread, One Body

<< Monday, November 14, 2005 >>

1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63

Psalm 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158

Luke 18:35-43

View Readings

A SELLOUT CROWD

"They allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing." —1 Maccabees 1:15

In the town of my youth, a theater began to show movies featuring immoral content. Some godly men and women, including my father, staged regular public picketing of the theater in an attempt to persuade the crowds to reject these movies and thus force the owners to stop showing them. Dad's group was small but faithful. Sadly, the crowds kept coming, encouraging the ownership to increase, not decrease, their showing of objectionable movies. The owners and crowds made an alliance "and sold themselves to wrongdoing" (see 1 Mc 1:15).

This was over thirty years ago. Dad saw the culture wars coming and fought the good fight (2 Tm 4:7). Most adults of his generation were blind to its significance and sold out. Since then, the American culture has deteriorated to the extent that prayer is not allowed in schools, abortion is legal and on demand, Sunday is no different than other days of the week, Christmas is now called "the holidays," network TV is raw sewage, etc.

Jesus wants to open our eyes to see the raging war between the kingdom of darkness and God's kingdom. He wants us to recognize our spiritual blindness and cry out to Him, "Lord...I want to see" (Lk 18:41). If we choose to stay comfortable and blind, selling out to the culture of death, our children and grandchildren may suffer horrors unthinkable to us now (see e.g. 1 Mc 1:60-61). The clock is ticking. What's your decision?

Prayer: Jesus, I make my alliance with You. I sell out to You. Use me as Your weapon for righteousness (Rm 6:13, RNAB).

Promise: "Receive your sight. Your faith has healed you." —Lk 18:42

Praise: Patrick refused to go with the crowd and insists his employees keep holy the Lord's Day.

Lk 18:35-43
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
35	Now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the way side, begging.	factum est autem cum adpropinquaret Hiericho caecus quidam sedebat secus viam mendicans
36	And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant.	et cum audiret turbam praetereuntem interrogabat quid hoc esset
37	And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.	dixerunt autem ei quod Iesus Nazarenus transiret
38	And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.	et clamavit dicens Iesu Fili David miserere mei
39	And they that went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me.	et qui praeibant increpabant eum ut taceret ipse vero multo magis clamabat Fili David miserere mei
40	And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him,	stans autem Iesus iussit illum adduci ad se et cum adpropinquasset interrogavit illum
41	Saying; What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see.	dicens quid tibi vis faciam at ille dixit Domine ut videam
42	And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole.	et Iesus dixit illi respice fides tua te salvum fecit
43	And immediately he saw and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.	et confestim vidit et sequebatur illum magnificans Deum et omnis plebs ut vidit dedit laudem Deo

te salvum fecit

E pistis sou sesoken se. Can just as soon be translated "saved thee".

Christ's Cure of the Blind in Jericho

The Fourth Painter of the Glajor Gospels
1301-1325
Armenia

Christ's Cure of the Blind in Jericho

Most inspirational artwork from Armenia.

Thanks for posting the Bible commentaries. Very helpful and instructive commentary on Christ healing the blind man.