November 25, 2005
Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Psalm: Friday 50
Reading IDn 7:2-14
In a vision I, Daniel, saw during the night,
the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,
from which emerged four immense beasts,
each different from the others.
The first was like a lion, but with eagle’s wings.
While I watched, the wings were plucked;
it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet
like a man, and given a human mind.
The second was like a bear; it was raised up on one side,
and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks.
It was given the order, “Up, devour much flesh.”
After this I looked and saw another beast, like a leopard;
on its back were four wings like those of a bird,
and it had four heads.
To this beast dominion was given.
After this, in the visions of the night I saw the fourth beast,
different from all the others,
terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength;
it had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed,
and what was left it trampled with its feet.
I was considering the ten horns it had,
when suddenly another, a little horn, sprang out of their midst,
and three of the previous horns were torn away to make room for it.
This horn had eyes like a man,
and a mouth that spoke arrogantly.
As I watched,
Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was snow bright,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him.
The court was convened, and the books were opened.
I watched, then, from the first of the arrogant words
which the horn spoke, until the beast was slain
and its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up.
The other beasts, which also lost their dominion,
were granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw
One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.
Responsorial PsalmDaniel 3:75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!“Mountains and hills, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!“Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!”“You springs, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!“Seas and rivers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!“You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!“All you birds of the air, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!“All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
R.
Give glory and eternal praise to him!
GospelLk 21:29-33
Jesus told his disciples a parable.
“Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.”
From: Daniel 7:2-14
Daniel's Vision
[2] Daniel said, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four
winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. [3] And four great
beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. [4] The
first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its
wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to
stand upon two feet like a man; and the mind of a man was given to it.
[5] And behold, another beast, a second one, like a beat It was
raised up on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its
teeth, and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' [6] After this I
looked, and lo, another, like a leopard with four wings of a bird on
its back and the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
[7] After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong, and it had great iron
teeth, it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with
its feet It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and
it had ten horns. [8] I considered the horns, and behold, there came
up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the
first horns were plucked up by the roots and behold, in this horn were
eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. [9] As
I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took
his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like
pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire.
[10] A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him;
a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand
stood before him; the court sat in judgment,and the books were opened.
[11] I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the
horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body
destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. [12] As for the rest
of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were
prolonged for a season and a time. [13] I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
[14] And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Commentary:
7:1-12:13. Up to the end of chapter 6, Daniel has been the interpreter
of kings' dreams; now his own dreams are interpreted for him by an
angel or heavenly being: the interpreter explains dreams (chaps. 7-8),
the meaning of Scripture (chap. 9), and a vision (chaps. 10-12); and
Daniel himself notes it all down.
Daniel had announced to Nebuchadnezzar the end of time as part of the
interpretation of his dream (cf. 2:28); now Daniel is told when it
will happen (cf. 12:5-12); for him (cf. 2:28); he is given a more
specific revelation in which the figure of the tyrannical Antiochus IV
(described here symbolically) is depicted as the epitome of evil and
his death will mark the end of the present age (cf. 11:45-12:1).
Earlier, Daniel's wisdom was seen as a divine gift to be used for the
benefit of foreign kings; now it is depicted as coming from a
revelation in which God speaks to Daniel through heavenly messengers
and tells him about the meaning of human history--a revelation that he
must commit to writing, as a source of comfort and hope for the
chosen people. "Revelation has set within history a point of reference
which cannot be ignored if the mystery of human life is to be known.
Yet this knowledge refers back constantly to the mystery of God which
the human mind cannot exhaust but can only receive and embrace in
faith. Between these two poles, reason has its own specific field in
which it can enquire and understand, restricted only by its finiteness
before the infinite mystery of God" (John Paul II, "Fides Et Ratio", 14).
7:1-28. This chapter marks the end of the part of the book written in
Aramaic; in it we again find elements seen in chapter 2 (where the
Aramaic part began); these include: the arrangement of history into
four periods (symbolized there by metals, here by beasts) and the
establishment of an everlasting kingdom at the end. Thus, the chapter
closes the Aramaic section and acts as a kind of introduction to the
chapters (in Hebrew) in which Daniel receives and writes down divine
revelations. Chapter 8 is written in Hebrew and it explains chapter 7;
and this pattern continues: chapter 9 is explained by chapter 10; and
11 by 12. Daniel first outlines his dream or vision, and it is then
interpreted by an angelic being. In this chapter the content of the
dream is given in vv. 1-14, and its interpretation in vv. 15-28.
