Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

November 27, 2008

Reading 1
Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a

I, John, saw another angel coming down from heaven,
having great authority,
and the earth became illumined by his splendor.
He cried out in a mighty voice:

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
a cage for every unclean and disgusting beast.”

A mighty angel picked up a stone like a huge millstone
and threw it into the sea and said:

“With such force will Babylon the great city be thrown down,
and will never be found again.
No melodies of harpists and musicians,
flutists and trumpeters,
will ever be heard in you again.
No craftsmen in any trade
will ever be found in you again.
No sound of the millstone
will ever be heard in you again.
No light from a lamp
will ever be seen in you again.
No voices of bride and groom
will ever be heard in you again.
Because your merchants were the great ones of the world,
all nations were led astray by your magic potion.”

After this I heard what sounded like
the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying:

“Alleluia!
Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God,
for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great harlot
who corrupted the earth with her harlotry.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

They said a second time:

“Alleluia! Smoke will rise from her forever and ever.”

Then the angel said to me, “Write this:
Blessed are those who have been called
to the wedding feast of the Lamb.”

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (Rev. 19: 9a) Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Blessed are they who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.

Gospel
Lk 21:20-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
know that its desolation is at hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Let those within the city escape from it,
and let those in the countryside not enter the city,

for these days are the time of punishment
when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days,
for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth
and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword
and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles;
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.”

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The Daily Reflection

November 27th 2008
by: Andy Alexandcr, S.J.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation!
It is from your goodness that we gather today in this United States of America to give you thanks and praise for the blessings you have showered upon us.

We thank you this bountiful land – the plains, forests, mountains, rivers, lakes and deserts.
We thank you for the people native to this land – for the lessons we have learned together.
We thank you for the diversity of people you gathered to these shores from around the world.
We thank you for our history – for the freedoms we cherish as well as for the scars that have challenged our integrity.

In the face of many challenges, amid forces that try to divide us, you keep blessing our desires for justice and unity.
You have allowed us to offer hope for many in the world, you have blessed us to defend the cause of liberty and freedom.

We are sorry for the evil of slavery and for the ongoing sin of racism among us.
We are sorry for the times we have been a cause of division in the world, for when our greed and our use of the world’s resources has hurt the rest of the world, especially the poor.
We grieve that we have become a culture insensitive to the absolute dignity of every human life and that we continue to struggle to know how to protect the basic human rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all.
We beg you for the gifts of conversion and healing, for ourselves, and for the sake of the most vulnerable of the earth.

We trust in your mercy, O Lord, our God, and we ask you to renew us with hope and re-dedication to thanksgiving.
May we grow in gratitude today for the many gifts you have given us – gifts beyond what most of the world can imagine.
With our thanksgiving, we ask you to bless us with generosity, that we might welcome the stranger and care for those most in need, because you have been so good to us.

Allow us to be good stewards of the many gifts you have given us.
Bless our families and loved ones. Bless our nation and the whole family of nations.
We know you have given us gifts to allow us to make this nation greater and the world better, and so we thank you.
Grant us greater understanding, solidarity, compassion, unity justice and peace.

We make our thanksgiving and entrust our prayers to you, in the name of Jesus, who himself prayed that we may be one.

Amen.