St. Maximinus

Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
St Cyril of Jerusalem : “Great signs in heaven”

Reading

Dn 2,31-45.
"In your vision, O king, you saw a statue, very large and exceedingly bright, terrifying in appearance as it stood before you. The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs bronze, the legs iron, its feet partly iron and partly tile. While you looked at the statue, a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces. The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. "This was the dream; the interpretation we shall also give in the king's presence. You, O king, are the king of kings; to you the God of heaven has given dominion and strength, power and glory; men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell, he has handed over to you, making you ruler over them all; you are the head of gold. Another kingdom shall take your place, inferior to yours, then a third kingdom, of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else. The feet and toes you saw, partly of potter's tile and partly of iron, mean that it shall be a divided kingdom, but yet have some of the hardness of iron. As you saw the iron mixed with clay tile, and the toes partly iron and partly tile, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. The iron mixed with clay tile means that they shall seal their alliances by intermarriage, but they shall not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay. In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever. That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain without a hand being put to it, which broke in pieces the tile, iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future; this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure."


Dn 3,57.58.59.60.61.
Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.


Lk 21,5-11.
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, All that you see here--the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down. Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

St Cyril of Jerusalem (313-350), Bishop of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church
Baptismal catechesis 15

“Great signs in heaven”

The Lord who was lifted up in the clouds will come from heaven on the clouds (Ac 1,9). Indeed, it was he who said: “And they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory”, (Mt 24,30). But what will the true sign of his coming be, for fear that the powers of our enemies dare to deceive us by simulating them? “And then the sign of the Son of Man,” he said, “will appear in heaven,” (Mt 24,30). Now, the true and distinctive sign of Christ is the cross. The sign of a shining cross goes before the king designating the one who had first of all been crucified so that those who beforehand had pierced him with nails and surrounded him with snares might beat their breasts at this sight (Zec 12,10), saying: “Behold him who was buffeted, whose face was spat upon, the one who was bound with chains, who in times past was humbled on the cross.” “Where shall we flee from the face of your anger?” they will say. And, surrounded by the angelic hosts, they will find no hiding place anywhere, (cf Rv 6,16-17). Fear will be the sign where enemies of the cross are concerned; but joy for its friends, who have believed in, preached or suffered for it. Who will then have the happiness of being found a friend of Christ? This glorious king, whom a guard of angels surrounds and who sits on the same throne as his Father, will not shun his servants. So that the elect are not confused with his enemies, “he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds,” (Mt 24,31). He did not forget Lot in his isolation (cf. Gn 19,15; Lk 17,28); how could he forget the great multitude of the just? “Come, you who are blessed by my Father,” (Mt 25,34) is what he is going to say to those who will be carried off on chariots of cloud and whom the angels will gather together.