St Albert the Great, bishop & doctor
33rd Week in Ordinary Time (B) : Monday 15th November 2021
1 Mac. 1:10-15,41-4354-57,62-64;
Ps. 118:53,61,134,150,155,158;
Lk. 18:35-43 (Ps. Wk. I)
To make an alliance with the Gentile nations surrounding Israel seemed to some people to be a politically desirable way of proceeding to enhance the nation’s prospects. But they should have counted the cost of such an alliance with paganism, an evil alliance detrimental to their relationship with God. Israel’s exact situation under king Antiochus Epiphanes will hardly be reciprocated exactly in any modern society or nation. Yet, the attraction of political or economic advancement or any other form of expediency can be subtly alluring. The fourth commandment implies patriotism, which is a Christian virtue, to be exercised, for example, by praying for the good of one’s nation or people or society.
Father grant us the wisdom of knowing that difference is to be celebrated and appreciated and never to be used to the detriment of different people.
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