Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day
The Apostolic Constitutions : "Not a hair on your head will be destroyed"
Reading
Dn 5,1-6.13-14.16-17.23-28.
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, with whom he drank. Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them. When the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers were drinking wine from them, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace. When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked. Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile, whom my father, the king, brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom. But I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties; if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold collar about your neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom." Daniel answered the king: "You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else; but the writing I will read for you, O king, and tell you what it means. 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. By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down. "This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Dn 3,62.63.64.65.66.67.
Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
[Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Lk 21,12-19.
Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony. 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. You will even 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, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.
Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
Commentary of the day
The Apostolic Constitutions (380), a canonical and liturgical collection
A resumption of the Didascalia of the Apostles, text of the first half of the 3rd century (cf SC 329)
"Not a hair on your head will be destroyed"
If we are called to martyrdom, we should make steadfast confession of the holy Name. And if we are punished on this account, let us rejoice since we are hastening towards immortality. If we are persecuted let us not be cast down about it, “let us not be enamoured of the present world”, nor of “praise from human beings” (2Tm 4,10; Rom 2,29), nor of the glory and honor shown to princes, as reliable. These admire the Lord’s deeds but do not believe in him for fear of the high priests and other leaders, for “they preferred human praise to the glory of God” (Jn 12,43). In “making a noble confession” of the faith (1Tm 6,12) not only do we ensure our own salvation but we strengthen that of the newly baptized and consolidate the faith of the catechumens… So let him who is judged worthy of martyrdom rejoice to imitate his master, for it is ordained: “Let each one be perfect like his teacher,” (cf Lk 6,40). Now, our teacher, Jesus, the Lord, was struck down on our account; he patiently endured calumny and insult; he was covered with spittle, slapped, scourged; after being whipped, he was nailed to the cross; he was given vinegar and gall to drink and, having fulfilled the Scriptures, he said to God his Father: “Into your hands I commend my spirit,” (Lk 23,46). And so whoever asks to become his disciple, let him aspire to struggle as he did; let him imitate his patience, knowing that…, whatever happens to him, he will be repaid by God if he believes in the one and only true God… For our all-powerful God will bring us back to life through our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his infallible promise, together with all those who have died since the beginning… Even if we die at sea, even if we are scattered on the ground, even if we are torn apart by savage beasts or birds of prey, he will raise us up by his power, for the whole universe is held in the hand of God. “Not a hair of your head,” he says, “will be destroyed.” That is why he urges us in these words: “It is by your perseverance that you will gain life.”
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