Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Daniel

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords, with whom he drank.
Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.
When the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers were drinking
wine from them, they praised their gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace. When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote,
his face blanched; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked.
Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king. The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile, whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?
I have heard that the spirit of God is in you, that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
But I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties; if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you shall be clothed in purple, wear a gold collar about your neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom."
Daniel answered the king: "You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else; but the writing I will read for you, O king, and tell you what it means.
you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers, might drink wine from them; and you praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence. But the God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down.
"This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Book of Daniel

Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives."

St. Peter of Alexandria(Bishop & Martyr († 311))

SAINT PETER OF ALEXANDRIA, Bishop, Martyr ( 311) St. Peter governed the church in Alexandria during Diocletian's persecution. He was the first to excommunicate Melitius and Arius, the schismatics. He upheld the Apostles Creed and their Traditions, and resisted secular forces and heretical sabotage. St. Peter and his predecessors shielded their flock from persecution. In proclaiming the Gospel, Christians exercised free speech and laid the foundation of Western civilization. Thus, the Church raised up the Western world from the darkness of pagan sacrifice; raising the dignity of man and woman and making them sharers in God's divine life. St. Peter resisted the efforts of heretics to divide the Church. "Heresy turns the mood against the mind," said Chesterton. Arius is perhaps one of the most notable schismatics: He declared that Jesus Christ was a man and not God. In doing so, he predated the teachings of Islam on Jesus' divinity by 300-something years. St. Peter was martyred and united to Jesus in a death like His (Rom 6:5). When we conform ourselves to God by receiving the sacraments, we unite ourselves to Jesus' life. St. Peter is not only the rock of the Church but the steward of Western civilization (Mt 16:18,19).

St. Sylvester(Abbot († 1267))

Saint Sylvester Abbot ( 1267) St. Sylvester was from a patrician family of Osimo, Picenum (modern Ancona, Italy). As a youth, he was conspicuous for his keen intellect and upright conduct. After he was instructed in sacred learning and made a canon, he became an example of piety and disinterested love toward others. At a relative's funeral, when he verified the remains, he was struck by the reality of sin and death. Sylvester went to the desert and conformed himself to Christ. He worked, meditated and performed the norms of piety. He also disciplined his urges through vigils, prayer and fasting. He gave his body a little less than it asked for (St. Jose Maria Escriva). Sylvester sometimes changed his dwelling place to secure his hermitic vocation. At length, he arrived in Monte Fano and built a church in honor of St. Benedict. By doing so, he laid the foundation of the Congregation of Sylvestrines. Sylvester guided monks in regularity and devotions with docility to the Holy Spirit. With authority of his priestly character, he prophesied and exorcised demons. In 1267, he passed away and joined the Church Triumphant in heaven. St. Sylvester nurtured his faith for it to grow. In drawing near to Christ, he encountered the Lord in this way: "Through a plan of sheer loving goodness, He (God) created us; to communicate Himself to us and make us sharers in His own blessed life" (CCC 1). Let us emulate St. Sylvester in the norms of piety and daily prayers.

St. Leonard of Port Maurice()

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