November 25, 2009
Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
…you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers, might drink wine from them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify. Daniel 5:23
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. Luke 21:14-15
Piety
Although I have often abandoned you, O Lord, you have never abandoned me. Your hand of love is always outstretched towards me, even when I stubbornly look the other way. And your gentle voice constantly calls me, even when I obstinately refuse to listen. When the sins in my soul are increasing, I lose the taste for virtuous things. Yet, even at such moments, Lord, I know I am failing you and failing myself. You alone can restore my taste for virtue. There are so many false friends willing to encourage sin. But your friendship alone can give the strength of mind to resist and defeat sin.
What a good friend you are, Lord! You are so patient, willing to wait as long as necessary for me to turn to you. You rejoice at the times when I love you, but you do not hold against me the times when I ignore you. Your patience is beyond my understanding. Even when I pray, my mind fills with worldly concerns and vain daydreams. Yet you are happy if I give only a single second of honest prayer, turning that second into a seed of love.
Oh Lord, I enjoy your friendship so much, why is it not possible for me to think of you constantly? (St. Theresa of Avila Prayer)
Study
St. Theresa of Avila once commented of God: “If this is the way you treat your friends, it's no wonder you have so few!” Perhaps she was thinking about Daniel and his fate or Jesus’ speech in these closing pages of Luke. No one can mistake that for the promise of a “Garden of Eden.”
Jesus is not painting a very appealing picture of what the future holds for his followers. His comments in today’s reading are hardly fodder for a recruiting poster. He tells those around that they will be “handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.” “You will be hated by all because of my name.”
Yet the promise is not that we will be released and live the good life on Easy Street. The promise is that He will never leave our side, protecting every last hair on our head. That is truly how Jesus treats his friends…by sticking by their side through the proverbial thick and thin.
The conclusion is that if we persevere with Him, then Jesus will help us to survive whatever trials and tribulations come our way just like Daniel survives the lion’s den and the fire of the hot oven when he and his friends are cast into it.
Action
As Thanksgiving approaches, consider the group that will gather around a table with you. Are there others you would like to invite? Extend an invitation today. It is never too late.
Consider also supporting a charity which helps the world’s poorest hungry children. Visit the web site of Catholic Relief Services (www.crs.org), or Maryknoll Lay Missioners (http://www.mklaymissioners.org/thanks09/eblast), the Amigos de Jesus orphanage in Honduras (www.amigosdejesus.org) or other favorite charities to make a gift this Thanksgiving Week.
