(Optional Memorial for Saint
Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr)
(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Alternate Readings for the Memorial
of St. Catherine of Alexandria may be taken from the Common
of Virgins or the Common
of Martyrs
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.
 |
| “The Resurrection” by El Greco, 1577-79 |
Reading 1: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13
As King Antiochus was
traversing the inland provinces,
he heard that in Persia
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
that the armies sent into the
land of Judah
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
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).
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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. In these strophes, thanks is given 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.
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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 up 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
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.
We couple 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
[1]
General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous
Notes no. 5
[2]
The picture is “The Resurrection” by El Greco, 1577-79
[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 re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
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