DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

FRIDAY OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

(FEAST OF ALL SAINTS OF THE SERAPHIC ORDER)

FIRST READING

REVELATION 20:1-4, 11--21:2 OR (SIRACH 44:1, 10-15)

20 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years were ended. After that he must be loosed for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it; from his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; 15 and if any one's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 21 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 83(84):3-6, 8 OR (PSALMS 24:1-6)

Response: Here God lives among men.

My soul longs, yea, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

R. Here God lives among men.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at thy altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.

R. Here God lives among men.

Blessed are those who dwell in thy house,
ever singing thy praise!
Blessed are the men whose strength is in thee,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

R. Here God lives among men.
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GOSPEL

My words will not pass away

LUKE 21:29-33 OR (MARK 10:17-21)

29 And he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees; 30 as soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

My words will not pass away, by an anonymous early author from the early Greek fathers,

"'This generation' refers both to those who suffer temptation and to those who cause it. It refers to sinners among men and to the demons who are at work in them. For neither group will cease being in the world until its consummation. For Christ said, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matthew 25:41). Moreover, it is necessary that the source of temptation be preserved as long as there is faith which needs testing. It is also possible, however, that 'this generation' refers to those mortal Christians who would not pass over into eternal life and be made immortal and impassible 'until' all the events about which Christ was speaking had taken place."
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away' because heaven and earth were created to serve you, but my words were uttered to govern you. Both heaven and earth are subject to vanity, as the apostle said, 'Creation is subject to vanity' (Romans 8:20). Truth, however, is by nature unable to deceive and can never die."

(excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 49, the Greek fathers).
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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.