Rev 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9 / Luke 21:20-28
Babylon has fallen!: "Praise God"'
John observes two things in his vision. First, an angel passes judgment on Rome, signified by the code name "Babylon." The angel casts a large stone into the sea. As the stone disappears into the sea without a trace, so will the evil forces of Rome be doomed to disappear without a trace. Second, John hears loud singing from heaven: "Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God! True and just are his judgments!" Then an angel appears and tells John: "Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb."
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When trials and temptations descend upon us, do we draw strength by considering the fate of those who yield to evil? "What we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us." Romans 8:18
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In 539 B. C. King Darius had taken the great city of Babylon that had driven the Jews into exile. Likewise, the new Babylon, the city of Rome that was persecuting the young Church, will fall and Christians will openly sing the praise of God.
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We can learn good lessons from nature just by observing and reflecting. For example, the darker the night, the brighter the stars. And cloudy skies make beautiful sunsets. So, nature has a way of telling us that tribulation will give way to the celebration, and distress will give way to success, just as the dark of night will give way to the light of day. These lessons from nature are actually reiterating what we heard in the 1st reading and the gospel.
The 1st reading began with tribulation and destruction, but following that were songs of victory and rejoicing and the celebration of a wedding feast. In the gospel, Jesus talks about a time of great tribulation and distress and destruction of the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. But He also talks about the coming of the Son of Man in power and great glory and a time of liberation. So, the lessons of scripture tell us that God who foresaw our tribulation has prepared us to go through it, not without pain, but without stain. The trials and tribulations in life do not build character; they merely reveal it.
So, let us be patient in tribulation, let us rejoice in hope and let us be constant in prayer. That will be enough to be able to see bright stars in the dark night.
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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.
Let us Pray:
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.
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Saint Catherine Labouré
Feast Day November 28
St. Catherine Labouré was a simple, uneducated young woman.
In 1830, having cared for her father’s household for a decade, she joined the
Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at Châtillon-sur-Seine, France. On
July 31, late at night a shining child awakened her and escorted her to the
chapel.
There Mary spoke with her for two hours, telling her she
would have a difficult task to perform and predict future events. On November
27, Mary appeared to give Catherine her mission. She saw Mary standing on a
globe, with rays of light flooding from her hands. Later Catherine gave this
account of the vision:
While I contemplated her, the Blessed Virgin lowered her
eyes and looked upon me. Then I heard a voice saying to me: “The ball that you
see represents the entire world . . . and each person in particular. These rays
symbolize the graces that I shed on those who ask for them.” With this I
understood how agreeable to the Blessed Virgin are the prayers addressed to
her. I discovered how generous she is toward those who invoke her, what
precious graces she would give those who would ask them of her and with what
joy she would grant them.
At this moment I scarcely knew where I was. All I can say is
that I was immersed in supreme delight, when a panel of oval shape formed
around the Blessed Virgin. On it traced these words: “O Mary conceived without
sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!” Then a voice said to me: “Have a
medal struck on this model. All those who wear it will receive great graces. It
should be worn around the neck. Great graces will be the portion of those who
wear it with confidence.” All at once the picture appeared to turn and I saw
the reverse of the medal. Solicitous about what should be inscribed on the
reverse, one day I seemed to hear a voice saying: “The M and the two hearts are
enough.”
Catherine spoke about the apparitions only to Father M.
Aladel, her confessor, who determined that they were genuine. With the
permission of the archbishop of Paris, Aladel had 1500 medals struck in 1832.
The conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne, an Alsatian Jew who had reluctantly worn
the medal and then had the same vision as Catherine, enormously increased its
popularity.
Catherine herself maintained her anonymity. She even refused
to appear at the archbishop’s investigation in 1836 that declared the visions
authentic. She lived quietly for the rest of her life at a convent in
Enghien-Neuilly, answering the door, raising poultry, and tending the sick. But
when Catherine died in 1876, an outburst of popular veneration exploded at her
funeral. And the healing of a 12-year-old girl, crippled from birth, at her
grave helped spread her fame widely. Catherine Labouré has become one of the
most esteemed of all the saints.
I knew nothing. I was nothing. For this reason God picked me out. —Catherine Laboure
