THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - 2023

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

God so loved us that he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away. 1 JN 4:10

2 MACCABEES 6:18-31 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As these last weeks of the month of November dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory draws to a close we are reminded time and time again of Your words that we ought not to fear those who have the power to kill the body and after that can do nothing more but to Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has the power to throw you into hell.

Today's first reading gives us a shining example of a venerable old man, Eleazar, who would rather die nobly than compromise his integrity and lead anyone who was watching him astray. He scorned gaining a few more years to live only to lose his soul eternally. We live in a world that celebrates and prizes physical pleasure and temporal goods over the spiritual. Some elderly bishops and priests, leaders in the Church, parents, and grandparents, as well as some of the older generation would do well to reflect on the honorable words and actions of Eleazer. 

‘Such pretence’ he said ‘does not square with our time of life; many young people would suppose that Eleazar at the age of ninety had conformed to the foreigners’ way of life, and because I had played this part for the sake of a paltry brief spell of life might themselves be led astray on my account; I should only bring defilement and disgrace on my old age. Even though for the moment I avoid execution by man, I can never, living or dead, elude the grasp of the Almighty. Therefore if I am man enough to quit this life here and now I shall prove myself worthy of my old age, and I shall have left the young a noble example of how to make a good death, eagerly and generously, for the venerable and holy laws.’

PSALM 3:2-7 ©

How many are my foes, O Lord!

How many are rising up against me!
How many are saying about me:
‘There is no help for him in God.’

But you, Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, who lift up my head.
I cry aloud to the Lord.
He answers from his holy mountain.

I lie down to rest and I sleep.

I wake, for the Lord upholds me.
I will not fear even thousands of people
who are ranged on every side against me.

The Lord upholds me.

LUKE 19:1-10 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Many wanted to see You Lord out of curiosity, or because they wanted to be healed or a loved one to be healed. They had heard of the many miracles You had worked and Your teachings which though old seemed fresh and new and they wanted to see for themselves whether all the hype about You was true. That's all they wanted, nothing more. And so it was with Zacchaeus as well. It began with curiosity. The Gospel says, that he was anxious to see what kind of man You were and so he joined the crowds. However, being short in stature and unable to see above the crowds around him, having no regard for seeming ridiculous he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to get a better view. He must have almost fallen off the branch where he was perched when You stopped right under him and looking up at him said, ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ 

Incredible joy surged through this tax collector who had defrauded many and was hated by his countrymen. Despite the grumbling crowd who sneered at him and faulted You for wanting to stay at a sinner's house, the irrepressible Zacchaeus made voluntary reparation publicly for his past deeds saying, to You, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ Forgiveness and restoration were granted to him and his family in an instant when You said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.’