O Come, thou Rod of Jesse's Stem,
From every foe deliver them
That trust Thy mighty power to save
Jesse Tree Symbol: TENT
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 of the Day:
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25
Psalm 71
Luke 1:5-25
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 of the Day:
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25
Psalm 71
Luke 1:5-25
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