The Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Daniel 5:1-6,13-14,16-17,23-28
Daniel 3:62-67
Luke 21:12-19

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

You are not to prepare your defense beforehand. . .

Jesus wisely told us not to rehearse our defense against the world and His reasons are incredibly intricate, though simply stated.

We are not to rehearse our defense to the world's accusation, because we do not truly understand the depths of God's righteousness which is ours when we are persecuted for His name's sake. When we rehearse our justification, it is in merely human terms.

When we try to rehearse, we become nervous, upset, and we do not make the best case for our cause. Our defense is not for us -- it may yield nothing for us. Our defense is for the Glory of God, Jesus Christ. Our defense isn't about defending ourselves, but about defending the Heavenly Kingdom through the powerful witness of our lives and of the Crucified.

Finally, God will speak through us if we let Him. This is true in the courts, but it is even true in the grocery store check-out line. You don't need to rehearse your faith, just be prepared to live it and become a living witness, a holy sacrifice, a beautiful offering to God in giving of yourself to others.

- JuandelaCruz (sriddle415 at yahoo dot com)

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posted by joachim at 4:21 AM