Vision and interpretation constitute a single event, an account of
which Daniel writes down, as he mentions at start (cf. v. 1) and
finish (cf. v. 28). Daniel's "signature" at beginning and end confirms
the truth of his vision and the truthfulness of what he has written
for the reader.
7:1-14. In chapter 5 the picture drawn of Belshazzar suggested that he
stood figuratively for the sacrilegious King Antiochus IV. It is not
surprising, then, that this dream of Daniel's is set in the first year
of Belshazzar's reign, given that the climax of the prophecy (the
little horn) concerns Antiochus IV. God is going to intervene
definitively when irreligion is at its worst. There are two scenes in
the vision--the beasts coming out of the sea (vv. 2-8) and the divine
court and judgment (vv. 9-14).
7:2-8. The Great Sea (the Mediterranean: v. 2), out of which the
beasts arise, stands for the world of gloom and chaos. Although
earlier prophets did use animals as symbols for empires (a crocodile
for Egypt, cf. Ezek 32; an eagle or a monster for Babylon, cf.
Ezek 17:3; Jer 51:34), the winged beasts of Daniel's vision are
reminiscent of Mesopotamian statues. The lion with eagle's wings
stands for Nebuchadnezzar a proud man, he was brought low and later
given back his reason (4:16, 34); the empire of the Medes is depicted
as a bear ready to attack, and that of the Persians as a leopard,
fleet of foot. The fourth beast resembles no animal, but its teeth of
iron show it to be the Greek empire of Alexander the Great and his
successors (cf. 2:40). Of those successors, (symbolized by the horns),
attention is focused on Antiochus IV, the horn with eyes that speaks
blasphemy (cf. vv. 8, 25). The gravity of those challenges to God's
authority will be underlined in Revelation 13:5 in its description of
the beast that is given power by the dragon. The worst sin of the
powers of the world is their opposition to God and his laws.
Interpreting the words of this passage as a prophecy in the strict
sense, that is, as a prediction of something that will happen in the
future, some Fathers read the last of the horns as being the
Antichrist of whom the Revelation to John will have much to say (cf.
Rev. 13:11-18; 17:16; 19: 19-21).
7:9-14. Divine judgment is passed on the kingdoms in this scene. God
is depicted as being seated on a throne in heaven, his glory flashing
out and angels all around. Judgment is about to take place, and it
will be followed by execution of the sentence. The books (v. 10)
contain all the actions of men (cf. Jer 17:1; Mal 3:16; Ps 56:8; Rev
20:12). The seer is shown history past (not laid out according to chronology:
all the empires are included in one glance), and he notes that a more
severe sentence is passed on the blasphemous horn than on the other
beasts. They had their lives extended (v. 12), that is, their
deprivation of power did not spell the end; but the little horn is destroyed
forthwith. "Following in the steps of the prophets and John the
Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching
(cf. Dan 7:10; Joel 3-4; Mal 3:19; Mt 3:7-42)" ("Catechism of the
Catholic Church", 678).
The one "like a son of man" who comes with the clouds of heaven and
who, after the judgment, is given everlasting dominion over all the
earth, is the very antithesis of the beasts. He has not risen from a
turbulent sea like them; there is nothing ferocious about him. Rather,
he has been raised up by God (he comes with the clouds of heaven) and
he shares the human condition. The dignity of all mankind is restored
through this son of man's triumph over the beasts. This figure, as we
will discover later, stands for 'the people of the saints of the Most
High' (7:27), that is, faithful Israel. However, he is also an
individual (just as the winged lion was an individual, and the little
horn), and insofar as he is given a kingdom, he is a king. What we
have here is an individual who represents the people. In Jewish
circles around the time of Christ, this "son of man" was interpreted
as being the Messiah, a real person (cf. "Book of the Parables of
Enoch"); but it was a title that became linked to the sufferings of
the Messiah and to his resurrection from the dead only when Jesus
Christ applied it to himself in the Gospel. "Jesus accepted Peter's
profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by
announcing the imminent Passion of the Son of Man (cf. Mt 16:23). He
unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the
transcendent identity of the Son of Man 'who came down from heaven'
(Jn 3:13; cf. Jn 6:62; Dan 7:13), and in his redemptive mission as the
suffering Servant: 'The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mt 20:28; cf. Is
53:10-12)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 440).
