3rd Tuesday of Advent

18 December 2012

Jesse Tree Story: JUDITH
Jesse Tree Symbol: A CROSS & SPEAR

Scripture: "And so, when she heard that Uzziah had promised
that he would hand over the city with the passing of five days,
she sent to the elders Chabris and Charmis. And they came to
her, and she said to them: “What is this word, by which Uzziah
has consented to hand over the city to the Assyrians, if within
five days no help arrives for us? And who are you to test the Lord?
This is not a word that will provoke mercy, but rather one that
may excite wrath and enkindle fury. You have set a time limit
for the mercy of the Lord, and you have established a day for him,
according to your choice. But, since the Lord is patient, let us
be repentant about this same matter, and let us beg his indulgence
with many tears. For God will not threaten like man, nor will he
be inflamed to anger like a son of man. And, for this reason,
let us humble our souls before him, and, continuing to serve
him in a spirit of humility, let us speak to the Lord with tears,
so that he may act according to his will in his mercy toward us.
So then, just as our heart is disturbed by their arrogance, so also
may we glory in our humility.For we have not followed the
sins of our fathers, who abandoned their God in order to worship
strange gods. Because of this crime, they were given over to
their enemies: to the sword, and to pillaging, and to confusion.
But we know no other God except him. Let us wait with
humility for his consolation, and the Lord our God will
requite our blood by the afflictions of our enemies, and
he will humble all the nations that will rise up against us,
and he will cause them to be without honor.
And now, brothers, because you are the elders among
the people of God, and their very soul hangs upon you,
rescue their hearts by your eloquence, so that they may
remember that our fathers were tested in order to prove
whether or not they truly worshiped their God.
They are obliged to remember how our father Abraham
was tested, and being proved by many tribulations, he was
made the friend of God. So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and
all that have pleased God, passed through many tribulations,
remaining faithful. But those who did not accept the trials
with the fear of the Lord, and who brought forward their
impatience and the disgrace of their murmuring against the Lord,
were exterminated by the exterminator, and they perished by
serpents. And as for us, therefore, let us not revenge ourselves
for these things that we suffer.But, in considering these same
sufferings to be less than our sins deserve, let us believe that
the scourges of the Lord, by which we are corrected like
servants, have occurred for our improvement and not
for our destruction.”
Judith 8:9-27

Commentary: Judith killed the leader of the Assyrian army with a sword and saved the Israelite nation. She prefigured Mary whose "Fiat" brought salvation to all mankind. 

Readings for the Day:
Jeremiah 23:5-8
Psalm 72
Matthew 1:18-25