DAILY GOSPEL: 17/11/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Wednesday of the Thirty-third week in Ordinary Time
Book of Revelation 4:1-11.
After this I had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, "Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards."
At once I was caught up in spirit. A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat
one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.
Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal. In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back.
The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a human being, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.
The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come."
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:
"Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created."
Psalms 150(149):1-2.3-4.5-6.
Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.
Give praise for his mighty deeds, praise him for his great majesty.
Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise him with harp and lyre.
Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with flutes and strings.
Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:11-28.
While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately.
So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'
His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.'
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.'
He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.'
Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.'
And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.'
Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.'
He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
After this I had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, "Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards."
At once I was caught up in spirit. A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat
one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.
Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal. In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back.
The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a human being, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.
The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come."
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:
"Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created."
Psalms 150(149):1-2.3-4.5-6.
Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven.
Give praise for his mighty deeds, praise him for his great majesty.
Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise him with harp and lyre.
Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with flutes and strings.
Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 19:11-28.
While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately.
So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'
His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.'
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.'
He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.'
Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.'
And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.'
Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.'
He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
Lc 19,11-28
Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
Homilies on the Book of Numbers, n°12, §3
The gift of God, the freedom of man
What have we to offer God? Faith and love. That is where we find what God asks of us, as it is written: «And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul» (Dt 10,12). These are the offerings and these the gifts we should make to the Lord. And if we are to offer him these gifts with all our heart, then first of all we must get to know him. We must have drunk of the knowledge of his goodness from the deep waters of his well...
People who deny that salvation lay within the power of the man's freedom should be ashamed on hearing these words! Would God ask something from him if he wasn't capable of responding to God's demand and giving him what he owed? For there is God's gift but also man's contribution. For example, it was well within the man's power that one gold coin should make ten or five more; but that the man should possess that gold coin with which to produce ten more in the first place belonged to God. Once he had given to God the ten gold coins he had made, the man received a new sort of gift: not money this time, but the power and sovereignty over ten cities.
In the same way, God asked Abraham to make an offering of his son, Isaac, on the mountain he would show him. And Abraham, without hesitation, offered his only son: he laid him on the altar and drew out his knife to slay him. But at once a voice restrained him and a ram was given him to be sacrificed in his son's place (Gn 22). So you see: what we offer God depends on us; but this offering is asked of us so that, in making our gift, we might witness to our love for God and faith in him.
People who deny that salvation lay within the power of the man's freedom should be ashamed on hearing these words! Would God ask something from him if he wasn't capable of responding to God's demand and giving him what he owed? For there is God's gift but also man's contribution. For example, it was well within the man's power that one gold coin should make ten or five more; but that the man should possess that gold coin with which to produce ten more in the first place belonged to God. Once he had given to God the ten gold coins he had made, the man received a new sort of gift: not money this time, but the power and sovereignty over ten cities.
In the same way, God asked Abraham to make an offering of his son, Isaac, on the mountain he would show him. And Abraham, without hesitation, offered his only son: he laid him on the altar and drew out his knife to slay him. But at once a voice restrained him and a ram was given him to be sacrificed in his son's place (Gn 22). So you see: what we offer God depends on us; but this offering is asked of us so that, in making our gift, we might witness to our love for God and faith in him.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary († 1231) - Memorial
SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
(† 1231)
(† 1231)
Elizabeth was daughter of a king of Hungary, and niece of St. Hedwige. She was betrothed in infancy to Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia, and brought up in his father's court. Not content with receiving daily numbers of poor in her palace, and relieving all in distress, she built several hospitals, where she served the sick, dressing the most repulsive sores with her own hands.
Once as she was carrying in the folds of her mantle some provisions for the poor, she met her husband returning from the chase. Astonished to see her bending under the weight of her burden, he opened the mantle which she kept pressed against her, and found in it nothing but beautiful red and white roses, although it was not the season for flowers. Bidding her pursue her way, he took one of the marvellous roses, and kept it all his life.
On her husband's death she was cruelly driven from her palace, and forced to wander through the streets with her little children, a prey to hunger and cold; but she welcomed all her sufferings, and continued to be the mother of the poor, converting many by her holy life.
She died in 1231, at the age of twenty-four.
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