Worthy are you to receive the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth. Thursday, 20 November 2014 Book of Revelation 5:1-10. I John saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to examine it. I shed many tears because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to examine it. One of the elders said to me, Do not weep. The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals. Then I saw standing in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been slain. He had seven horns and seven eyes; these are the (seven) spirits of God sent out into the whole world. He came and received the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne. When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones. They sang a new hymn: Worthy are you to receive the scroll and to break open its seals, for you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth. Psalms 149(148):1-2.3-4.5-6a.9b. Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory. Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches; Let the high praises of God be in their throats. This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia! Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:41-44. As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If this day you only knew what makes for peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. Commentary of the day : Saint Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), Spanish Trappist monk Spiritual writings, 23/02/1938 If this day you only knew what makes for peace I leaned out of the window… The sun was beginning to rise. A great peace reigned over nature. Everything began to wake up: earth, sky, birds. Everything began, little by little, to wake up under God’s order. Everything obeyed his divine laws without complaint or sudden spurts, gently, smoothly, the light as much as the darkness, the blue sky as much as the hard earth covered with morning dew. How good God is, I thought! There is peace everywhere except in the human heart. And delicately, gently, by means of this sweet and peaceful dawn, God taught me, too, to obey : a very great peace filled my soul. I thought how God alone is good, how all is ordained by him, how nothing is of importance in what people do or say, and how, where I am concerned, there must be nothing else in the world but God. God who will arrange everything for my good. God who causes the sun to rise each morning, who makes the ice melt, who cause the birds to sing and changes the clouds of heaven in a thousand soft colors. God who offers me a little corner on this earth for prayer, who gives me a little corner in which to wait for what I hope. God is so good to me that, in the silence, he speaks to my heart and teaches me, little by little, sometimes in tears, always with the cross, to detach myself from creatures, not to look for perfection except in him, and who shows me Mary and says to me : « Here is the only perfect creature ; you will find in her the love and charity you fail to find in men. What are you complaining about, Brother Raphael? Love me; suffer with me; it is I, Jesus!” Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:21:03 +0000