Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 27th November, 2023
Monday of the Thirty +Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Optional Memorial of St Fergal, bishop and missionary
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Daniel 1:1-6. 8-20
The king found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hands, with some of the furnishings of the Temple of God. He took them away to the land of Shinar, and stored the sacred vessels in the treasury of his own gods.
The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to select from the Israelites a certain number of boys of either royal or noble descent; they had to be without any physical defect, of good appearance, trained in every kind of wisdom, well-informed, quick at learning, suitable for service in the palace of the king. Ashpenaz himself was to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldaeans. The king assigned them a daily allowance of food and wine from his own royal table. They were to receive an education lasting for three years, after which they were expected to be fit for the king’s society. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were Judaeans. Daniel, who was most anxious not to defile himself with the food and wine from the royal table, begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement; and by the grace of God Daniel met goodwill and sympathy on the part of the chief eunuch. But he warned Daniel,
‘I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age, my head will be in danger with the king because of you’.
At this Daniel turned to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
Daniel said,
‘Please allow your servants a ten days’ trial, during which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king’s food; go by what you see, and treat your servants accordingly.’
The man agreed to do what they asked and put them on ten days’ trial. When the ten days were over they looked and were in better health than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance from the royal table; so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. And God favoured these four boys with knowledge and intelligence in everything connected with literature, and in wisdom; while Daniel had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream. When the period stipulated by the king for the boys’ training was over, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king conversed with them, and among all the boys found none to equal Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they became members of the king’s court, and on whatever point of wisdom or information he might question them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Dan 3: 52-56. Rv 52
Response To you glory and praise for evermore.
1. You are blest, Lord God of our fathers. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
Blest your glorious holy name. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
2. You are blest in the temple of your glory. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest on the throne of your kingdom. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
3. You are blest who gaze into the depths. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
You are blest in the firmament of heaven. Response: To you glory and praise for evermore.
Gospel Acclamation Apoc 2: 10
Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to die, says the Lord, keep faithful, and I will give you the crown of life.
Alleluia!
Or Mt 24: 42
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 21:1-4 Glory to you, O Lord.
He noticed a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins.
As Jesus looked up he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said,
‘I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Monday Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 21:1-4
November is a month when we remember those who have died. There are many widows and widowers who are remembering their deceased spouses. Several widows are mentioned in the gospels, especially in the gospel of Luke from which we are reading today. They are always portrayed in a very positive light. There is Anna, the eighty four year old widow, who worshipped in the temple with prayer and fasting night and day. There is the widow in the parable Jesus spoke who wore down an unjust judge until she eventually got what she was entitled to. In today’s gospel reading we have another widow who is singled out by Jesus for her extraordinary generosity. She was poor, with little in the way of financial resources. What she contributed to the Temple treasury seemed very little indeed, just two small coins. We could think of two 10 cent coins today. Nobody would have paid any attention to her. Yet, Jesus noticed her and made sure his disciples noticed her as well. He saw that the little she gave was all she had to live on. Even though she gave little, in reality she gave everything. The quality of her giving was extraordinary, even though the quantity she gave was tiny. Quantity isn’t always a good indicator of quality. That is true in a more general sense, not just a monetary sense. As we get older and frailer, we will have less to give. Our health can be poorer, our energy level can be lower. Yet, if we give generously out of the little we have, the Lord will recognize something of the quality of his own spirit in us. On the cross, Jesus had nothing to give; everything had been taken from him. Yet, it was at that very moment that he was giving everything.
________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
