Reading 1 Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,
with whom he drank.
Under the influence of the wine,
he ordered the gold and silver vessels
which Nebuchadnezzar, his father,
had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,
to be brought in so that the king, his lords,
his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.
When the gold and silver vessels
taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in,
and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers
were drinking wine from them,
they praised their gods of gold and silver,
bronze and iron, wood and stone.
Suddenly, opposite the lampstand,
the fingers of a human hand appeared,
writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace.
When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched;
his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook,
and his knees knocked.
Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king.
The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile,
whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?
I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,
that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties;
if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means,
you shall be clothed in purple,
wear a gold collar about your neck,
and be third in the government of the kingdom."
Daniel answered the king:
"You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else;
but the writing I will read for you, O king,
and tell you what it means.
You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.
You had the vessels of his temple brought before you,
so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers,
might drink wine from them;
and you praised the gods of silver and gold,
bronze and iron, wood and stone,
that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence.
But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.
"This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.
These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Responsorial Psalm Dn 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67
R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
Gospel Lk 21:12-19
Jesus said to the crowd:
"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
Meditation: Luke 21:12-19
“They will seize and persecute you.” (Luke 21:12)
Persecution. The mere word evokes a sense of dread in our hearts. When Jesus spoke these words, he knew that we would all face some form of persecution for our faith. Of course, we are familiar with the tales of persecution from the early church. But in many countries today, people are being displaced, arrested, tortured, and even executed because of their faith in Jesus.
For many of us, especially those of us who live in the “comfortable” West, persecution is a far-off reality. Very few of us have had our human rights denied or been imprisoned for our faith. But that is only one form of persecution. No matter who we are or where we live, we all face the inner persecution of temptation. More often than not, these kinds of inner persecutions, these spiritual harassments, come from the devil.
So how do we deal with these evil efforts? By being alert. Satan is always on the prowl, and we need to be aware of his different disguises and strategies. Day after day, the devil is at work, whispering his negative, condemning messages into our minds. He is always trying to weaken our faith, divide us from our friends, or tell us that we would be much better off if we just forgot about the Lord. That’s why we need to weigh our thoughts carefully to discern whether they are coming from the devil or not.
But it’s not enough just to stay on guard. In addition to this defensive posture, we need to go on the offense by filling our minds with the truth: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). “The accuser of our brothers and sisters is cast out” (Revelation 12:10). “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). We can keep passages like these in the forefront of our minds as weapons against the devil’s harassment. Jesus is on our side! In him, we can overcome everything!
“Lord, you are my strength in times of trouble. Be with all of us as we fight the good fight of faith. May your mighty arm bring us deliverance and peace.”
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