Catholic Caucus, Daily Mass Readings, 11-21-15, M, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 11-21-15 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

[annalex]

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 20
27.	And there came to him some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection, and they asked him,	Accesserunt autem quidam sadducæorum, qui negant esse resurrectionem, et interrogaverunt eum,	προσελθοντες δε τινες των σαδδουκαιων οι αντιλεγοντες αναστασιν μη ειναι επηρωτησαν αυτον
28.	Saying: Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he leave no children, that his brother should take her to wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.	dicentes : Magister, Moyses scripsit nobis : Si frater alicujus mortuus fuerit habens uxorem, et hic sine liberis fuerit, ut accipiat eam frater ejus uxorem, et suscitet semen fratri suo.	λεγοντες διδασκαλε μωσης εγραψεν ημιν εαν τινος αδελφος αποθανη εχων γυναικα και ουτος ατεκνος αποθανη ινα λαβη ο αδελφος αυτου την γυναικα και εξαναστηση σπερμα τω αδελφω αυτου
29.	There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.	Septem ergo fratres erant : et primus accepit uxorem, et mortuus est sine filiis.	επτα ουν αδελφοι ησαν και ο πρωτος λαβων γυναικα απεθανεν ατεκνος
30.	And the next took her to wife, and he also died childless.	Et sequens accepit illam, et ipse mortuus est sine filio.	και ελαβεν ο δευτερος την γυναικα και ουτος απεθανεν ατεκνος
31.	And the third took her. And in like manner all the seven, and they left no children, and died.	Et tertius accepit illam. Similiter et omnes septem, et non reliquerunt semen, et mortui sunt.	και ο τριτος ελαβεν αυτην ωσαυτως ωσαυτως δε και οι επτα ου κατελιπον τεκνα και απεθανον
32.	Last of all the woman died also.	Novissime omnium mortua est et mulier.	υστερον [δε] παντων απεθανεν και η γυνη
33.	In the resurrection therefore, whose wife of them shall she be? For all the seven had her to wife.	In resurrectione ergo, cujus eorum erit uxor ? siquidem septem habuerunt eam uxorem.	εν τη ουν αναστασει τινος αυτων γινεται γυνη οι γαρ επτα εσχον αυτην γυναικα
34.	And Jesus said to them: The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:	Et ait illis Jesus : Filii hujus sæculi nubunt, et traduntur ad nuptias :	και αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους οι υιοι του αιωνος τουτου γαμουσιν και εκγαμισκονται
35.	But they that shall be accounted worthy of that world, and of the resurrection from the dead, shall neither be married, nor take wives.	illi vero qui digni habebuntur sæculo illo, et resurrectione ex mortuis, neque nubent, neque ducent uxores :	οι δε καταξιωθεντες του αιωνος εκεινου τυχειν και της αναστασεως της εκ νεκρων ουτε γαμουσιν ουτε εκγαμιζονται
36.	Neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.	neque enim ultra mori potuerunt : æquales enim angelis sunt, et filii sunt Dei, cum sint filii resurrectionis.	ουτε γαρ αποθανειν ετι δυνανται ισαγγελοι γαρ εισιν και υιοι εισιν του θεου της αναστασεως υιοι οντες
37.	Now that the dead rise again, Moses also shewed, at the bush, when he called the Lord, The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;	Quia vero resurgant mortui, et Moyses ostendit secus rubum, sicut dicit Dominum, Deum Abraham, et Deum Isaac, et Deum Jacob.	οτι δε εγειρονται οι νεκροι και μωσης εμηνυσεν επι της βατου ως λεγει κυριον τον θεον αβρααμ και τον θεον ισαακ και τον θεον ιακωβ
38.	For he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him.	Deus autem non est mortuorum, sed vivorum : omnes enim vivunt ei.	θεος δε ουκ εστιν νεκρων αλλα ζωντων παντες γαρ αυτω ζωσιν
39.	And some of the scribes answering, said to him: Master, thou hast said well.	Respondentes autem quidam scribarum, dixerunt ei : Magister, bene dixisti.	αποκριθεντες δε τινες των γραμματεων ειπον διδασκαλε καλως ειπας
40.	And after that they durst not ask him any more questions.	Et amplius non audebant eum quidquam interrogare.	ουκετι δε ετολμων επερωταν αυτον ουδεν

[annalex]

27. Then came to him certain of the Sadducees which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,
28. Saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother.
29. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.
30. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless.
31. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.
32. Last of all the woman died also.
33. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.
34. And Jesus answering said to them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36. Neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
37. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
38. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live to him.
39. Then certain of the Scribes answering said, Master, you have well said.
40. And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.

