St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest 

& Companions, martyrs

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28*

 Under the influence of wine,

King Belshazzar ordered that the gold and silver vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Je­rusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines might drink from them.(…….)

 Suddenly a man’s fingers appeared opposite the lamp­stand and wrote on the plastered wall of the king’s palace. Watching the hand as it wrote, the king turned pale. So terrified was he that his knees knocked and his legs gave way.

 Daniel was brought in and questioned by the king,(……..) Daniel replied,(…….) You praised the idols made of silver and gold, of bronze, iron and stones,(….) but you never glorified God who has power over your life and all your fortunes.

So he sent the hand that wrote the inscription which read MENE, MENE, TE­KEL, PARSIN. And these words mean: MENE, God has numbered the days of your reign and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PARSIN, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”

 

Dn 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67

Give glory and eternal praise to him.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊     

Luke 21:12-19

 Before all these things happen,

people will lay their hands on you and persecute you; you will be delivered to the synagogues and put in prison,  and for my sake you will be brought before kings and governors.   This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

 So keep this in mind: do not worry in advance about what to answer, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.

 You will be betrayed even by parents, and brothers, by relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death.  But even though you are hated by all for my name’s sake,   not a hair of your head will perish.   By your patient endurance you will save your souls.

  

 Gospel Reflection：

Discipleship could be very messy indeed. It is not just spending beautiful time with the Lord or living a life in harmony with the whole world. For God’s adversary is real and very active in society. The devil too has his minions.

And since they are clever and astute in the things of the rarth, they seize world power and authority in order to persecute God’s own. And so, the possibility of waging war with the unjust structures that the devil architected in this world is real.

And what is the price? Persecution, betrayal, suffering and lots of sacrifice. Yet in all of these, God’s promise of help abides. He will never abandon His own. When all seems to be lost and hope is a scarce commodity, our patience and endurance will save us. For God’s promise never fails.