34th Week, Thursday, Nov 27; St Virgilius of Salzburg
Daniel 6:12-28 / Luke 21:20-28
Daniel is thrown into the lions' den; God rescued Daniel.
King Darius liked Daniel very much. One day the king appointed Daniel to a high office. When other public officials heard about this, they grew jealous of Daniel. Together they conspired to get the king to outlaw prayer for a period of time, knowing that Daniel would ignore the ruling. The rest of the story we know from the reading.
The point of the story of Daniel's being thrown into the lions' den is that God will rescue Israel in their present hour of persecution, just as he rescued Daniel from the jaws of the hungry lions.
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Do we turn to God to give us strength and keep us cool when people grow jealous of us and deliberately try to hurt us? "O Lord, help me to understand that you ain't going to let nothing come my way that you and me can't handle together.” Author unknown
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Today’s story of the first reading is not historical but edifying. It applies again to Antiochus IV “Epiphanes,” who obliged the people in his kingdom to pray only to his god, Baal-Zeus, of whom he pretended to be the manifestation. Of course, the Jews (Daniel) contested this order.
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To be thrown into a lion's den is to be in a place or state of extreme disadvantage, antagonism, or hostility. And usually, it is not the strong and mighty who are thrown into the lion's den, but the weak and the innocent. And no doubt about it, not many have survived and come out alive of the lion's den. Death is almost certain and a horrible death at that. The prophet Daniel was thrown into the lion's den by his accusers who were actually just jealous of his high rank and he also enjoyed the king's favour.
So, they laid a trap under the guise of religion and the king unsuspectingly signed the decree, and which he could not revoke. So, it can be said that the conspirators were more vicious and inhumane compared to the lions in the den.
But once again, God came to the help of the innocent and those who are faithful to Him; God rescued Daniel by sending an angel to seal the lions' jaws and saved Daniel from certain death. There will be many lion's dens that we might be thrown into by those who are against us for some reason. Like Daniel, let us remain innocent and faithful to God's ways and trust in the Lord's saving help. In doing so, we will survive the lion's den and live to proclaim the mighty and marvelous works of God.
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The destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of disaster in nature are for us signs of the trials of the Christian life and of the difficult coming of God’s kingdom among people. But let us not forget that we ourselves too, delay this kingdom, by our selfishness, our hunger for power, all the evil we cause one another. Yet, our meager efforts will help to bring salvation nearer. With the help of Christ present among us, we can grow in love, forgiveness, compassion, and peace. We should keep our heads raised in hope.
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Prayer
Lord our God, we are your people on the march who try to carry out the task of giving shape to your kingdom of love and peace. When we are discouraged and afraid, keep us going forward in hope. Make us vigilant in prayer, that we may see the signs of your Son’s coming. Let Jesus walk with us already now on the road he has shown us, that he may lead us to you, our living God, forever and ever. Amen
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Contrary to continental tradition, Irish custom decreed that the bishop be subject to the abbot, who was the real head of the diocese. Virgilius thus had himself consecrated bishop on 15 June 767.
Early on in Salzburg, he had locked horns with St Boniface over the form of baptism, which the pope decided in Virgilius’ favour. His most notable accomplishments were the conversion of the Alpine Slavs and sending missionaries into Hungary and other places where no missionary had yet gone. Returning from a preaching mission to a distant part of his diocese, he fell ill and died on 27 November 784.
The discovery of his grave in 1181, consequent to the destruction of the grand cathedral he had built and dedicated to St Rupert at Salzburg, led to his canonization at the hands of Pope Gregory IX in 1233.
Reflection: “We have not been telling you fairy tales when we explained to you the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. My own eyes have seen his splendour and his glory: I was there on the holy mountain when he shone out with honour given him by God his Father” (2 Peter 1:16-18).