BEDE; There were two heresies among the Jews, one of the Pharisees, who boasted in the righteousness of their traditions, and hence they were called by the people, "separated;" the other of the Sadducees, whose name signified "righteous," claiming to themselves that which they were not. When the former went away, the latter came to tempt Him.

ORIGEN; The heresy of the Sadducees not only denies the resurrection of the dead, but also believes the soul to die with the body. Watching then to entrap our Savior in His words, they proposed a question just at the time when they observed Him teaching His disciples concerning the resurrection;

as it follows, And they asked him, saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If a brother, etc.

AMBROSE; According to the letter of the law, a woman is compelled to marry, however unwilling, in order that a brother may raise up seed to his brother who is dead. The letter therefore kills, but the Spirit is the master of charity.

THEOPHYL. Now the Sadducees resting upon a weak foundation, did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. For imagining the future life in the resurrection to be carnal, they were justly misled, and hence reviling the doctrine of the resurrection as a thing impossible they invent the story, There were seven brothers, etc.

BEDE; They devise this story in order to convict those of folly, who assert the resurrection of the dead. Hence they object a base fable, that they may deny the truth of the resurrection.

AMBROSE; Mystically, this woman is the synagogue, which had seven husbands, as it is said to the Samaritan, You had five husbands, because the Samaritan follows only the five books of Moses, the synagogue for the most part seven. And from none of them has she received the seed of a hereditary offspring, and so can have no part with her husbands in the resurrection, because she perverts the spiritual meaning of the precept into a carnal. For not any carnal brother is pointed at, who should raise seed to his deceased brother, but that brother who from the dead people of the Jews should claim to himself for wife the wisdom of the divine worship, and from it should raise up seed in the Apostles, who being left as it were unformed in the womb of the synagogue, have according to the election of grace been thought worthy to be preserved by the admixture of a new seed.

BEDE; Or these seven brothers answer to the reprobate, who throughout the whole life of the world which revolves in seven days, are fruitless in good works, and these being carried away by death one after another, at length the course of the evil world, as the barren woman, itself also passes away.

THEOPHYL. But our Lord shows that in the resurrection there will be no fleshly conversation, thereby overthrowing their doctrine together with its slender foundation; as it follows, And Jesus said to them, The children of this world marry, etc.

AUG. For marriages are for the sake of children, children for succession, succession because of death. Where then there is no death, there are no marriages; and hence it follows, But they which shall be accounted worthy, etc.

BEDE; Which must not be taken as if only they who are worthy were either to rise again or be without marriage, but all sinners also shall rise again, and abide without marriage in that new world. But our Lord wished to mention only the elect, that He might incite the minds of His hearers to search into the glory of the resurrection.

AUG. As our discourse is made up and completed by departing and succeeding syllables, so also men themselves whose faculty discourse is by departure and succession make up and complete the order of this world, which is built up with the mere temporal beauty of things. But in the future life, seeing that the Word which we shall enjoy is formed by no departure and succession of syllables, but all things which it has it has everlastingly and at once, so those who partake of it, to whom it alone will be life shall neither depart by death, nor succeed by birth, even as it now is with the angels; as it follows, For they are equal to the angels.; For as the multitude of the angels is indeed very great, yet they are not propagated by generation, but have their being from creation, so also to those who rise again, there is no more necessity for marriage; as it follows, And are the children of God.

THEOPHYL. As if He said, Because it is God who works in the resurrection, rightly are they called the sons of God, who are regenerated by the resurrection. For there is nothing carnal seen in the regeneration of them that rise again, there is neither coming together, nor the womb, nor birth.

BEDE; Or they are equal to the angels, and the children of God, because made new by the glory of the resurrection, with no fear of death, with no spot of corruption, with no quality of an earthly condition, they rejoice in the perpetual beholding of God's presence.

ORIGEN; But because the Lord says in Matthew, which is here omitted, You do err, not knowing the Scriptures, ask the question, where is it so written, They shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage? for as I conceive there is no such thing to be found either in the Old or New Testament, but the whole of their error had crept in from the reading of the Scriptures without understanding; for it is said in Esaias, My elect shall not have children for a curse. Whence they suppose that the like will happen in the resurrection. But Paul interpreting all these blessings as spiritual, knowing them not to be carnal, says to the Ephesians, You have blessed us in all spiritual blessings.

