DECEMBER 05, 2015 : SATURDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT

Saturday of the First Week of Advent
Lectionary: 180

Reading 1IS 30:19-21, 23-26

Thus says the Lord GOD,
the Holy One of Israel:
O people of Zion, who dwell in Jerusalem,
no more will you weep;
He will be gracious to you when you cry out,
as soon as he hears he will answer you.
The Lord will give you the bread you need
and the water for which you thirst.
No longer will your Teacher hide himself,
but with your own eyes you shall see your Teacher,
While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
“This is the way; walk in it,”
when you would turn to the right or to the left.

He will give rain for the seed
that you sow in the ground,
And the wheat that the soil produces
will be rich and abundant.
On that day your flock will be given pasture
and the lamb will graze in spacious meadows;
The oxen and the asses that till the ground
will eat silage tossed to them
with shovel and pitchfork.
Upon every high mountain and lofty hill
there will be streams of running water.
On the day of the great slaughter,
when the towers fall,
The light of the moon will be like that of the sun
and the light of the sun will be seven times greater
like the light of seven days.
On the day the LORD binds up the wounds of his people,
he will heal the bruises left by his blows.

Responsorial PsalmPS 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (see Isaiah 30:18d) Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers. 
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power:
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Blessed are all who wait for the Lord.

Alleluia IS 33:22

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The LORD is our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King;
he it is who will save us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 9:35–10:1, 5A, 6-8

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness. 
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.” 

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness. 

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand"

Who doesn't want a life of good health, peace, and well-being? Isaiah foretold that God's kingdom would overcome sorrow and adversity and bring true peace and prosperity to God's people. Jesus understood his mission to bring the kingdom in all its fulness to us. The core of the Gospel message is quite simple: the kingdom or reign of God is imminent!

The kingdom of God is imminent
What is the kingdom of God? It's the power of God at work in that society of men and women who trust in God and who honor him as their King and Lord.  In the Lord's prayer we dare to ask God to reign fully in our lives and in our world: "May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 5:10 ). Jesus' preaching of God's kingdom was accompanied by signs and wonders. People were healed not only spiritually, but physically as well. Do you believe in the power of God's kingdom for your life? Let his word transform your mind and heart that he may reign supreme in every area of your life.

Jesus commissioned his disciples to carry on the works which he did - to speak God's word and to bring his healing power to the weary and oppressed. Jesus said to his disciples: Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8). What they had received from Jesus (all free of charge) they must now pass on to others without expecting any kind of payment or reward. They must show by their attitude that their first interest is God, not material gain.

The kingdom of heaven comes to those who receive Christ with faith
Jesus' words are just as relevant today. The kingdom of heaven is available to those who are ready to receive it. We cannot buy heaven; but if we accept the love and mercy of Jesus we already possess heaven in our hearts! The Lord brings his kingdom or heavenly reign to those who receive him with faith and obedience. When the Lord returns in his glory he will fully restore his kingdom of everlasting peace and justice. Do you pray and watch with confident hope for God's kingdom to come in all its fullness?

"Lord Jesus, rouse my spirit from complacency and stir my faith to see you act today. Give me boldness to live and proclaim the message of the kingdom of heaven and to be a prophetic sign of that kingdom to this generation."

www.dailyscripture.net

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, MATTHEW 9:35 -- 10:1, 5a, 6-8
Advent Weekday(Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26; Psalm 147)

KEY VERSE: "As you go, make this proclamation: `The kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (10:7).
TO KNOW: Through Jesus’ teaching and healing, he proclaimed that the kingdom of God had arrived. Jesus was moved with compassion because the people were like "sheep without a shepherd" (Mt 9:36). He asked his disciples to pray that the "master of the harvest" (v 38) would send out more laborers to care for God's people. The Divine Shepherd (Jesus) and the Harvest-master (God) needed human cooperation to achieve this purpose. Jesus chose twelve who would share his authority and mission and serve as apostles. The Greek word apostolos means "one sent forth with a message." Jesus sent his apostles forth to announce his gospel to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (10:6). The miracles that accompanied their proclamation were signs of God's reign. The gift that they received was not to be kept to themselves, but was to be freely shared with others.
TO LOVE: In what ways will I share the Lord's gospel with others this Advent?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, I pray that I will be generous in answering your call.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Saturday 5 December 2015

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26. Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord—Ps 146(147):1-6. Matthew 9:35 – 10:1, 6-8.

Readings

I actually have this verse above my sink.

‘Your teacher shall not hide anymore, but your eyes shall see your teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it”.’

