DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

NOVEMBER 18, 2024

MONDAY OF THE THIRTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

(DEDICATION OF THE BASILICAS OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES / OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT ROSE PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE, VIRGIN)

FIRST READING

REVELATION 1:1-4; 2:1-5 OR (ACTS 28:11-16, 30-31)

1 1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 2 1 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 "I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 1:1-4, 6 OR (PSALMS 98:1-6)

Response: Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.

He is like a tree
planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.

The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
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GOSPEL

What do you want me to do for you?

LUKE 18:35-43 OR (MATTHEW 14:22-33)

35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging; 36 and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." 38 And he cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 41 "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me receive my sight." 42 And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." 43 And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

The blind man knows that Jesus is the Son of David and the Messiah, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"The blind man must have understood that the sight of the blind cannot be restored by human means but requires, on the contrary, a divine power and an authority such as God only possesses. With God nothing whatsoever is impossible. The blind man came near to him as to the omnipotent God. How then does he call him the Son of David? What can one answer to this? The following is perhaps the explanation. Since he was born and raised in Judaism, of course, the predictions contained in the law and the holy prophets concerning Christ had not escaped his knowledge. He heard them chant that passage in the book of the Psalms, 'The Lord has sworn in truth to David, and will not annul it, saying: "of the fruit of your loins I will set a king upon your throne"' (Psalm 132:11).

"The blind man also knew that the blessed prophet Isaiah said, 'There will spring up a shoot from the root of Jesse, and from his root a flower will grow up' (Isaiah 11:1). Isaiah also said, 'Behold, a virgin will conceive and bring forth a son, and they will call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us' (Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 7:14). He already believed that the Word, being God, of his own will had submitted to be born in the flesh of the holy Virgin. He now comes near to him as to God and says, 'Have mercy on me, Son of David.' Christ testifies that this was his state of mind in offering his petition. He said to him, 'Your faith has saved you.'"

(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 126)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.