“But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” – Luke 21:28

       My 49-year-old patient who has been a smoker since his college days came to see me one day to ask me about how to stop smoking.

       After two weeks, he came back telling me,“It’s so hard to kick the habit, doc, so I just cut down my usual consumption to half.”

       Ladies and gentlemen of the smoking republic, if you are really bent on kicking the habit of smoking, you have to do it “on a lump sum” and not on “installment basis.” You need to go all the way and give it up completely.

       God is giving us enough time and chances to right our wrongs. So let us make use of this time to change our ways. The earlier we do it, the better. Let’s not wait till tomorrow, for tomorrow may not come. There’s no other time. Now is the time. Act now before it’s too late. Dr. Henry L. Yu (henrio_md@yahoo.com)

Reflection: It is not easy to say goodbye to a habit. But through self-determination and discipline, coupled with prayers, nothing is impossible. Without God, we can do nothing. With Him, we are strong.

Dear Lord, grant us the determination to kick our bad habits and become the good children that You have designed us to be.

St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us.

Even though Daniel was innocent of any crime, the king had no choice because other officials stood by their accusations. The king was an honorable man when he called on Daniel’s God to save him from the lions. And indeed, God heard the king and saved Daniel.

12 Some men rushed into the upper chamber of Daniel’s home and found him praying and pleading before his God. 13 Then they went to remind the king about the prohibition: “Did you not decree, O king, that no one is to address a petition to god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king; otherwise he shall be cast into a den of lions?” The king answered them, “The decree is absolute, irrevocable under the Mede and Persian law.” 14 To this they replied, “Daniel, the Jewish exile, has paid no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you issued; three times a day he offers his prayer.” 15 The king was deeply grieved at this news and he made up his mind to save Daniel; he worked till sunset to rescue him. 16 But these men insisted. They said “Keep in mind, O king, that under the Mede and Persian law every royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable.” 17 So the king ordered Daniel to be brought and cast into the lions’ den. To Daniel he said, “May your God, whom you serve so constantly, save you.” 18 To forestall any tampering, the king sealed with his own ring and the rings of the lords the stone that had been brought to block the opening of the den. 19 Then the king returned to his palace for the night; he refused to eat and he dismissed the entertainers. Since sleep was impossible for him, 20 the king rose very early the next morning and hastened to the lions’ den. 21 As he drew near, he cried out to Daniel sorrowfully, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has the God whom you serve so constantly been able to save you from the lions?” 22 Daniel answered the king: “O king, live forever! 23 My God has sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not hurt me. For I have been found innocent before him; neither to you have I done any harm, O king!” 24 This gave the king great joy. At his order Daniel was removed from the den, unhurt because he trusted in his God. 25 The king then ordered the men who had accused Daniel, along with their children and their wives, to be cast into the lions’ den. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. 26 Then King Darius wrote to the nations and peoples of every language, wherever they dwell on the earth: “All peace to you! 27 I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared: “For he isthe living God, enduring forever; his Kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be without end. 28 He is a deliverer and savior, working signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, and he delivered Daniel from the lions’ power.”

Daniel 3:68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74

R: Give glory and eternal praise to him.

45 [Dan 3:68] “Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 46 [Dan 3:69] “Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 47 [Dan 3:70] “Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 48 [Dan 3:71]“Nights and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 49 [Dan 3:72] “Light and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 50 [Dan 3:73] “Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R) 51 [Dan 3:74] “Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.” (R)

Jesus prophesied Jerusalem’s defeat by the Gentiles. He said that there will be suffering in the future for those who have faith in God and that this suffering will be great. The prophecy refers to the persecution of the early Church by the Roman Empire.

Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.

20 Jesus said to his disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. 21 Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, 22 for these days are the time of punishment when all the Scriptures are fulfilled. 23 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26 People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

think: Jesus said that there will be suffering in the future for those who have faith in God and that this suffering will be great.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ezekiel 1-4

THE POWER OF WITNESS

In today’s First Reading, the king issued a decree banning praying or asking petitions to God under pain of death in the lion’s den. They are to direct petitions only to the king who considers himself a divinity. Men spied Daniel praying to God in his chamber and was brought to the presence of the king. The king considered Daniel a friend and did all he can to spare Daniel of the penalty. But the malicious and jealous spies challenged the king that a royal order was irrevocable. Bound by legal obligations, the king was forced to send Daniel to the lion’s den. Daniel prayed to God and was delivered from the lion’s attack “because he trusted God” (Daniel 6:24) even in the midst of clear and present danger.

       Converted, the king ordered the men who accused Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den along with their wives and children. As an aftermath, he issued a decree lifting his ban on praying to God and ordered that “in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel: ‘For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions’” (verses 26-28).

       Rarely are unbelievers converted because they have witnessed, i.e., seen God. They are converted most of the time because they have seen witnesses to God. King Darius did not witness a direct revelation from God. What brought him to the true God of Israel was the witness of Daniel. When Mother Teresa was asked how she managed to convert great numbers of people in India, she simply said, “We just live with them and that takes care of the rest.”

       Are you living with unbelievers? Do not pray that they witness a direct revelation from God. Pray that you may become a witness to God and that will take care of the rest. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: How persuasive is the quality of your Christian witness?

Let me be salt of the earth and light of the world, O Lord. Amen.