Monday of the Thirty-fourth
Week in Ordinary Time
(Daniel 1:1-6.8-20, Luke 21:1-4)
Your doctor would not be surprised at all with the
outcome of Daniel’s vegetarian diet. She
will tell you to consume less red meat, more vegetables, no alcohol and lots of
water. But the author’s intention in the
Book of Daniel can hardly be dietary advice.
Quite certainly he means to give moral counsel. He is telling his fellow Jews not to
disregard the Law. Rather they are to
follow its every precept. As in the case
here, their adhesion to the Law will bring about the good.
The Book of Daniel was written in the second century
before Christ. As the first reading for
the last week has testified, Jews were then being terribly persecuted. Foreign kings wanted to impose their beliefs
and customs on the people. The Jews
resisted and ultimately prevailed to establish home rule. Unfortunately that
too proved to be seriously defective.
Religious persecution is threatening citizens in western
societies today. People are not being
forced to eat forbidden foods but to violate their consciences in other
ways. Should a Catholic doctor refer a
patient to a surgeon who will perform a desired abortion? Should a priest “marry” a homosexual
couple? Should a Catholic school treat
as a girl a “transgendered” male child? These
kinds of questions may soon cause faith-filled people to be prosecuted. They will hopefully take courage from these mass
readings.
