The Book of Judith
Chapter
3
¹ They therefore sent messengers to him to sue for peace in these words: ² "We , the servants of Nebuchadnezzar, the Great King, lie prostrate before you. Do with us whatever you will. ³ See, our buildings and all our land and all our wheat fields and our flocks and herds and all our encampments lie before you; do with them as you please. ⁴ Our towns and their inhabitants are also your slaves; come and deal with them as you see fit."
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verses 1 to 4)
Oh God my Father, in order to save our physical selves and property we would do anything possible or even try to make the impossible possible even if this means using our resources or even borrowing money to do so, or even sell our very selves as slaves if necessary, however in order to safeguard our souls and our spiritual welfare we do not move an inch. There are those who see fasting as a burden, praying as a waste of time, going to Church simply to meet others and as so not to end up as the gossip of others and so on. I pray my God and Father that we evaluate our values and consider the fact that life on earth is limited and that one day we will leave all our belongings behind us, and that all that would remain are our souls and the good and bad deeds that we did during our life on earth.
⁵ The men came to Holofernes and told him all this. ⁶ Then he went down to the seacoast with his army and stationed garrisons in the fortified towns and took picked men from them as auxiliaries. ⁷ These people and all in the countryside welcomed him with garlands and dances and tambourines.
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verses 5 to 7)
Oh God, my Father even though the intentions of these people were to give Holofernes a warm welcome in order to persuade him not to destroy their cities and property, they showed an act of love towards their enemy. In the same sense, we are to imitate this positive action To the woman who has taken your husband bake a gift and give it to her as a token of friendship, to others who have wronged us we are t o repay them with love instead of with acts of further hate Amen.
⁸ Yet he demolished all their shrines and cut down their sacred groves; for he had been commissioned to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar alone, and that all their dialects and tribes should call upon him as a god.
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verse 8)
As sinners, we have also committed negative acts against others and even against ourselves and You in the process, however, You still have mercy upon us and give us the hand of forgiveness Amen.
⁹ Then he came toward to Esdraelon, near Dothan, facing the great ridge of Judea; ¹⁰ he camped between Geba and Scythopolis, and remained for a whole month in order to collect all the supplies for his army.
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verse 9)
Love conquers all. Apparently, the act of love shown to Holofernes slowed down his speed and negative motivation to continue on his mission of destruction and bloodshed. When we show love to our enemies we dry them crazy, because this goes against the logic of the world Amen. This is why You told us to behave in this way so that we can overcome the spirit of the world that conditions our human nature and start living according to the ways of You and Your Holy Spirit Amen.
Oh God my Father I would like to end the third chapter of the book of Judith with the following prayer;-
Oh God, my Father love breeds more love and hate breeds more hate. I pray that as You commanded us we overcome our sinful nature that compels us to repay acts of injustice with further injustice. Let us be loving and caring to those who have transgressed against us Amen. Forgive, Forgive and repent until it hurts Amen. I pray for those who feel blocked and weary because they still have issues of unforgiveness that are drawing them further away from You and others, mercy and forgiveness!
⁵ The men came to Holofernes and told him all this. ⁶ Then he went down to the seacoast with his army and stationed garrisons in the fortified towns and took picked men from them as auxiliaries. ⁷ These people and all in the countryside welcomed him with garlands and dances and tambourines.
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verses 5 to 7)
Oh God, my Father even though the intentions of these people were to give Holofernes a warm welcome in order to persuade him not to destroy their cities and property, they showed an act of love towards their enemy. In the same sense, we are to imitate this positive action To the woman who has taken your husband bake a gift and give it to her as a token of friendship, to others who have wronged us we are t o repay them with love instead of with acts of further hate Amen.
⁸ Yet he demolished all their shrines and cut down their sacred groves; for he had been commissioned to destroy all the gods of the land, so that all nations should worship Nebuchadnezzar alone, and that all their dialects and tribes should call upon him as a god.
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verse 8)
As sinners, we have also committed negative acts against others and even against ourselves and You in the process, however, You still have mercy upon us and give us the hand of forgiveness Amen.
⁹ Then he came toward to Esdraelon, near Dothan, facing the great ridge of Judea; ¹⁰ he camped between Geba and Scythopolis, and remained for a whole month in order to collect all the supplies for his army.
(The Book of Judith chapter 3 verse 9)
Love conquers all. Apparently, the act of love shown to Holofernes slowed down his speed and negative motivation to continue on his mission of destruction and bloodshed. When we show love to our enemies we dry them crazy, because this goes against the logic of the world Amen. This is why You told us to behave in this way so that we can overcome the spirit of the world that conditions our human nature and start living according to the ways of You and Your Holy Spirit Amen.
Oh God my Father I would like to end the third chapter of the book of Judith with the following prayer;-
Oh God, my Father love breeds more love and hate breeds more hate. I pray that as You commanded us we overcome our sinful nature that compels us to repay acts of injustice with further injustice. Let us be loving and caring to those who have transgressed against us Amen. Forgive, Forgive and repent until it hurts Amen. I pray for those who feel blocked and weary because they still have issues of unforgiveness that are drawing them further away from You and others, mercy and forgiveness!