THEOPHYL Or to the reason above given the Lord added the testimony of Scripture, Now that the dead are raised, Moses also showed at the bush, as the Lord said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. As if he said, If the patriarchs have once returned to nothing so as not to live with God in the hope of a resurrection, He would not have said, I am, but, I was, for we are accustomed to speak of things dead and gone thus, I was the Lord or Master of such a thing; but now that He said, I am, He shows that He is the God and Lord of the living. This is what follows, But he its not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. For though they have departed from life, yet live they with Him in the hope of a resurrection.

BEDE; Or He says this, that after having proved that the souls abide after death, (which the Sadducees denied,) He might next introduce the resurrection also of the bodies, which together with the souls have done good or evil. But that is a true life which the just live to God, even though they are dead in the body. Now to prove the truth of the resurrection, He might have brought much more obvious examples from the Prophets, but the Sadducees received only the five books of Moses, rejecting the oracles of the Prophets.

CHRYS. As the saints claim as their own the common Lord of the world, not as derogating from His dominion, but testifying their affection after the manner of lovers, who do not brook to love with many, but desire to express a certain peculiar and especial attachment; so likewise does God call Himself especially the God of these, not thereby narrowing but enlarging His dominion; for it is not so much the multitude of His subjects that manifests His power, as the virtue of His servants. Therefore He does not so delight in the name of the God of heaven and earth, as in that of in God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now among men servants are thus denominated by, their masters; for we say, 'The steward of such a man', but on the contrary God is called the God of Abraham.

THEOPHYL. But when the Sadducees were silenced, the Scribes commend Jesus, for they were opposed to them, saying to Him, Master, you have well said.

BEDE; And since they had been defeated in argument, they ask Him no further questions, but seize Him, and deliver Him up to the Roman power. From which we may learn, that the poison of envy may indeed be subdued, but it is a hard thing to keep it at rest.

Catena Aurea Luke 20

[annalex]

Portrait of an Old Woman

Hans Memling

1468-70
Oil on wood, 25.6 x 17.7 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

[Salvation]

Presentation of the Virgin Mary

The Presentation of the Virgin Mary
Memorial
November 21st

Domenico Ghirlandaio
Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple
1486-90 - Fresco
Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

History
Mary, at the age of three, was brought by her parents to the Temple, in fulfillment of a vow, there to be educated. The corresponding feast originated in the Orient, probably in Syria, the home of the apocrypha. The feast is missing in the earlier Menology of Constantinople (eighth century); it is found, however, in the liturgical documents of the eleventh century. It appears in the constitution of Manuel Comnenos (1166) as a fully recognized festival during which the law courts did not sit. In the West it was introduced by a French nobleman, Philippe de Mazières, Chancellor of the King of Cyprus, who spent some time at Avignon during the pontificate of Gregory XI. It was celebrated in the presence of the cardinals (1372) with an office accommodated from the office chanted by the Greeks. In 1373 it was adopted in the royal chapel at Paris, 1418 at Metz, 1420 at Cologne. Pius II granted (1460) the feast with a vigil to the Duke of Saxony. It was taken up by many dioceses, but at the end of the Middle Ages, it was still missing in many calendars. At Toledo it was assigned (1500) by Cardinal Ximenes to September 30. Sixtus IV received it into the Roman Breviary, Pius V struck it from the calendar, but Sixtus V took it up a second time (September 1, 1585). It is now celebrated November 21.

(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)

Collect:
As we venerate the glorious memory
of the most Virgin Mary,
grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession,
that we too, may merit to receive
from the fullness of your grace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Zechariah 2:14-17 (2:10-13 RSV)
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be My people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And the Lord will inherit Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem."

Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 12:46-50
While He was still speaking to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, asking to speak to Him. But He replied to the man who told Him, "Who is My mother, and who are My brethren?" And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brethren! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother."

[Salvation]

Presentation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Feast of the Entrance into the Temple of Our Most Holy Lady the Theotokos [Orthodox/Catholic Caucus]
The Protoevangelium of James
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary [November 21]

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Feast Day: November 21

When she was only three years old, her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, took Mary to the Temple in Jerusalem.

There she would be educated in the service and the law of God so that she would be protected against the sins of the world.

Mary's whole life was to belong to God as He had chosen her to be the Mother of his Son, Jesus. And St. Joachim and St. Anne were pleased to offer their saintly little girl to God. They knew that God had sent her to them.

In the Temple, the high priest received the child Mary, where she was placed among the girls who were dedicated to prayer and Temple service. The high priest kissed and blessed the holy child. He realized that the Lord had great plans for her.

Mary was happy to begin serving God in the Temple. She did not weep or turn back to her parents but came so happily to the altar that everyone in the Temple loved her at once.

St. Joachim and St. Anne went back home. They praised God for their blessed daughter. And Mary remained in the Temple, where she grew in holiness.

