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| “Saint Cecilia” by Guido Reni, 1606 |
Reading 1: 1 Maccabees
4:36-37, 52-59
Judas and his brothers said,
“Now that our enemies have been crushed,
let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.”
So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion
Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth
month,
that is, the month of Chislev,
in the year one hundred and forty-eight,
they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law
on the new altar of burnt offerings that they had made.
On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had
defiled it,
on that very day it was reconsecrated
with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals.
All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised
Heaven,
who had given them success.
For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar
and joyfully offered burnt offerings and sacrifices
of deliverance and praise.
They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns
and shields;
they repaired the gates and the priests’ chambers
and furnished them with doors.
There was great joy among the people
now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed.
Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel
decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar
should be observed with joy and gladness
on the anniversary every year for eight days,
from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev.
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Commentary on 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59
The war with the Gentiles who were trying to destroy the
Hebrew faith and traditions was started by Mattathias. In this passage it is
won by his son Judas (who was called Maccabeus). This final victory in
Jerusalem required the cleansing and rededication of the temple. We hear a
feast declared toward the end of the passage. That feast is celebrated by the
Jewish people today as Hannukah, also called the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22).
The ancient historian, Josephus Flavius, calls it the Feast of Lights.
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Responsorial Psalm:
1
Chronicles 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd
R. (13b) We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
“Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity.”
R. We praise your
glorious name, O mighty God.
“Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.
For all in heaven and on earth is yours.”
R. We praise your
glorious name, O mighty God.
“Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you.”
R. We praise your
glorious name, O mighty God.
“You have dominion over all,
In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all.”
R. We praise your
glorious name, O mighty God.
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Commentary on 1 Chr 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a, 12bcd
This great hymn of praise from First Chronicles directs our
thoughts toward the power and majesty of God the Father. It rejoices in his
omnipotent reign over all the earth. It is called "David's Prayer,"
and consists of three parts. This
selection is the first part which is a solemn praise for God's sovereignty and
power.
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Gospel: Luke 19:45-48
Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out
those who were selling things, saying to them,
“It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.”
And every day he was teaching in the temple area.
The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the
people, meanwhile,
were seeking to put him to death,
but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose
because all the people were hanging on his words.
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Commentary on Lk 19:45-48
Following the lament for Jerusalem,
the Lord proceeds directly to the temple in Jerusalem and there displays his
power and zeal for “His Father’s House.” He drives out the vendors who
had set up business in the outer precincts so that he would have a purified
place to continue his teaching mission.
This episode, also captured
in Mark 11:11, 15-19, Matthew 21:10-17, and John 2:13-22 with
different emphasis for each, is best understood, according to scholars, in
conjunction with the words of the Prophet Malachi (Malachi 3:1-3). “And
suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.” Jesus
quotes Isaiah
56:7 synthesizing it with Jeremiah 7:11 as in
St. Luke’s Gospel. This is done to create an environment of holiness in which
his mission of prayer and teaching may continue.
CCC: Lk 9:45 554
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Reflection:
If we follow the news on a daily basis it is easy to see
that we are in the midst of a great war that is raging around the world. We
might even call it (as the King of Jordan did some time back) World War III. In
some parts of the world, the Middle East, Northern India, and to some degree in
China Africa
most notably (although Islamic forces are also pushing in there). In all areas
of the world, the battle for the souls of mankind is being fiercely waged. The
enemies are various, wearing different uniforms, some with no uniforms at all;
call them insurgents who blend in and claim to be on “our side,” Jesus’ side.
When we look at this war from 10,000 feet as it is described
above we can feel the relevance of the reading from Maccabees in which the temple
is finally re-taken and Judas (ironic as that name might seem) fulfills the
wishes of his father Mattathias by reestablishing the Law of Moses and re-consecrating
the altar in the temple in Jerusalem.
In a smaller but more important skirmish, the Gospel of St.
Luke describes Jesus’ entry into that same temple, driving out those who would
commercialize the sacrifices of the people and profit by the Law of Moses. (We
recognize that in doing this, the Lord is gaining the enmity of the Sanhedrin
who sold the franchises to those vendors.)
These two examples demonstrate that this war that is being
fought is epic in the span of time, continuing through the millennia. It
actually started at the beginning of history, when St. Michael won the first
battle casting Lucifer out of heaven. The human race lost the second major
battle as Adam and Eve were deceived and failed their own test, being thrown
out of paradise and allowing death to enter the world.
Here is the surprise that should be no surprise. We are all
drafted into the army of God which is fighting this war. We are in the
trenches, willingly or not. We are either pushing back the forces that would
destroy us or we are sitting passively by waiting for the battle to find us.
Even now, there are those who ask us to surrender, to give our parol (using the
archaic understanding – in an earlier age, when a combatant surrendered he
would give his word of honor not to resist further) and go over to the enemy.
The question (prayer) we must answer (offer) today is whose
side are we on and what will we do in this conflict that rages? The great
weapon we have is Christ’s love. We must pick up this weapon and use it as both
shield and sword, striking the enemies of Jesus where we find them. It was out
of love for the Father that he cleansed the temple; it must be out of love that
we cleanse our hearts and offer his love to those we meet.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Saint Cecilia” by Guido Reni,
1606.
[3] 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.
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