I was at a faith formation day and we were asked to take a verse that spoke to us that day for me, that day, this was it. As a teacher myself, I was struck by two things. Firstly, that your eyes see the teacher in front of you, but secondly, your ears hear them behind you. Hence, the teacher knows you both back and front and they know where to guide you. Do we have the faith to just let go and follow our teacher?

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Illuminate Our Minds

Mary, woman of decision, illuminate our mind and our heart, so that we may obey, unhesitating, the word of your Son Jesus; give us the courage to decide, not to let ourselves be dragged along, letting others direct our life. –Pope Francis

— from The Joy of Advent 

December 5
St. Sabas
(b. 439)

Born in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey), Sabas is one of the most highly regarded patriarchs among the monks of Palestine, and is considered one of the founders of Eastern monasticism.

After an unhappy childhood in which he was abused and ran away several times, Sabas finally sought refuge in a monastery. While family members tried to persuade him to return home, the young boy felt drawn to monastic life. Although the youngest monk in the house, he excelled in virtue.

At age 18 he traveled to Jerusalem, seeking to learn more about living in solitude. Soon he asked to be accepted as a disciple of a well-known local solitary, though initially he was regarded as too young to live completely as a hermit. Initially, Sabas lived in a monastery, where he worked during the day and spent much of the night in prayer. At the age of 30 he was given permission to spend five days each week in a nearby remote cave, engaging in prayer and manual labor in the form of weaving baskets. Following the death of his mentor, St. Euthymius, Sabas moved farther into the desert near Jericho. There he lived for several years in a cave near the brook Cedron. A rope was his means of access. Wild herbs among the rocks were his food. Occasionally men brought him other food and items, while he had to go a distance for his water.

Some of these men came to him desiring to join him in his solitude. At first he refused. But not long after relenting, his followers swelled to more than 150, all of them living in individual huts grouped around a church, called a laura.

The bishop persuaded a reluctant Sabas, then in his early 50s, to prepare for the priesthood so that he could better serve his monastic community in leadership. While functioning as abbot among a large community of monks, he felt ever called to live the life of a hermit. Throughout each year--consistently in Lent--he left his monks for long periods of time, often to their distress. A group of 60 men left the monastery, settling at a nearby ruined facility. When Sabas learned of the difficulties they were facing, he generously gave them supplies and assisted in the repair of their church.

Over the years Sabas traveled throughout Palestine, preaching the true faith and successfully bringing back many to the Church. At the age of 91, in response to a plea from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Sabas undertook a journey to Constantinople in conjunction with the Samaritan revolt and its violent repression. He fell ill and soon after his return, died at the monastery at Mar Saba. Today the monastery is still inhabited by monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and St. Sabas is regarded as one of the most noteworthy figures of early monasticism.

Comment:

Few of us share Sabas’s yearning for a cave in the desert, but most of us sometimes resent the demands others place on our time. Sabas understands that. When at last he gained the solitude for which he yearned, a community immediately began to gather around him and he was forced into a leadership role. He stands as a model of patient generosity for anyone whose time and energy are required by others—that is, for all of us.

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 9,35 - 10,1.5-8

Lectio: 

 Saturday, December 5, 2015

1st Week of Advent

1) Opening prayer
God of mercy and compassion,
in your Son Jesus Christ
you have revealed yourself
as a God of people.
Turn our empty hearts to you,
give us eyes to see the depth of our poverty
and our inability to build a better world
with our own resources,
and then come and build it with us
through your Son and our Saviour
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

2) Gospel reading - Matthew 9,35 - 10,1.5-8
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.'
He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: 'Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. You received without charge, give without charge.

