"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary TimeSaints of the day:
St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin & Martyr († c. 307)
Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day:
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395), monk and Bishop
Catechetical Instruction, 29-30
« Despised by all »
If God’s gift to the world in sending it his Son is so good, so worthy of God, why did he then defer his gift for so long? Why, when evil in the world was still in its early stages, did God not cut short its hidden development? I have time to respond briefly to this objection that it is God’s prevenient Wisdom, the One who is good by nature, who has held back this gift. Just as with physical illnesses… doctors wait until the disease, which is hidden within the body to begin with, manifests itself without so that he can apply the remedy it needs once it has become visible, so, once the disease of sin had attacked the human race, the world’s Physician waited until no kind of wickedness should remain concealed.
SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA
Virgin and Martyr
(† c. 307)
Virgin and Martyr
(† c. 307)
Catherine was a noble virgin of Alexandria. Before her Baptism, it is said, she saw in vision the Blessed Virgin ask her Son to receive her among His servants, but the Divine Infant turned away. After Baptism, Catherine saw the same vision, when Jesus Christ received her with great affection, and espoused her before the court of heaven.
When the impious tyrant Maximin II came to Alexandria, fascinated by the wisdom, beauty and wealth of the Saint, he in vain urged his suit. At last in his rage and disappointment he ordered her to be stripped and scourged. She fled to the Arabian mountains, where the soldiers overtook her, and after many torments put her to death. Her body was laid on Mount Sinai, and a beautiful legend relates that Catherine having prayed that no man might see or touch her body after death, angels bore it to the grave.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
The Book of Daniel 5:1 Belshatzar the king gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, and in the presence of the thousand he was drinking wine. 2 While tasting the wine, Belshatzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels which his father N’vukhadnetzar had removed from the temple in Yerushalayim be brought; so that the king, his lords, his wives and his concubines could drink from them. 3 So they brought the gold vessels which had been removed from the sanctuary of the house of God in Yerushalayim; and the king, his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank their wine and praised their gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.
5 Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the palace wall by the lampstand. When the king saw the palm of the hand that was writing, 6 the king’s face took on a different look. As frightening thoughts rose up within him, his hip joints gave way and his knees started knocking together.
13 Dani’el was brought into the king’s presence. The king said to Dani’el, “Are you Dani’el, one of the exiles from Y’hudah whom the king my father brought out of Y’hudah? 14 I’ve heard about you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have been found to have light, discernment and extraordinary wisdom.
16 However, I’ve heard that you can give interpretations and solve knotty problems. Now if you can read the inscription and tell me what it means, you will be dressed in royal purple, wear a gold chain around your neck and be one of the three men ruling the kingdom.”
17 Dani’el answered the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the inscription to the king and tell him what it means.
23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven by having them bring you the vessels from his house; and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them; then you offered praise to your gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone, which can’t see, hear or know anything. Meanwhile, God, who holds your very breath in his hands, and to whom belongs everything you do, you have not glorified. 24 This is why he sent the hand to write this inscription; 25 and the inscription says, ‘M’ne! M’ne! T’kel ufarsin.’ [Daniel 5:25 M’ne — a maneh was a coin; Aramaic mena means “to count.” T’kel is Aramaic for shekel, a unit of weight; Aramaic tekilta means “you are weighed.” P’res (an Aramaic noun, plural parsin), is half a maneh; p’ris means “cut up, divided”; Paras is Persia. (The “f” in ufarsin is the Aramaic letter peh, sometimes pronounced “p” and sometimes, “f.”)] 26 This is what it means: ‘M’ne!’ — God has counted up your kingdom and brought it to an end. 27 ‘T’kel’ — you are weighed on the balance-scale and come up short. 28 ‘P’res’ — your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
(Psalm) The Book of Daniel 3:62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
63 Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
64 Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
65 All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
66 Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
67 Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint Luke 21:12 But before all this, they will arrest you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons; and you will be brought before kings and governors. This will all be on account of me, 13 but it will prove an opportunity for you to bear witness. 14 So make up your minds not to worry, rehearsing your defense beforehand; 15 for I myself will give you an eloquence and a wisdom that no adversary will be able to resist or refute. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends; some of you they will have put to death; 17 and everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will be lost. 19 By standing firm you will save your lives.Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day:
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395), monk and Bishop
Catechetical Instruction, 29-30
That is why God did not apply his remedy to the world immediately after Cain’s jealousy and murder of his brother Abel… It was when vice had reached its peak and there was no single act of evil that men had not attempted that God set about curing the sore, no longer in its beginnings but in its full development. In this way the divine remedy could extend to every human weakness…
But then, why was the grace of the Gospel not at once extended over all? True, the divine call is addressed equally to all alike, without distinction of condition, age or race… But he who has the freely disposition of all things within his hands, pushed to the extreme his respect for humankind. He has permitted each one of us to have our own domain over which we alone are masters: this is the will, the faculty that does not know bondage, which remains free, founded on the autonomy of reason. Therefore faith is at the free disposition of those who receive the message of the Gospel.
----------------------------But then, why was the grace of the Gospel not at once extended over all? True, the divine call is addressed equally to all alike, without distinction of condition, age or race… But he who has the freely disposition of all things within his hands, pushed to the extreme his respect for humankind. He has permitted each one of us to have our own domain over which we alone are masters: this is the will, the faculty that does not know bondage, which remains free, founded on the autonomy of reason. Therefore faith is at the free disposition of those who receive the message of the Gospel.
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