Memorial of Saint Cecelia, Virgin and Martyr
(Thursday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time)
Biographical Information about St. Cecelia[1]
Readings for Thanksgiving[2][3]
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Cecelia
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Note: The general calendar calls for this day to be celebrated as the Memorial of St. Cecelia. However, in the Diocese of the United States, the National Holiday of Thanksgiving is given as an option with readings taken from Masses for Various Needs and Occasions III, For Various Public Needs, 26 in Thanksgiving (nos. 943-947) The recommendations from the USCCB are selected from those options in the Lectionary.
For purposes of the Deacon’s Bench, we will post a commentary on both options for the readings and a reflection based on the Thanksgiving options.
(Readings for the Memorial of St. Cecelia)
Reading 1 1 Mc 2:15-29
We are given the story of how Mattathias began his rebellion in defiance of the king’s order for all in that land to become apostate. He demonstrates his fidelity by not only defying the order to sacrifice in contravention of Mosaic Law but kills the first of the Jews in Moderin to attempt to do so. He continues inviting all those in that town who are faithful to the Covenant of Moses to follow him and his family in rebellion against the King.
The desert we are told many of these followers fled to was “the desert: the sparsely inhabited mountain country southward from Jerusalem and west of the Dead Sea. It was an arid region with some perennial springs and a fair amount of rain in winter.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” This verse from the second strophe of Psalm 50 captures the theme of the reading from Maccabees above. God supports those faithful to him in their distress.
Gospel Lk 19:41-44
This lament for Jerusalem is found only in the Gospel of St. Luke. It is predictive of the destruction of that city in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The clear meaning here is this event was a result of Jerusalem not accepting Christ the mediator of peace.
(Readings for Thanksgiving Day)
Reading 1 Sir 50:22-24
“Praise and thanksgiving are given to God for his wondrous works, and a blessing is invoked on man that he may enjoy peace and gladness of heart and the abiding goodness of the Most High.” I can’t do any better than this footnote from the NAB.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5
R. Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness and love.
Appropriately, this is a song of thanksgiving to God for having answered our prayers. We, who sing these words, pray also that the Lord will continue to shower his blessings upon us.
Reading II 1 Cor 1:3-9
This is the salutation portion of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. In typical letter format, he gives thanks to God for the gift of faith given to this community and continues his fervent wish that they (and we) be steadfast in the faith; “He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ).“
Gospel Lk 17:11-19
The Gospel is an indictment of the Hebrews who did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus’ comment; “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” is a clear indication that this lack of faith will have consequences. Especially when he follows this statement with; “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” This would seem to imply that those who refuse to accept Jesus’ status as the Christ would not receive that salvation.
The footnote from the NAB is instructive and balanced; “[11-19] This incident recounting the thankfulness of the cleansed Samaritan leper is narrated only in Luke's gospel and provides an instance of Jesus holding up a non-Jew (Luke 17:18) as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf Luke 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). Moreover, it is the faith in Jesus manifested by the foreigner that has brought him salvation (Luke 17:19; cf the similar relationship between faith and salvation in Luke 7:50; 8:48, 50).”
Reflection:
Today is the secular holiday of Thanksgiving. It was officially sanctioned as a holiday, first by the State of New Hampshire in 1782 and as a National Holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War.
Thanksgiving is one of the few secular holidays the Church has fully embraced, for very obvious reasons. While the tradition began as a harvest celebration by a predominantly agrarian community, the fact that its focus is on thankfulness to God is a very Christian ideal. As we see in the scripture above, it is at the very heart of our faith and has been promoted for as long as we have had our Judeo-Christian roots.
Today as our nation goes to parades, watches football games and waits with bated breath for the launching of the giant commercial orgy that precedes the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, we as a people of faith once more turn to God in prayer. We all have special prayers that we can utter on this occasion. We all have special things that we can give thanks for. I give you this prayer, paraphrased from the reading in Sirach;
And now, bless the God of all, (and His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ)
who has done wondrous things on earth;
Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,
and fashions them according to his will!
May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you;
May his goodness toward us endure in Israel (and the whole world),
to deliver us in our days.