When the Church proclaims in the Creed that Christ is seated at the
right hand of the Father, she is saying that it was to Christ that
dominion was given; "Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies
the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfillment of the
prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man; 'To him was given
domination and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and
languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be
destroyed' (Dan 7:14). After this event the apostles became witnesses
of the 'kingdom [that] will have no end' (Nicene Creed)" ("Catechism
of the Catholic Church", 664).
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 21:29-33
Discourse on the Destruction of Jerusalem
and the End of the World (Continuation)
[29] And He (Jesus) told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all
the trees; [30] as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for
yourselves and know that the summer is already near. [31] So also,
when you see these things taking place, you know that the Kingdom of
God is near. [32] Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass
away till all has taken place. [33] Heaven and earth will pass away,
but My words will not pass away."
Commentary:
31. The Kingdom of God, announced by John the Baptist (cf. Matthew 3:2)
and described by our Lord in so many parables (cf. Matthew 13; Luke
13:18-20), is already present among the Apostles (Luke 17:20-21), but
it is not yet fully manifest. Jesus here describes what it will be
like when the Kingdom comes in all its fullness, and He invites us to
pray for this very event in the Our Father: "Thy Kingdom come." "The
Kingdom of God, which had its beginnings here on earth in the Church of
Christ, is not of this world, whose form is passing, and its authentic
development cannot be measured by the progress of civilization, of
science and of technology. The true growth of the Kingdom of God
consists in an ever deepening knowledge of the unfathomable riches of
Christ, in an ever stronger hope in eternal blessings, in an ever more
fervent response to the love of God, and in an ever more generous
acceptance of grace and holiness by men" ("Creed of the People of God",
27). At the end of the world everything will be subjected to Christ
and God will reign for ever more (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24, 28).
32. Everything referring to the destruction of Jerusalem was fulfilled
some forty years after our Lord's death--which meant that Jesus'
contemporaries would be able to verify the truth of this prophecy. But
the destruction of Jerusalem is a symbol of the end of the world;
therefore, it can be said that the generation to which our Lord refers
did see the end of the world, in a symbolic way. This verse can also
be taken to refer to the generation of believers, that is, not just the
particular generation of those Jesus was addressing (cf. note on
Matthew 24:32-35).
[The note on Matthew 24:32-35 states:
32-35. Seeing in the destruction of Jerusalem a symbol of the end of
the world, St. John Chrysostom applies to it this parable of the fig
tree: "Here He also foretells a spiritual spring and a calm which,
after the storm of the present life, the righteous will experience;
whereas for sinners there will be a winter after the spring they have
had [...]. But this was not the only reason why He put before them the
parable of the fig tree, to tell them of the interval before His
coming; He wanted to show them that His word would assuredly come
true. As sure as the coming of spring is the coming of the Son of Man"
("Hom. on St. Matthew", 77).
"This generation": this verse is a clear example of what we say in the
note on Matthew 24:1 about the destruction of Jerusalem being itself a
symbol. "This generation" refers firstly to the people alive at the
time of the destruction of Jerusalem. But, since that event is
symbolic of the end of the world, we can say with St. John Chrysostom
that "the Lord was speaking not only of the generation then living, but
also of the generation of the believers; for He knows that a generation
is distinguished not only by time but also by its mode of religious
worship and practice: this is what the Psalmist means when he says that
`such is the generation of those who seek Him' (Psalm 24:6)" ("Hom. on
St. Matthew", 77).]
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.
Catherine, virgin of Alexandria, devoted herself to the pursuit of knowledge; at the age of eighteen, she surpassed all her contemporaries in science. Upon seeing how the Christians were being tortured, she went before Emperor Maximin (311-313), upbraided him for his cruelty, and with convincing reasons demonstrated the need of Christian faith in order to be saved. Astounded by her wisdom, the Emperor ordered her to be kept confined, and having summoned the most learned philosophers, promised them magnificent rewards if they could confound the virgin and turn her from belief in Christ. Far from being successful, a considerable number of the philosophers were inflamed by the sound reasons and persuasiveness of Catherine's speech with such a love for Jesus Christ that they declared themselves willing to offer their lives for the Gospel. 
