Mass Reading & Meditation for November 26, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 21:20-28
The powers of the heavens will be shaken. (Luke 21:26)
Readings about the Second Coming of Christ can really make our hearts quicken—but not necessarily with excitement. They make us feel as if a dark cloud just entered the room, heralding doom and destruction. Is it because we are hiding something in our [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 25, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 21:12-19
You will be persecuted, Jesus warns, but “it will lead to your giving testimony” (Luke 21:13).
There is absolutely no reason to be fearful and no need to rehearse what you might say. Jesus promises: “I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 24, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 21:5-11
Have you ever been caught in a storm and heard the crack of a thunderbolt close by?
It’s a rather frightening sound, to say the least, and you know if that lightning hits you, you might not be around very long! You might be so rattled by it that you need a couple [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 23, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Daniel 1:1-6,8-20
The Book of Daniel is a compelling story of a young man taken from Jerusalem during the Babylonian exile and forced to adapt to a strange new land.
Though set in the sixth century b.c., most biblical scholars believe the book came into its final form around 165 b.c. during the reign of [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 22, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Revelation 1:5-8
Christ the King
I am the Alpha and the Omega. (Revelation 1:8)
Today begins the last week of the liturgical year. And what a difficult year it has been! Wars continue in the Middle East. There seems to be no end to abortion. Church attendance continues to decline, and the worldwide financial crisis has [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 21, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 1 Maccabees 6:1-13
How peculiar that Antiochus said to himself, “I was kindly and beloved in my rule”?(1 Maccabees 6:12)!
From the information here, we know that he thoroughly plundered Jerusalem, tortured and destroyed its inhabitants, was in the process of attacking Judah again, and was proposing to capture and pillage nearby Elymais. Torture, murder, [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 20, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59
Do religious people know how to celebrate?
Well, consider this reading, which describes the first observance of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. For eight days, the Israelites are caught up in an ecstasy of joy at the Jerusalem Temple—singing, praying, playing instruments, and even happily doing building repairs. They have good [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 19, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 1 Maccabees 2:15-29
The events in 1 and 2 Maccabees took place in the second century b.c., when the Seleucid kings invaded Israel and tried to eradicate the Jewish religion.
They set up pagan altars in the Temple, and many faithful Jews died because they continued to circumcise their children, avoid forbidden foods, and keep [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 18, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 2 Maccabees 7:1,20-31
It’s hard to imagine what that mother of seven sons went through as she watched each of them executed for refusing to deny his faith.
The only glimpse we have into her thoughts is in the words she spoke to her youngest son, and they are remarkable. Instead of telling him what [...]

Mass Reading & Meditation for November 17, 2009

Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 19:1-10
Today salvation has come to this house. (Luke 19:9)
Aren’t these words we all long to hear? This story of Zacchaeus is a wonderful encouragement to seek the Lord and the salvation he offers. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector for the Roman government and earned his pay by charging fees over and [...]