(Optional Memorial for Saint Clement I, Pope and Martyr)
(Optional Memorial for Saint Columban, Abbot)
(Optional Memorial for Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, Priest and Martyr) [In the United States]
For this optional memorial readings may be selected from the Common of Martyrs.
In the United States: Thanksgiving Day
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| “The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus” by Wilhelm von Kaulbach,1846 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 1 Maccabees 2:15-29
Commentary on 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 Modein who 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.
We are told that the area Mattathias and 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.”[4]
There are two basic lessons that come from this story. First, the upright Mattathias and his kinsmen remained faithful to the Law of Moses in the face of adversity. Second, they did so at great material loss “…leaving behind in the city all their possessions.”
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Commentary on Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15
Psalm 50 recalls the sealing of the covenant with sacrifice. It gives praise to God remembering his promise to the faithful that He would be with them as long as they kept the precepts of the Law – their part of the covenant of Moses. “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 reminds us that God supports those faithful to him in their distress.
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Gospel: Luke 19:41-44
Commentary on 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. “Jesus clothes his solemn words with the language and imagery of OT prophecy (Isaiah 29:1-3; Jeremiah 6:6; Ezekiel 4:1-3). Because Jerusalem has become a repeat offender, it will again suffer the devastation that befell the city in 586 B.C. with the Babylonian invasion.”[5] The clear meaning here is this event was a result of Jerusalem not accepting Christ the mediator of peace.
“Mystically: (St. Gregory the Great, Hom. In Evan. 39) Christ continues to weep for sinners who, like Jerusalem, run after evil and refuse to make peace with God. Their sins hide from their eyes the judgment that is coming; otherwise they would weep for themselves. When it arrives, demons will besiege the soul and the Lord will visit them with his dreadful punishment.”[6]
CCC: Lk 19:41-42 558
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Homily:
It is so much easier for us to be “flexible” when it comes to the precepts of our faith than it is to rigorously follow them. It is easier to accept that the hedonistic attitudes and mores that have become the societal norms than to speak out against them. This hedonism is at the foundation of most of the actions that we as Christians are taught as being wrong, opposed to all our teaching.
Why, for instance, does society castigate the Church for her stand on the immorality of abortion and contraception? Is it because they think we want to dominate the lives of others, as some claim? No, it is because those who want abortion on demand and contraceptives to be handed out in schools believe that the human person is no better than an animal, unable to control the baser instincts.
At a very basic level, what the hedonistic society favors is simply a rejection of the idea that a person can or should control their urges and desires when it comes to sex. Ironically, as we are seeing in the media, they are shocked when iconic producers, politicians, or other celebrities demonstrate this lack of control. It’s just too hard and therefore not something they care to do. They see abortion as remedy for mistakes rather than the destruction of human life, and contraception as a preventive measure that allows uncontrolled sexual urges to be acted upon with impunity and without “biological” consequences.
Christ looks upon this situation and weeps for those who cannot find peace because they will not accept the more difficult path. He weeps, because, in their idyllic folly, they destroy the happiness they seek. Indeed, the unrepentant will find worse destruction than Jerusalem
For those who embrace the sins of the flesh and refuse to turn away, we pray that God in his mercy will continue to call out to them through our example. We pray that one day, before it is too late, they will see the destruction of the human spirit embodied in their attitudes and come home to the Lord.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus” by Wilhelm von Kaulbach,1846
[4] See NAB Footnote for 1 Mc 2:29
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco , CA. pp.144-145
[6] ibid
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