Tuesday:      Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Date:         November 21, 2023.
Year:         A
The readings: [2 Maccabees 6:18-3; Lk. 19:1-10]
The message:  Faithfully serving the Lord God.
Prepared by:  Catholic Doors Ministry
Total words:  725 words.

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May I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Feast of the Presentation of Mary. The origin of this Feast is at least 400 years old. It was first commemorated in the Western Liturgical Calendar in 1585.

Some of you may wonder why we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. It is to commemorate the day on which the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saints Anne and Joachim, presented Mary at the age of three to the Temple of God. This was done in accordance with the Jewish Custom that parents present their child to God at the Temple before the age of five.

In a way, we can say that the Presentation of Mary to the Temple is a picture of the Baptism of infants, when the newborns are presented to God for admission into the Body of Christ.

Another parallel that is found in the Jewish tradition versus today is in the education of the children. In the days of the Old Testament, children who remained in the Temple as Mary did, were educated in the ways of God by the priest. Nowadays, those who are baptized as infants, they are educated in the Catholic faith by their parents and godparents who are members of the common priesthood. [1 Pet. 2:5]

When I say, "they are educated in the Catholic faith," this is to be understood as a reference to those parents and godparents who fulfill their promises before God and the Church by nurturing the child in the Catholic Faith.

Today's First Reading from the Book of Daniel [1 Dan. 1:1-6. 8-20] is biblically known as "The Food Test." It is a reference to the time in the Jewish history when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Jerusalem and took the Jewish people into exile.

As we heard earlier, some men, namely Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the tribe of Judah, were chosen to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans while residing in the palace of king Nebuchadnezzar. During this residence, they were assigned a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine. This food consisted of a pork, a meat that was considered unclean by the Jewish people. For that reason, they were forbidden to eat any of it.

When we consider how the chain of events occurred, Daniel and his friends did not having to eat any of the pork, the First Reading implies that God did not allow the young men of the Babylonian Exile to suffer harm when they refused to partake of the pagans' food and drink. It also implies that in time of hardship, during exile and persecution, those who refused to violate the Mosaic Law by not eating pork, heavenly aid would be sent to them in one form or another. In this case, the palace master had been hand chosen by God to care for Daniel and his friends. Because of the palace master's flexibility on the matter of what should be eaten and drank, the Jewish men were able to remain faithful to the Mosaic Law. What they wished in their hearts was fulfilled by the grace of God.

To adapt this reading to today and our life in the Church, it can be said that those that those who wish to remain faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, the Lord God shall provide them with the means to do so. Even in time of obstacles, the grace of God is always at work. To perceive this grace, we must pray for guidance of the Holy Spirit and take the time to listen so we can hear in our heart what the Spirit of Jesus is telling us, which way He is guiding us in life on a day to day basis.

During the remaining of the day, let us reflect on how the grace of God is manifesting itself through us because of our faithfulness to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Do we back off as soon as an obstacle presents itself? Or do we remain faithful, trusting in the Lord Jesus to provide all of our needs?

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"Eleazar, one of the scribes in high position, a man now advanced in age and of noble presence, was being forced to open his mouth to eat swine’s flesh. But he, welcoming death with honor rather than life with pollution, went up to the rack of his own accord, spitting out the flesh, as all ought to go who have the courage to refuse things that it is not right to taste, even for the natural love of life.

Those who were in charge of that unlawful sacrifice took the man aside because of their long acquaintance with him, and privately urged him to bring meat of his own providing, proper for him to use, and to pretend that he was eating the flesh of the sacrificial meal that had been commanded by the king, so that by doing this he might be saved from death, and be treated kindly on account of his old friendship with them. But making a high resolve, worthy of his years and the dignity of his old age and the gray hairs that he had reached with distinction and his excellent life even from childhood, and moreover according to the holy God-given law, he declared himself quickly, telling them to send him to Hades.

“Such pretense is not worthy of our time of life,” he said, “for many of the young might suppose that Eleazar in his ninetieth year had gone over to an alien religion, and through my pretense, for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they would be led astray because of me, while I defile and disgrace my old age. Even if for the present I would avoid the punishment of mortals, yet whether I live or die I will not escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by bravely giving up my life now, I will show myself worthy of my old age 28 and leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for the revered and holy laws.”

When he had said this, he went at once to the rack. Those who a little before had acted toward him with goodwill now changed to ill will, because the words he had uttered were in their opinion sheer madness. When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned aloud and said: “It is clear to the Lord in his holy knowledge that, though I might have been saved from death, I am enduring terrible sufferings in my body under this beating, but in my soul I am glad to suffer these things because I fear him.”

So in this way he died, leaving in his death an example of nobility and a memorial of courage, not only to the young but to the great body of his nation." [2 Macc. 6:18-31]

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Gospel Reading...

"Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down and was happy to welcome Jesus.

All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”

Then Jesus said of him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” [Lk. 19:1-10]

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