Saturday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day
Saint Bernard : "Be vigilant at all times and pray”
Reading
Dn 7,15-27.
I, Daniel, found my spirit anguished within its sheath of flesh, and I was terrified by the visions of my mind. I approached one of those present and asked him what all this meant in truth; in answer, he made known to me the meaning of the things: "These four great beasts stand for four kingdoms which shall arise on the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship, to possess it forever and ever." But I wished to make certain about the fourth beast, so very terrible and different from the others, devouring and crushing with its iron teeth and bronze claws, and trampling with its feet what was left; about the ten horns on its head, and the other one that sprang up, before which three horns fell; about the horn with the eyes and the mouth that spoke arrogantly, which appeared greater than its fellows. For, as I watched, that horn made war against the holy ones and was victorious until the Ancient One arrived; judgment was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came when the holy ones possessed the kingdom. He answered me thus: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the others; It shall devour the whole earth, beat it down, and crush it. The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that kingdom; another shall rise up after them, Different from those before him, who shall lay low three kings. He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law. They shall be handed over to him for a year, two years, and a half-year. But when the court is convened, and his power is taken away by final and absolute destruction, Then the kingship and dominion and majesty of all the kingdoms under the heavens shall be given to the holy people of the Most High, Whose kingdom shall be everlasting: all dominions shall serve and obey him."
Dn 3,82.83.84.85.86.87.
You sons of men, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
O Israel, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
Lk 21,34-36.
Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."
Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
Commentary of the day
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 86 on the Song of Songs
"Be vigilant at all times and pray”
He who wishes to pray in peace does not only take place into consideration, but time. The time of rest is the most suitable, and when night’s sleep spreads deep silence everywhere, prayer is offered more freely and purely. “Rise up in the night at the beginning of every watch; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord your God,” (Lam 2,19). How surely our prayer rises in the night when God alone is its witness, with the angel who receives it in order to present it at the heavenly altar! It is satisfying and luminous, tinged with modesty. It is calm and peaceful while no sound, no cry comes to interrupt it. It is pure and heartfelt when the dust of our earthly cares cannot soil it. There is no one watching who could expose it to temptation by their praise or flattery. This is why the Spouse [of the Song of Songs] acts with as much wisdom as modesty when she chooses the solitude of the night in her chamber to pray, which is to say to seek out the Word, for it is all one. You pray badly if, when you are praying, you look for any other thing than the Word, God’s utterance, or if you do not ask for the object of your prayer with regard to the Word. For everything comes from him: the remedy for your wounds, the help of which you have need, the correction of your faults, the source of your progress - in short, whatever a man can, and ought to wish for. There is no reason for asking the Word anything other than himself, since he is all. If, as need arises, we seem to ask for particular goods, and if, as we should, we request them in the light of the Word, then it is less the things themselves we are asking for but he who is the cause of our prayer.
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