The Catholic Calendar for Friday, November 19, 2004
Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Revelation 10:8-11
Psalm 119:14,24,72,103,111,131
Luke 19:45-48

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

How prayerfully we must reflect on Holy Scripture! Today's readings can only be understood as prophetic actions, highly charged with meaning. In Revelation, the prophet must not only take the scroll from the angel. He must actually eat the scroll. The taste in the mouth is sweet, but the sensation in the stomach is sour and unpleasant. The meaning as generally accepted is this: God's command to live His Word brings joy, but this mission will bring suffering and pain. God's way is bittersweet. In other words, there is no crown without a cross.

In the Gospel, Jesus Himself is the Prophet--and his message is clear: the Jewish leadership has failed to fulfill God's intention in the temple worship--as a result, He is no longer pleased with their sacrifices. Only the Sacrifice of His Son will bring cleansing, a sacrifice ironically brought to realization by the hatred Jesus' actions incites in his enemies. The chalice will not pass.

And so, the "paschal mystery" is revealed--the dying and rising of Jesus, the pain and the glory, will be ours, too, but only if we accept both in our lives.

- Msgr. Paul E. Whitmore
(smartins at twcny dot rr dot com)

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posted by joachim at 5:27 AM