The first reading is 2 Kings 25:1-12. Be prepared. It's a long one.

Today we got more political intrigue with Zedekiah. The few lines that were not included in yesterday's reading said that he was doing evil, decided to rebel against Babylon, and was about to get his comeuppance. (I can't believe that word passed the spell check.) So, today he gets it.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, marches on Jerusalem and lays siege for two years. When they finally breach the city walls, Zedekiah sneaks out the back door with a personal army to protect him. The army then deserts him. My study bible indicates that theologians believe that the desertion was prompted by Jeremiah, who is gonna tell his own version of this story in Jeremiah 38:2-3. Nebuchadnezzar is so enraged that when he catches up to Zedekiah, he kills his kids in front of him and then blinds him. (Possibly so that it would be the last thing Zedekiah ever sees? Nasty.) Then he sends in his captain of the bodyguard, Nebuzaradan,
to raze the city, the temple, the palace, and to capture the rest of the citizens and drag them off to Babylon. I'm still assuming that they are being put into slavery. But he leaves some of the poor farmers and "vinedressers" behind to just live their lives. Why did he do that? Were they just not worth the effort, because they weren't powerful or influential, or were they just more useful cultivating the fields? Or is this an early example of "Blessed are the Poor"?


The second reading is Matthew 8:1-4.

I don't understand how these tie together at all. Jesus heals a leper, then tells him to go to the priest, "offer the gift that Moses prescribed", and not to tell anyone that he, Jesus, healed him, and somehow this is gonna be proof for something. So, what did Moses prescribe? It is Lev 14:2-9. Well, it's a purification and sacrifice ritual that is only for when a leper is healed. Is this about following the biblical law? He's healed, so Jesus tells him to go do the purification ritual with a priest so that it will prove that it comes from God? This is the time when comments are welcome, guys, cause I am lost.





Our news story of the day is: Cardinal Urosa warns Venezuelans not to use Mass for political aims



I just found this one too. I love reading about any kind of weird little Catholic splinter group: Bishop Fellay rejects Vatican conditions for reconciling split