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Part of the First Reading in today's NO Mass deals with Azariah's prayer in the furnace.
The lines which struck me are those which I believe will apply to us in the real Catholic Church in the near future. These lines below refer to the fact that the Jews had no way to worship God in both spirit and in physical form. Before the Exile, the Temple had been destroyed and there was, as the passage notes, no prince, no leader, no prophet, no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense, or even a place to do the worship as prescribed by Moses.
In the Babylonian Exile, the Jews had to rely on their own prayers and their own following of the Ten Commandments, as well as avoiding the eating of food and drink offered up to the false gods.
In exile, the onus for keeping the faith of the covenant was on each individual person who was a member of the House of God, the Promised People.
One had to rely on one's own commitment to God, to own keeping faith in the family and in the small, scattered communities of Jews. Daniel, if one remembers, was arrested for praying. Some were arrested for not eating food offered to idols. Some were arrested for not giving into the sins of the court, such as sodomy and pedophilia.
Readers may ask how this applies to them. When the ssm laws go through, one will be persecuted, fined, and even imprisoned in the name of civil rights. Of course, as I have written for years on this blog, sin has no rights.
The prayers of the three young men showed that they had kept faith enough to be thrown into the fiery furnace
This is the lot of those Catholics in the Middle East already, as some adults and children have been burned in cages for being Christians
In American, under this Gramscian government, the ways of suffering will be from more subtle means-the ruin of businesses, schools, colleges, and dioceses, if not individual parishes, which will keep God's laws.
Today's reading is not merely a historical reference to bravery, but a call to prepare one's self for the times to come. The three young men knew they were suffering for the sins of the Jews. They knew that God had a right to judge. There prayer indicates that they were making reparation for the sins of their own people. They asked for mercy, not because they were holy, but because God is merciful.
Notice also the reference to a contrite heart or spirit and to humility. If we do not seek out humility now, God will allow us to suffer things which will bring about this humility. The young men also remembered the promises of God to Moses, calling on God to look at their horrific state of affairs and have mercy on them. Their faith survived because they had studied the Scriptures and prayed. Can we do less?
Notice also the reference to a contrite heart or spirit and to humility. If we do not seek out humility now, God will allow us to suffer things which will bring about this humility. The young men also remembered the promises of God to Moses, calling on God to look at their horrific state of affairs and have mercy on them. Their faith survived because they had studied the Scriptures and prayed. Can we do less?
Daniel 3:25Douay-Rheims
25 Then Azarias standing up prayed in this manner, and opening his mouth in the midst of the fire, he said:
37 For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins.
38 Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of firstfruits before thee,
39 That we may find thy mercy: nevertheless in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted.
40 As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs: so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it may please thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.
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Daniel 3:34-43Douay-Rheims
34 Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name's sake, and abolish not thy covenant.
35 And take not away thy mercy from us for the sake of Abraham thy beloved, and Isaac thy servant, and Israel thy holy one:
36 To whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea shore.
37 For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins.
38 Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of firstfruits before thee,
39 That we may find thy mercy: nevertheless in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted.
40 As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs: so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it may please thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.
41 And now we follow thee with all our heart, and we fear thee, and seek thy face.
42 Put us not to confusion, but deal. with us according to thy meekness, and according to the multitude of thy mercies.
43 And deliver us according to thy wonderful works, and give glory to thy name, O Lord:
