Saturday, August 21, 2021
Saturday in the Octave of the
Assumption
1 Maccabees, Chapter 9, Verse 6
The rats are the first to
leave a sinking ship. You can tell when something
is about to fail because
large numbers of people
begin to leave it.
Death of Judas Maccabee[1]
Judas cleverly negotiated
a treaty of alliance with Rome that recognized Judea as an independent state.
For the first time since before the Babylonian exile, the Jews had their own
sovereign nation. Demetrius feared a Rome-supported Judea might induce another
of his inherited enemies, Egypt, to join the alliance and invade his empire
through Judea. Basing his actions on reports that the Maccabean army was
disbanding, Demetrius dispatched a 24,000-man expedition in the spring of 160 BC.
Sure enough, Judas was unable to mobilize more than 3,000 troops. Joining
battle at Elasa, about six miles east of Beth Horon, the armies clashed briefly
before the Jewish warriors, demoralized by the eight-to-one odds, broke and
fled, leaving their peerless commander with just 800 valiant veterans. Leading
his small band in a desperate charge on the enemy’s right flank, Judas killed a
great number of Seleucids but failed in the crucial objective of killing their
commander, General Bacchides. Instead, Judas and his little group of loyalists
were wiped out. It had taken the Syrians far too long, but in Bacchides they
finally found a leader capable of concocting viable strategy and instilling
needed flexibility into Syrian formations. Considering the overpowering
numerical advantage the Syrians enjoyed in that April clash, it could be said
the Maccabees were drawn into a trap even if they realized it from the
beginning, for they could not afford to allow this pagan multitude to rampage
unchecked throughout Judea. Confronting it when they did, before they had time
to assemble sufficient soldiers, was unavoidable—and fatal.
The Legacy of Judas Maccabeus
For no small reason, Judas
was called “the Hammer.” His unparalleled battlefield adaptability, proficiency
in exploiting an enemy’s mistakes, ability to fight at night, and effective use
of terrain, surprise, and espionage made him the bane of succeeding Seleucid
commanders. After Judas’s death, his brothers Jonathan and Simon eventually
achieved the Judean dream of religious and political independence. It was the
first time in recorded history that a subject people had won a revolutionary
war for religious freedom. Because he fought in just one poorly chronicled war,
Judas Maccabeus has largely been lost among the giant shadows cast by Alexander
the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Shaka Zulu, and
other great conquerors. Unlike them, Judas was a man of noble motives who
fought because he had no other choice. Unfettered by outmoded convention, he
taught himself and his followers to fight via methods too subtle to be
perceived by their powerful but outmoded adversaries. Today’s high-tech
military strategists would be well served to study the humble partisan leader
of long ago, who wanted nothing more for himself and his people than to be allowed
to live and worship in peace.
Martyrdom[2]
If we look at
the modern world, we see nothing but hostility toward the Faith. In the
Middle East, Christians are being martyred in the most brutal way. Every day
brings a new threat. Persecution is open and the choice is clear: Serve Christ
or die. To live and embrace the Faith in such circumstances requires a
great deal of holy fearlessness.
Even in the “civilized”
West, persecution is no less present, albeit in a different and more subtle
form. We are asked by the powers that be to acquiesce, to compromise on the
most fundamental moral issues that exist
·
Things
like the nature of marriage
·
The
protection of innocent human life in the womb
·
The
nature and purpose of human sexuality
Our suffering may be in
the form of an angry boss, the loss of a business, or simply persecution with
words. While no one is holding a knife to our throat, the choice is just as
clear: Serve Christ or suffer. Tragically, there are many bishops and prelates
who like the Pharisees—fear the
opinion of men more than they fear God. There are many in the hierarchy who
would rather make peace with the world and its evil ideologies than suffer
with Jesus in obedience to the will of God. As St. Paul said, “I have often
told you and now tell you even with tears, [they] live as enemies of the cross
of Christ” (Phil. 3:18). These men will have their reward, but as for us, let
us serve Christ. Let us choose always to obey God rather than men, no matter
what the cost. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for the holy boldness that he
gave on the day of Pentecost to the once cowardly St. Peter. Let us strive
after the courage of men like St. Thomas More, St. John Fisher, who joyfully
chose martyrdom rather than deny the truths of the Faith. Most of all, let us
take up our crosses and follow Christ, who said, “not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven.” May the will of God be done.
Our Lady of Knock[3]
On August 21, 1879, Margaret Beirne, a resident of Cnoc Mhuire, was sent by her
brother to lock up the church for the evening. When she was ready to leave, she
noticed a strange brightness hovering over the church. Margaret had other
things on her mind, and didn't tell anyone what she saw. Around the same time,
another member of the Beirne family, Mary, was leaving from a visit to the
church's housekeeper, and stopped with the housekeeper at the gables, where
they could see the church. Mary replied:
"Oh, look at
the statues! Why didn't you tell me the priest got new statues for the
chapel?"
The
housekeeper responded that she knew nothing of the priest getting new statues.
So, they both went for a closer look, and Mary Beirne said:
"But they
are not statues, they're moving. It's the Blessed Virgin!"
Thirteen
others also came and saw the beautiful woman, clothed in white garments,
wearing a brilliant crown. Her hands were raised as if in prayer. All knew that
it was Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Queen of Angels. On the right of Our Lady
stood St. Joseph, his head inclined toward her. On her left stood St. John, the
Evangelist, dressed as a bishop. To the left of St. John stood an altar which
had a lamb and a cross surrounded by angels on it. The vision lasted about two
hours. People who were not at the apparition site reported that they saw a
bright light illuminating the area where the church was. Many of the sick were
healed upon visiting the church at Knock.
Things to Do:
·
See
the website of the Shrine of the Our Lady of Knock.
·
For
further information see Catholic Saints Info on Our Lady of Knock.
·
In
the vision, Mary stood in the middle, wearing a long gown and a crown of
pulsating brilliance, with a golden rose over her forehead. A golden rose is
often the symbol of this Marian apparition.
·
Pope
St. John Paul II presented a golden rose to the Shrine on his visit on September 30,
1979. Read his Mass homily.
·
Because
the 4th Sunday of Lent or Laetare Sunday is often referred as the Golden
Rose Sunday, the Simnel Cake could incorporate the Rose tradition. See Laetare,
Jerusalem! Rejoice!
by Jennifer Gregory Miller for more information.
South Pole Discovery
of the Eternal[4]
WASHINGTON
(CNS) -- The work of researchers who reported detecting the signal left behind
by the rapid expansion of space billions of years ago is rooted in the efforts
of a Belgian priest whose mathematical computations in the 1920s laid the
groundwork for the Big Bang theory. Msgr. George Lemaitre, a mathematician who
studied alongside leading scientists of the first half of the 20th century
exploring the origins of the universe, suggested that the cosmos began as a
super-dense "primeval atom" that underwent some type of reaction that
initiated the expansion of the universe which continues today. The priest's
conclusions challenged the conventional hypothesis proposed by luminaries such
as Albert Einstein and Fred Hoyle that the universe was in a steady state.
Researchers in cosmology over the decades refined Msgr. Lemaitre's idea,
leading to what became widely known as the Big Bang theory and later ideas that
signs of the Big Bang can be detected. The most recent evidence supporting the
Big Bang emerged March 17 when a team of scientists announced they detected
polarization in light caused by primordial gravitational waves originating from
the Big Bang. The measurements were made with the Background Imaging of Cosmic
Extragalactic Polarization experiment, or Biceps2, located at near the South
Pole.
·
Saturday Litany of the Hours
Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[3]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-08-21
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