Daily Catholic Mass Readings for November 18, 2021
First Reading: 1 Maccabees 2.15-29
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Psalm 50
1The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.3Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.4He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.5Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.6And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.7Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.8I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.9I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.10For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.11I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.12If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.13Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?14Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.16But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?17Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.18When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.19Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.20Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.21These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.22Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.23Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
Gospel: Luke 19.41-44
41And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,42Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.43For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,44And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful narratives that invite us to reflect on fidelity to God’s will and the consequences of failing to recognize His presence in our lives. The first reading from 1 Maccabees tells the story of Mattathias, a Jewish leader who refused to compromise his faith when faced with the oppressive decrees of King Antiochus. Despite the king’s demands to abandon the law of God and sacrifice to idols, Mattathias stood firm, even to the point of killing a Jew who was about to comply with the king’s orders. His courageous act of zeal for the law inspired others to join him in resistance, and together they fled to the mountains to preserve their faith. This passage reminds us of the importance of standing up for what is right, even in the face of overwhelming opposition.
In the Gospel, we hear Jesus weeping over Jerusalem as He prophesies the city’s destruction. Jesus laments that the people failed to recognize “the time of your visitation,” the moment when God’s peace could have been theirs. Instead, their blindness to God’s presence leads to their downfall. This passage challenges us to examine our own relationship with God, asking whether we are attentive to His presence in our lives and whether we are living in accordance with His will.
Both readings call us to fidelity and discernment. Mattathias’ courage in the face of persecution reminds us that our faith must be lived boldly, even when it is difficult. Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem, on the other hand, warns us of the consequences of failing to recognize and respond to God’s presence in our lives. As we go about our daily lives, let us ask ourselves: Are we standing firm in our commitment to God’s law? Are we attentive to the ways in which God is present to us, calling us to deeper faith and conversion? May we, like Mattathias, have the courage to stand up for what is right, and may we, like Jesus, weep with compassion for those who do not see. Let us strive to live with hearts open to God’s will, that we might not miss the time of our visitation.