Daniel 6:12-28, Daniel 3:68:74, Luke 21:20-28

Feast of St. Catherine Laboure

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Daniel 6:12-28, Daniel 3:68:74, Luke 21:20-28

Daniel 6:12-28

My Beloved, no plan against Your chosen will succeed for they have who Go battles mightily on their behalf.  Man made laws and decrees will change only the Word of the Lord stands firm forever.  Kings and governments stand for  while but in the end all earthly rule and power comes to an end but Your rule Lord is eternal as Daniel's enemies found out.  

Daniel's faith in You was rewarded.  When we do what we know is right, as long as we offer praise and worship to God alone and refuse to bow before men or idols, we need not be afraid.  Even the king recognized that You O Lord are faithful.  The witness of Daniel's life was sufficient for the king to believe that You had power to save whereas he could do nothing to save Daniel from the malice of his enemies.

Just as Pilate tried his best to save You from the malice and hatred of Your enemies so did the king try to save Daniel but in the end both were powerless in the face of evil.  You saved Daniel's life and everyone knew that You are the true God just as the pagan king Darius acknowledged in his decree to all nations and to people of all languages.  Similarly, Pilate also wrote on the sign placed on the Cross above Your head in the 3 major languages of the world Hebrew, Latin and Greek - Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews.

You came to die and in dying, You gave us eternal life.

Daniel 3:68:74

 My Beloved if nature and the elements in nature praise and exalt You forever, how much more must we by our lives praise and exalt You as well.

Luke 21:20-28

My Beloved, everything You prophesied would happen to Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem too place exactly as You said it would.  Life as the Jews knew it was systematically destroyed by the Romans.  They rejected You  and they paid the price for their rejection.  There were condemned to wander the face of the earth as exiles because they refused to believe in the time of Your visitation.  However God has not and will never forget His Covenant with them they are after all His chosen people and it was through them that He would send You into the world.

Once all those whom You desire to be saved are saved, You will come to Your own and this time at Your 2nd coming they will accept You as their Messiah.  The Son of Man came once before as a Baby - helpless, small, poor, weak, vulnerable, dependent.  When You come again You will come as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to claim Your inheritance - the world You saved, redeemed and sanctified with Your life.  Alleluia! Amen!