First Reading

Daniel 7: 13-14
http://www.usccb.org/bible/daniel/7:13
As the visions during the night continued, I saw
one like a Son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
when he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and
kingship;
all peoples, nations, and languages serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed.

Reflect: Who is the Son of man mentioned in this scripture? What

makes him different from all other kings in human history?
Second Reading
Revelation 1: 5-8
http://www.usccb.org/bible/revelation/1:5
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his
blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and
Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him.
Yes. Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God,
"the one who is and who was and who is to come, the
almighty."

Reflect: What does the scripture mean when it says Christ is the
firstborn of the dead? [hint: CCC 658]
Gospel Reading
John 18: 33-37
http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/18:33
Pilate said to Jesus,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own
or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting
to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world,
to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Reflect:
1. Read this scripture once. While reading, look out for a word or
phrase that sticks out to you.
2. Read the scripture one more time. This time, try to have
another person read while you close your eyes to listen.
3. What word or phrase stuck out to you?
4. What could God be trying to teach you by having that word or
phrase stick out to you?
5. Ask Yourself. Is Jesus my King? In what way(s) do I live my
life to show that He is my King? In what way(s) do I listen to
Christs voice, or in what ways do I ignore His voice?

them, but people to this day encounter Him and die for Christ in many
ways; whether it is dying to self or dying an actual physical death.

Battlefield-of-Faith Corner

FAMILY MASS

Concepts from Truth Be Told, by Mark Hart and Joe Cady

November 22, 2015

Question: I can believe that Jesus was a good moral teacher, but how
can He be God?
There are three possible answers to this question, with only one of
them being the truth. These three possibilities are that Jesus was either
a liar, a lunatic, or is indeed God.
Some argue that Jesus lied when He claimed to be God. If it is true that
Jesus was lying, then this would make Him the most dangerous
criminal of all human history because He would be leading countless
people away from the true God. What makes it difficult to accept that
Jesus was lying is the fact that despite being tortured tremendously, He
continued to teach and act under the premise that He was God. This
brings us to the second possibility; that Jesus was insane.
Normally, a sane person would take back all of their lies if they were
pressured under the unparalleled torture that Jesus went through
especially someone who was just an ordinary carpenter from an
unremarkable town called, Nazareth. However, it is possible that the
tormented Christ did not admit to lying because He was crazy enough
to believe lies that He was God. Now, this is also hard to accept as
truth because countless people of great intelligence, sanity, and renown
throughout many time periods have died defending the truth of Christ
being God. It is unlikely that so many people of various backgrounds
would give their lives up for a lie. This leads into the third and truest
possibility: Jesus Christ is Lord.
The people around Jesus in the days before his death, such as the
Apostles, must have witnessed something so amazing about Jesus that
they were willing to die rather than say He was NOT God. Not only

CATHOLIC FAMILY CHALLENGE

Pick at least one night in the week to gather as an entire family and
pray the Rosary1 together. Dedicate your family rosary to the kingship
of God as head of your household; asking for Gods continued
guidance, protection, and dominion over the family.
1.

Rosary: A type of prayer that usually involves a string of beads and is

devoted to Mary, the Virgin Mother of God; which also acts as a brief
recollection of important events within the Gospel (CCC 971, Youcat 149).

Are you the King of the Jews?