June 22, 2004, Saturday of the 11th week in ordinary time.

A reading from the second book of Chronicles.

After the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joach,

and the king then listened to them.

They forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers,

and began to serve the sacred Poles and the idols.

And because of this crime of theirs, wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.

Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the Lord,

the people would not listen to their warnings.

Then the spirit of God possessed Zechariah,

son of Johyuda, the priest.

He took his stand above the people and said to them, God says,

Why are you transgressing the Lord's commands?

So that you cannot prosper?

Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you. But they conspired against him, and at the king's

order they stoned him to death in the court of the Lord's temple. Thus King Joach was unmindful

of the devotion showed him by Jehoiada Zechariah's father and slew his son. And as Zechariah was dying, he said,

May the Lord see an avenge. At the turn of the year, a force of Arameans came up against Joach.

They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, did away with all the

princes of the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. Though the Aramean

force came with few men, the Lord surrendered a very large force into their power, because Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers.

So punishment was meted out to Joash.

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