21 NOVEMBER (Lk 19,41-44)

The true prophets always sang lamentations for the pagan cities. That there would have been a time of doom, destruction and annihilation was expressed in these songs. Glory would have turned into mourning, wealth into poverty and dominion into slavery.

Thus the word of the Lord came to me: As for you, son of man, utter a lament over Tyre, and say to Tyre that is situated at the approaches of the sea, that brought the trade of the peoples to many a coastland:
Thus says the Lord God: Tyre, you said, “I am a ship, perfect in beauty.” In the midst of the sea your builders placed you, perfected your beauty. With cypress from Senir they built for you all of your decks; Cedar from Lebanon they took to make you a mast; From the highest oaks of Bashan they made your oars; Your bridge they made of cypress wood from the coasts of Kittim. Fine embroidered linen from Egypt became your sail (to serve you as a banner). Purple and scarlet from the coasts of Elishah covered your cabin. Citizens of Sidon and Arvad served as your oarsmen; Skilled men of Zemer were in you to be your mariners; The elders and experts of Gebal were in you to caulk your seams. Every ship and sailor on the sea came to you to carry trade. Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as warriors; shield and helmet they hung upon you, increasing your splendor.

You were full and heavily laden in the heart of the sea. Through the deep waters your oarsmen brought you home, But the east wind smashed you in the heart of the sea. Your wealth, your goods, your wares, your sailors, and your crew, (the caulkers of your seams, those who traded for your goods, all your warriors who were in you, and all the great crowd within you) Sank into the heart of the sea on the day of your shipwreck. Hearing the shouts of your mariners, the shores begin to quake. Down from their ships come all who ply the oar; The sailors, all the mariners of the sea, stand on the shore, Making their voice heard on your behalf, shouting bitter cries, Strewing dust on their heads, rolling in the ashes. For you they shave their heads and put on sackcloth, For you they weep in anguish, with bitter lament. In their mourning they utter a lament over you; thus they wail over you: Who was ever destroyed like Tyre in the midst of the sea? With your goods which you drew from the seas you filled many peoples; With your great wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth. Now you are wrecked in the sea, in the watery depths; Your wares and all your crew have gone down with you. All who dwell on the coastlands are aghast over you, Their kings are terrified, their faces convulsed. The traders among the peoples now hiss at you; You have become a horror, and you shall be no more”” (Cf. Ez 27,1-36).

The lament was true prophecy, a severe warning for the city to decide to change its life, so that the Lord could not do the threatened evil. Thus, for example, was for the city of Nineveh. Jonah preached the destruction in it, people got converted, the Lord forgave and no longer did the evil he had threatened to inflict. With Jesus, the prophecy becomes absolute certainty. For the city there is no space for repentance and conversion. The destruction of Jerusalem, for who sees in this disaster the fulfillment of a prophetic word, will be the beginning of true conversion. To do this, we need real eyes of faith, humble and penitent eyes that know how to open to God.

As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

Jesus warns Jerusalem that time for repentance and conversion is over. Now they must go through the other way: the one of a powerful, arcane and mysterious sign. It is the sign of the very destruction of the temple of God. This will serve the people of the children of Israel as a sign that Jesus is the true prophet of the living God. Since he is the true prophet, he must be listened. His is the Word of eternal life. It must be listened.

Virgin Mary. Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints give us a pure faith in Christ.