November 24.  Vincent continued his explanations, “I wonder how many people know where the saying, “the writing on the wall” originated. This was another dream that Daniel interpreted of another king, Belshazzar. He committed a sacrilege by using the captured Jewish sacred vessels for his great feast. While he and his many lords, wives and concubines were feasting a hand appeared, writing on the wall. The king was terrified and called in Daniel who prophesied his end, “you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven and the vessels of his house have been brought in before you and you have drunk wine from them. You have praised gods of gold and silver, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath and all your ways you have not honoured. The words that were written on the wall , MENE, TEKEL and UPARSIN mean that your days are numbered, you have been weighed and found wanting and your kingdom will be divided. After this the king died. Daniel 5. 

What are the idols that we worship today? Do we worship in the “cathedrals of commerce” with possessions and money as our gods?  Have we lost our sense of respect for what is sacred and dedicated to the glory of God?  Around the world we hear of burning churches and desecrating religious shrines.  We sometimes hear that cemeteries, which are also considered as sacred places for the beloved dead of all cultures and faiths, are defaced. Has society lost its respect for the sacred and should we not expect to be punished for this?   

Pope Francis:  A spirituality which forgets God as all-powerful and Creator is not acceptable. That is how we end up worshipping earthly power or ourselves usurping the place of God, even to the point of claiming an unlimited right to trample his creation underfoot. The best way to restore men and women to their rightful place putting an end to their claim to absolute dominion over the earth is to speak again of the Father who creates and who alone owns the world. LS 75