Memory of the Saints and the Prophets

Memorial of Mary of Clopas who stood near the cross of the Lord with the other women. Prayer for all women in every part of the world who follow the Lord in difficulties and with courage. We remember Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was killed by the Nazis in the concentration camp of Flossenbürg in 1945.

Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Daniel 3,14-20.46-50.91-92.95

Nebuchadnezzar addressed them, 'Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, is it true that you do not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have set up? When you hear the sound of horn, pipe, lyre, zither, harp, bagpipe and every other kind of instrument, are you prepared to prostrate yourselves and worship the statue I have made? If you refuse to worship it, you will be thrown forthwith into the burning fiery furnace; then which of the gods could save you from my power?' Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, 'Your question needs no answer from us: if our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, Your Majesty, he will save us; and even if he does not, then you must know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue you have set up.' This infuriated King Nebuchadnezzar; his expression was changed now as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. He gave orders for the furnace to be made seven times hotter than usual and commanded certain stalwarts from his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego and throw them into the burning fiery furnace. All this time, the king's servants, who had thrown them into the furnace, had been stoking it with crude oil, pitch, tow and brushwood until the flames rose forty-nine cubits above the furnace and, leaping out, burnt those Chaldaeans to death who were standing round it. But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace beside Azariah and his companions; he drove the flames of the fire outwards from the furnace and, in the heart of the furnace, wafted a coolness to them as of the breeze and dew, so that the fire did not touch them at all and caused them no pain or distress. King Nebuchadnezzar sprang to his feet in amazement. He said to his advisers, 'Did we not have these three men thrown bound into the fire?' They answered the king, 'Certainly, Your Majesty'. 'But', he went on, 'I can see four men walking free in the heart of the fire and quite unharmed! And the fourth looks like a child of the gods!' 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego: he has sent his angel to rescue his servants who, putting their trust in him, defied the order of the king, and preferred to forfeit their bodies rather than serve or worship any god but their God.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The third chapter of the book of Daniel tells of Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue which he ordered to be constructed so he would be adored by all subjects in his kingdom. But a few Hebrews--Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--who came from Judea after the destruction of Jerusalem, refused to worship the statue, which they considered an idol. And so they are thrown into a burning furnace. Faced with a world which seems to destine to the pit of abyss so many women and men without any freedom, and subjected to the dominion of violence, we call on the Lord in prayer, knowing that he listens to his children and comes to our succour. In every difficult situation we can turn to the Lord, we can praise the wonders he has made and already taste freedom and salvation. "Bless," is what the beginning of each verse repeats. Prayer is, above all, blessing and it renders us part of divine life. It preserves us from the curse, from a life away from the Lord. "Bless": it is the invitation to put oneself on the world's horizon starting from God. Prayer of praise toward God frees all of us from the small world of our own particular task and puts us in communion with all living beings. And so, through prayer we retrace the creative work of God, so that we can sing of mercy with all creatures. His "grace," in fact, lasts forever. This is the discovery of the person who prays and who, even in the abyss and before looming evil, does not stop praying God's praise and is delivered from death.