She spent her days reading the Bible, praying and serving the Temple priests. She made beautiful linens and wonderful vestments (robes that the priests wear). All the other girls loved Mary because she was so kind.

Mary tried to do each of her duties well, to please God. She grew in grace and gave great glory to the Lord.

Note to Parents: "Parents, God does not simply want you to offer your children to Him in the temple, but requires you to take care to keep them pure and holy, as living temples which have been consecrated in Baptism."

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Saturday, November 21

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Memorial of the Presentation of
the Blessed Virgin Mary. This feast day was
celebrated aa early as 1166. In 1585, Pope
Sixtus V extended the Feast of the Presentation
of the Blessed Virgin to the whole Church.

[Salvation]

Ordinary Time: November 21st

Memorial of the Presentation of Mary

MASS READINGS

November 21, 2015 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

As we venerate the glorious memory of the most holy Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, O Lord, through her intercession, that we, too, may merit to receive from the fullness of your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (2)

• St. Mary's Mocha Surprise
• Vuccidrato -- Mary's Palms

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Activities (10)

• Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin
• Feasts of Mary in the Family
• Feasts of Our Lady in the Home
• Marian Hymn: ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady
• Marian Hymn: Ave Maria Dear
• Marian Hymn: Beautiful, Glorious
• Marian Hymn: Salve Regina
• Marian Hymn: Stella Matutina
• Marian Hymn: Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest
• Mary Garden

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Prayers (7)

• November Devotion: The Holy Souls in Purgatory
• Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loretto)
• Little Litany of the Holy Souls
• Prayers for the Presentation
• Prayer for a Happy Death
• Daily Acceptance of Death
• Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God

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Library (1)

• Presentation Prefigures the Cross | Pope John Paul II

Old Calendar: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of the Presentation of Mary. The three feasts of the birthday of Our Lady, the holy Name of Mary and her Presentation in the Temple correspond in the Marian cycle with the first three feasts of the cycle of feasts of our Lord: namely, Christmas, the Holy Name of Jesus, and His Presentation in the Temple (February 2).

---

Presentation of Mary
"Sacred Scripture contains no text concerning the event commemorated in today's liturgy. For something of a historical background one may consult the apocryphal works, particularly the Protoevangel of St. James (ch. 4:1ff). After an angel had revealed her pregnancy, Anna is said to have vowed her future child Mary to the Lord. Soon after birth the infant was brought to the sacred precincts at which only the best of Israel's daughters were admitted. At the age of three she was transferred to the temple proper (7:2). According to legend, here she was reared like a dove and received her nourishment from the hand of an angel (8:1).

"In the East, where the feast, celebrated since the eighth century, is kept as a public holiday, it bears the name, 'The Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple'. It was introduced at Rome by a Cypriotic legate to the papal court of Avignon in 1371. In 1472, Sixtus IV extended its observance to the whole Church. Abolished by Pius V, it was reintroduced some years later (1585)."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Things to Do:

• Meditate on the mystery of Mary's temporary dwelling in the sanctuary of the Old Covenant as a preparation for the approaching season of Advent.

• Locate the order of contemplative nuns closest to you and visit their monastery (you may want to request their prayers and you might consider supporting them financially), they are the privileged souls who, by the grace of their vocation, are even here below dwellers in the house of the Lord.

• Spend 30 minutes reading the Bible.

• Learn more about Mary in the Byzantine Liturgy and say one of the beautiful prayers of the Eastern liturgy in honor of Mary.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 20:27-40

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial)

There were seven brothers. (Luke 20:29)

The Sadducees were surprised. They had concocted a complicated story that they thought would force Jesus to acknowledge how silly the idea of the resurrection was. But Jesus answered by talking about heaven!

The Sadducees had asked about the brothers and their wife, but Jesus cut through to what was really on their minds. He unmasked their narrow way of looking at the Scriptures and showed them that they needed a change of heart. It was as if they didn’t really know what their real issue was. They weren’t asking Jesus the right questions—or at least the most important ones.

We know that even though he tried to help the Sadducees expand their vision, Jesus met with resistance and hardened hearts. But this doesn’t have to be our story. Not only can Jesus show us where we need to change our thoughts, but he can soften our hearts so that we want to change.

Now, we probably aren’t consciously trying to trip Jesus up with outlandish scenarios, but we may be looking at our situations too narrowly, just as the Sadducees did.