Pax and Happy Thanksgiving
[1] The first picture is “Saint Cecilia” by Guido Reni, 1606
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] The second Picture today is “Prayer in the Garden” by Sebastiano Ricci, 1730
(Thursday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time)
Biographical Information about St. Cecelia[1]
Readings for Thanksgiving[2][3]
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Cecelia
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Note: The general calendar calls for this day to be celebrated as the Memorial of St. Cecelia. However, in the Diocese of the United States, the National Holiday of Thanksgiving is given as an option with readings taken from Masses for Various Needs and Occasions III, For Various Public Needs, 26 in Thanksgiving (nos. 943-947) The recommendations from the USCCB are selected from those options in the Lectionary.
For purposes of the Deacon’s Bench, we will post a commentary on both options for the readings and a reflection based on the Thanksgiving options.
(Readings for the Memorial of St. Cecelia)
Reading 1 1 Mc 2:15-29
We are given the story of how Mattathias began his rebellion in defiance of the king’s order for all in that land to become apostate. He demonstrates his fidelity by not only defying the order to sacrifice in contravention of Mosaic Law but kills the first of the Jews in Moderin to attempt to do so. He continues inviting all those in that town who are faithful to the Covenant of Moses to follow him and his family in rebellion against the King.
The desert we are told many of these followers fled to was “the desert: the sparsely inhabited mountain country southward from Jerusalem and west of the Dead Sea. It was an arid region with some perennial springs and a fair amount of rain in winter.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me, those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” This verse from the second strophe of Psalm 50 captures the theme of the reading from Maccabees above. God supports those faithful to him in their distress.
Gospel Lk 19:41-44
This lament for Jerusalem is found only in the Gospel of St. Luke. It is predictive of the destruction of that city in 70 A.D. by the Romans. The clear meaning here is this event was a result of Jerusalem not accepting Christ the mediator of peace.
(Readings for Thanksgiving Day)
Reading 1 Sir 50:22-24
“Praise and thanksgiving are given to God for his wondrous works, and a blessing is invoked on man that he may enjoy peace and gladness of heart and the abiding goodness of the Most High.” I can’t do any better than this footnote from the NAB.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5
R. Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness and love.
Appropriately, this is a song of thanksgiving to God for having answered our prayers. We, who sing these words, pray also that the Lord will continue to shower his blessings upon us.
Reading II 1 Cor 1:3-9
This is the salutation portion of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. In typical letter format, he gives thanks to God for the gift of faith given to this community and continues his fervent wish that they (and we) be steadfast in the faith; “He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus (Christ).“
Gospel Lk 17:11-19
The Gospel is an indictment of the Hebrews who did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus’ comment; “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” is a clear indication that this lack of faith will have consequences. Especially when he follows this statement with; “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” This would seem to imply that those who refuse to accept Jesus’ status as the Christ would not receive that salvation.
The footnote from the NAB is instructive and balanced; “[11-19] This incident recounting the thankfulness of the cleansed Samaritan leper is narrated only in Luke's gospel and provides an instance of Jesus holding up a non-Jew (Luke 17:18) as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf Luke 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). Moreover, it is the faith in Jesus manifested by the foreigner that has brought him salvation (Luke 17:19; cf the similar relationship between faith and salvation in Luke 7:50; 8:48, 50).”
Reflection:
Today is the secular holiday of Thanksgiving. It was officially sanctioned as a holiday, first by the State of New Hampshire in 1782 and as a National Holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War.
Thanksgiving is one of the few secular holidays the Church has fully embraced, for very obvious reasons. While the tradition began as a harvest celebration by a predominantly agrarian community, the fact that its focus is on thankfulness to God is a very Christian ideal. As we see in the scripture above, it is at the very heart of our faith and has been promoted for as long as we have had our Judeo-Christian roots.
Today as our nation goes to parades, watches football games and waits with bated breath for the launching of the giant commercial orgy that precedes the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, we as a people of faith once more turn to God in prayer. We all have special prayers that we can utter on this occasion. We all have special things that we can give thanks for. I give you this prayer, paraphrased from the reading in Sirach;
And now, bless the God of all, (and His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ)
who has done wondrous things on earth;
Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,
and fashions them according to his will!
May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you;
May his goodness toward us endure in Israel (and the whole world),
to deliver us in our days.
Pax and Happy Thanksgiving
[1] The first picture is “Saint Cecilia” by Guido Reni, 1606
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
[3] The second Picture today is “Prayer in the Garden” by Sebastiano Ricci, 1730
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