3) Reflection
• The Gospel today has two parts: (a) A brief summary of the apostolic activity of Jesus (Mt 9, 35-38) and (b) The beginning of the “Sermon of the Mission” (Mt 10, 1.5-8). The Gospel of today’s Liturgy omits the names of the Apostles which are found in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 10, 2-4).
• Matthew 9, 35: Summary of the apostolic activity of Jesus. “Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and all kinds of illness”. Matthew describes in a few words the central pints of the missionary activity of Jesus: (a) to travel through all the towns and villages. Jesus does not wait for people to come to him, but he goes out to look for the people travelling himself through the towns and villages. (b) To teach in the Synagogues, that is in the communities. Jesus goes to the place where the people are gathered together around the faith in God. And it is there that He proclaims the Good News of the Kingdom, that is, the Good News of God. Jesus does not teach doctrine as if the Good News were a new catechism, but in everything he says and does, there emerges something of the great Good News which dwells within Him, that is, God, the Kingdom of God. (c) He cures all kinds of diseases and illness. That which poor people experienced most was illness, all kinds of diseases, and what distinguishes the activity of Jesus is the consolation given to the people, whom he relieves from pain.
• Matthew 9, 36: The compassion of Jesus before the situation of the people”. “And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd”. Jesus accepts persons as they are before him: sick, exhausted, tired. He behaves like the Servant of Isaiah, whose central message consists in “consoling the people” (cf. Is 40, 1). The attitude of Jesus toward the people was like the attitude of the Servant whose mission was very definite: “He does not cry out or raise his voice, his voice is not heard in the street; he does not break the crushed reed or snuff the faltering wick”. (Is 42, 2-3). Like the Servant Jesus also feels sorry seeing the situation of the people who were “tired, exhausted, and dejected like sheep without a shepherd”. He begins to be a shepherd, identifying himself with the Servant who said: “The Lord has given me a tongue of a beginner, that I may know how to raise those who are discouraged” (Is 49, 4a). Like the Servant, Jesus becomes the disciple of the Father and of the people and says: “Every morning my ear is attentive so as to listen to the beginners” (Is 49, 4b). And from the contact with the Father, Jesus receives the consolation to communicate it to the poor.
• Matthew 9, 37-38: Jesus involves the disciples in the mission. Before the immensity of the missionary activity, the first thing that Jesus asks to the disciples is to pray: “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few! So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest”. Prayer is the first form of commitment of the disciples for the mission. Because if one believes in the importance of the mission that one has to carry out, everything possible is done so that it will not die with us, but rather that it continues in others through us and after us.
• Matthew 10, 1: Jesus gave the disciples the power to cure and to cast out devils. “He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness”. The second thing that Jesus asks the disciples is not that they do not begin to teach doctrine and laws, but rather that they help the people to overcome fear of the unclean spirits and to help them in the struggle against illness. Today, what frighten people most are certain missionaries who threaten them with the punishment of God and with the danger of devils. Jesus does the contrary. “If it is through the finger of God that I drive devils out, then the Kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares”. (Lk 11, 20). It is sad to say it, but today there are some persons who need the devils in order to be able to drive them out and gain some money. It would be worthwhile for them to read what Jesus says against the Pharisees and the doctors of the Law (Mt 23).
• Matthew 10, 5-6: Go first to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Jesus sends out the Twelve with these recommendations: “Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel”. At the beginning, the mission of Jesus was directed to “the lost sheep of the House of Israel”. Who where these lost sheep of the House of Israel? Were they, perhaps, the persons who were excluded, for example, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, the unclean, who were considered lost and condemned by the religious authority of the time? Were they those of the directing class, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the elders and the priests who considered themselves the faithful people of Israel? Or were they the crowds, tired and exhausted, as sheep without a shepherd? Probably, here in the context of the Gospel of Matthew, it is a question of these poor and abandoned people who are accepted by Jesus (Mt 9, 36-37). Jesus wanted the disciples to participate together with him in this mission with these persons. But in the measure in which he takes care of these persons, Jesus himself extends the horizon. In the contact with the Canaanite woman, a lost sheep of another race and another religion, who wishes to be heard, Jesus repeats to his disciples: “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Mt 15, 24). It is before the insistence of the mother who does not cease to intercede for her daughter that Jesus defends himself saying: “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to little dogs” (Mt 15, 26). But the reaction of the mother does away with the defence of Jesus: “Ah, yes, Lord, but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters’ table” (Mt 15, 27). And in fact, there were many scraps! Twelve baskets full of pieces of bread which were left over after the multiplication of the loaves for the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Mt 14, 20). The answer of the woman does away with the argument of Jesus. He takes care of the woman: Jesus listens to the woman: “Woman, you have great faith: Let your desire be granted". “And from that moment her daughter was well again” (Mt 15, 28). Through the continuous attention given to the lost sheep of Israel, Jesus discovers that in the whole world there are lost sheep who want to eat the scraps or crumbs.
• Matthew 10, 7-8: Summary of the activity of Jesus. “Go, instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.
Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. You received without charge, give without charge”. How can the closeness of the Kingdom be revealed? The response is simple and concrete: curing the sick, raising the dead, cleaning the lepers, driving out devils and serving gratuitously, without enriching oneself from the service given to the people. Where this takes place, the Kingdom is revealed.

4) Personal questions
• We all receive the same mission given by Jesus to the disciples. Are you conscious, aware of this mission? How do you live your mission?
• In your life, have you had any contact with the lost sheep, with people who are tired and exhausted? What lesson did you draw out of this?

5) Concluding prayer
The Lord heals the broken-hearted
and binds up their wounds;
he counts out the number of the stars,
and gives each one of them a name. (Sal 147,3-4)

www.ocarm.org