For instance, you may be convinced that you just need your spouse or friend to stop a particular annoying behavior. And yet as you pray, you find that you are the one who needs to change by learning patience and flexibility. Or you may be praying for a neighbor’s troubled situation. The problem may not get resolved as you want it to, but you find your judgments about this neighbor dissolving as you develop a closer relationship with her. Or perhaps you are wrestling with an invitation to help out in your parish, and God gives you a new confidence that he will care for you. He washes away your fears and helps you discover how to reach out and still be faithful to your other obligations.

As we approach the end of this liturgical year, be open to the possibility that God can take you where you might not expect. Let him surprise you with a taste of his power to transform your heart.

“Lord Jesus, I trust you. Let me not get so stuck in what I expect you to do that I don’t see the amazing things you are doing!”

1 Maccabees 6:1-13
Psalm 9:2-4, 6, 16, 19

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for November 21, 2015:

"Taking time to rest is not a waste of time." (Susan Vogt) Give yourself a break today or tomorrow -- from kids, a chore, worries. It doesn't have to be long to refresh. Take your cue from God, our Creator, who rested on the seventh day.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Christ Is the Answer

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

November 21, 2015. Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Luke 20: 27-40

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man´s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her." Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive." Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well." For they no longer dared to ask him another question.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the Alpha and the Omega. You have given me life and offer me eternal life with you. You deserve my honor, gratitude and love, and yet you never impose yourself upon me. Thank you for respecting my freedom so that I can offer myself to you. All that I have is yours; I return it to you.

Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to be a child of God, a child of the resurrection.

1. Simple and Constant Conversation: Today we see some Sadducees asking Christ an important question about heaven. Christ teaches us that once we are in heaven, things will be considerably different than they are here on earth. This is a beautiful example how we can converse with Christ. We simply need to ask him questions: questions about our faith, about difficulties we may be having with certain relationships, about career changes, etc. The answers we receive may not be what we were expecting or hoping for, but what is important is that we engage Christ in conversation every day and that we seek to please him in everything we do. This open, warm contact with Our Lord is already a little taste of heaven.
   

2. Union with Christ: Christ reminds us that he and the Father are the God of the living. He gave us our life; we lost it. He became man, suffered, died and rose on the third day that we might have a new life — a life in and with God, now and for all eternity. Our ultimate marriage will be in heaven, as we will be one with God as Jesus is.
   

3. Participation in the Life of God: When God reveals his mysteries to us, we participate in his life. God has made us so we would pursue him, so we would listen to him, so we would understand him, so we would crave the things of God. Is not that a mystery unto itself? We have a God who wants to speak with us constantly about the things of heaven! This reality, this inestimable gift, should move us to share with others the Good News.
   

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, through your death and resurrection and my baptism, you have made me a child of God. Help me to appreciate more fully this day and what it means to be a child of God. Grant me the grace to live in accord with this gift of gifts.

Resolution: Today I will look on all things as if God were speaking to me in every moment.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 6

<< Saturday, November 21, 2015 >>

Presentation of Mary

1 Maccabees 6:1-13
View Readings

Psalm 9:2-4, 6, 16, 19

Luke 20:27-40
Similar Reflections

OUR UNWORTHINESS IN HIS WORTHINESS

"The children of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those judged worthy of a place in the age to come and of resurrection from the dead do not." —Luke 20:34-35

Will you be "judged worthy of a place in the age to come and of resurrection from the dead"? (Lk 20:35) Is there anything you have done or can do which makes you worthy to be raised from the dead? Obviously, no one is worthy to be raised from the dead except Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25). All the angels cry out at God's throne: "Worthy is the Lamb That was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and praise!" (Rv 5:12)

We have no righteousness and worthiness of our own (Phil 3:9). However, we have been baptized into Christ (Rm 6:3), and in Jesus we are in His worthiness and will be judged worthy of resurrection from the dead and eternal life. The Church has taught us to pray when we receive Holy Communion that we are not worthy to have Jesus come under our roof (see Mt 8:8). We will never be worthy to receive Jesus. Nevertheless, when we receive Him and are in Him (Jn 6:56), we renew our baptismal covenant with Him and in our unworthiness, we receive worthiness.

"Who is worthy?" (Rv 5:2) "O Lord our God, You are worthy" (Rv 4:11). "Worthy is the Lamb" (Rv 5:12).

Prayer: Jesus, the slain Lamb of God, "the Resurrection and the Life," my Savior, my Lord, my God, my Worthiness...

Promise: "Moses in the passage about the bush showed that the dead rise again when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead but of the living. All are alive for Him." —Lk 20:37-38

Praise: Sts. Ann and Joachim believed that God would work His plan through their daughter. They expressed their belief by presenting their daughter Mary to be raised in the Temple at the age of three.

[Salvation]