Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial for Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr
 
Proper readings for the Memorial for St. Catherine of Alexandria
Biographical information about St. Catherine of Alexandria

OR
 
Optional Memorial for the Blessed Virgin Mary
 
On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed. [1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary. (USCCB recommends: # 23. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Temple of the Lord)

“The Resurrection”
by El Greco, 1577-79

Readings for Saturday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13
 
As King Antiochus was traversing the inland provinces,
he heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais,
famous for its wealth in silver and gold,
and that its temple was very rich,
containing gold helmets, breastplates, and weapons
left there by Alexander, son of Philip,
king of Macedon, the first king of the Greeks.
He went therefore and tried to capture and pillage the city.
But he could not do so,
because his plan became known to the people of the city
who rose up in battle against him.
So he retreated and in great dismay withdrew from there
to return to Babylon.
 
While he was in Persia, a messenger brought him news
that the armies sent into the land of Judah had been put to flight;
that Lysias had gone at first with a strong army
and been driven back by the children of Israel;
that they had grown strong
by reason of the arms, men, and abundant possessions
taken from the armies they had destroyed;
that they had pulled down the Abomination
which he had built upon the altar in Jerusalem;
and that they had surrounded with high walls
both the sanctuary, as it had been before,
and his city of Beth-zur.
 
When the king heard this news,
he was struck with fear and very much shaken.
Sick with grief because his designs had failed, he took to his bed.
There he remained many days, overwhelmed with sorrow,
for he knew he was going to die.
 
So he called in all his Friends and said to them:
“Sleep has departed from my eyes,
for my heart is sinking with anxiety.
I said to myself: ‘Into what tribulation have I come,
and in what floods of sorrow am I now!
Yet I was kindly and beloved in my rule.’
But I now recall the evils I did in Jerusalem,
when I carried away all the vessels of gold and silver
that were in it, and for no cause
gave orders that the inhabitants of Judah be destroyed.
I know that this is why these evils have overtaken me;
and now I am dying, in bitter grief, in a foreign land.”
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Commentary on 1 Mc 6:1-13
 
The historical events published in this selection set the stage for the final battle between the Gentiles of the Seleucid Kings and the Jews.  This passage paints a picture of the evil king being thwarted in his plans for domination. He recognizes, according to the chronicler, that he had wronged the Hebrews. He nonetheless sent his forces against Maccabeus (Judas).
 
The death of Antiochus, resulting from his frustration at not being able to eradicate loyalty to and worship of the true God, symbolizes in some way the tragic condition of those who go so far as to try to uproot God from their own lives or that of society. [5]
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 9:2-3, 4 and 6, 16 and 19
 
R. (see 16a) I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
 
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
 
Because my enemies are turned back,
overthrown and destroyed before you.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
 
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor shall the hope of the afflicted forever perish.
R. I will rejoice in your salvation, O Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 9:2-3, 4 and 6, 16 and 19
 
Psalm 9 is a song of thanksgiving. These strophes give thanks to God for his support in the face of oppression. The psalmist's enemies are thrown down and the faithful triumph through God’s grace.
 
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Gospel: Luke 20:27-40
 
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
 
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them,
“The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called  ‘Lord’
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.”
Some of the scribes said in reply,
“Teacher, you have answered well.”
And they no longer dared to ask him anything.
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Commentary on Lk 20:27-40
 
The Sadducees' question, based on the law of levirate marriage recorded in Deuteronomy 25:5 ff, ridicules the idea of the resurrection. Jesus corrects their grave misunderstanding of the resurrection. He then argues on behalf of the resurrection of the dead on the basis of the written law that the Sadducees accept. He uses Exodus 3:2, 6 as an example of the Heavenly Father being God of the living who have passed from this life to the next.
 
This passage also relates the idea that the risen body is glorified. He states that the body is brought to a glorified state, free of the burdens of age or deformity (“for they are like angels”). No longer is there earthly need for marriage, that purpose being the continuation of the species. It is not necessary because there is no death in the Heavenly Kingdom.
 
CCC: Lk 20:36 330; Lk 20:39 575
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Reflection:
 
As we look at the whole picture of our celebration this day, we see the nearly infinite combinations of Scripture and saintly examples that provide us daily with a different lesson.  The reading from Maccabees tells us the story of the evil King Antiochus.  His attempts to spread his domination of the region by force are stopped in the East as he tries to take Persian treasure.  He then learns that the Hebrews to his West, whose cities he had conquered and whose temple he had sacked, had also risen unexpectedly and thrown back his armies.  The king, we are told, was so depressed over these defeats that he sank into an illness that would ultimately take his life.  He recognized that what he had done was wrong (we remember this is a Hebrew recalling these events) and even so lashes out one more time against them.  God strengthens Judas, and Antiochus’ designs are turned back as well.  God supports his faithful, even against staggering odds.
 
This has happened many times throughout the history of the children of Israel.  The psalm response sings about it in earlier times, how God’s salvation is always at hand for those who are faithful to him and trust in his strength.  How many times has he shown this?  Yet still there are those who would believe that he does not exist, that his promises are hollow.  Look at the Sadducees in the Gospel.  They challenge Jesus using their narrow understanding of Mosaic Law. 
 
Unlike some who would use this as a story about divorce, the meaning behind this story is our belief in the resurrection.  The resurrection is our great hope and the promise made by God, sealed in the Blood of his only Son.  It is the final promise, the ultimate gift, and the lasting proof of God’s great love for us – eternal life.
 
We connect all of these lessons and place on top of them the example of strength that faith in the promise of the resurrection can give to those who believe.  We pray today that we may also have that strength and faith in the face of any obstacles we encounter.
 
Pax

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of Obligatory Memorial or higher, a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated. This is indicated in the calendar by “BVM.” The readings and prayers may be selected from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
[2] The picture is “The Resurrection” by El Greco, 1577-79.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible: “Chronicles-Maccabees”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p.496