Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Lectionary: 199
Lectionary: 199
Thus
says the Lord GOD:
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by.
Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner’s fire,
or like the fuller’s lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by.
Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.
Responsorial
PsalmPS
25:4-5AB, 8-9, 10 AND 14
R.
(see Luke 21:28) Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at
hand.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
GospelLK 1:57-66
When
the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.”
Meditation: "What
then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him
Are
you surprised to see the relatives of Zechariah and Elizabeth quibble over what
to name their newborn child? Don’t we do the same thing? This child, however
has been named from above! And Elizabeth is firm in her faith and determined to
see that God be glorified through this child. The name John means "the
Lord is gracious." In the birth of John and in the birth of Jesus the
Messiah we see the grace of God breaking forth into a world broken by sin and
death and without hope. John’s miraculous birth shows the mercy and favor of
God in preparing his people for the coming of its Lord and Savior, the Christ.
When God acts to save us he graciously fills us with his Holy Spirit and makes
our faith "alive" to his promises. Do you make your life an offering
to God, along with your family, and all that you possess? God wants to
fill us with his glory all the days of our lives, from birth through death.
Renew the offering of your life to God and give him thanks for his mercy and
favor towards you?
“Lord
Jesus, you are gracious and forgiving towards us. Renew in me the gift of faith
that I may believe your promises and obey your word.”
MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, LUKE 1:57-66
(Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Psalm 25)
(Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Psalm 25)
KEY VERSE: "He will be called John" (v 60).
READING: After Mary’s kinswoman, Elizabeth, gave birth to a son, her friends and relatives rejoiced with her. When the child was eight days old, they gathered with the family for the rite of circumcision, a sign of God's covenant with Israel (Gn 17:1-4).The son's name was usually given during the ritual. Everyone assumed that the child would be named after his father Zechariah, but Elizabeth declared that their son was to be called "John" according to the angel's command (v 13). Zechariah had been mute since the angel's announcement, but when he confirmed the child's name as John, his tongue was immediately loosened. The people were awestruck by God's power. This special child had been chosen to be the voice of God announcing the coming of the Messiah.
REFLECTING: Have my words brought comfort and hope to others this Advent?
PRAYING: O Emmanuel, be with me throughout my life.
O EMMANUEL
“O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people, come and set us free, Lord our God.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The Lord himself will give you this sign: the Virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel.” (7:14), which means “God is with us.”
December 23, Optional Memorial of John of
Kanty, priest
At age 41 John of Kanty was assigned as parish priest at Olkusz, Bohemia. After several years in his parish, he returned to the University of Cracow where he taught Scripture the rest of his life. John was a serious, humble man, generous to a fault with the poor, sleeping little, eating no meat and little of anything else. He made four pilgrimages to Rome, carrying his luggage on his back. When warned to look after his health, he pointed out that the early desert fathers lived long lives in severe conditions. At the time of his death, John was so well loved that his veneration began immediately. For years his doctoral gown was worn by graduates receiving advanced degrees at the University of Cracow. He was declared patron of Poland and Lithuania in 1737 by Pope Clement XII, thirty years before his final canonization.
Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand
I send my messenger before me to prepare the way.Malachi prophesies this coming of John the Baptist. As the people of his day wondered about his future, we, with hindsight, know he was the sign that the Lord was near. But it is necessary that we listen and take to heart the message of John. John called for a change of heart - to make a public commitment to what was to come; to be willing to listen to the one coming after him, the one who Malachi calls the refiner’s fire and the fuller’s alkali, the purifier. Our own baptism gives us this opportunity, when we receive the Holy Spirit, who comes to stay with us. We hope that this Spirit will be nurtured by parents, teachers and other wise and committed Christians. We, then, are called to be Christ-bearers to others by word and example.
December 23
St. John Kanty
(1390?-1473)
St. John Kanty
(1390?-1473)
John was a country lad who made good in the big city and the big
university of Kraków, Poland. After brilliant studies he was ordained a priest
and became a professor of theology. The inevitable opposition which saints
encounter led to his being ousted by rivals and sent to be a parish priest at
Olkusz. An extremely humble man, he did his best, but his best was not to the
liking of his parishioners. Besides, he was afraid of the responsibilities of
his position. But in the end he won his people’s hearts. After some time he
returned to Kraków and taught Scripture for the remainder of his life.
He was a
serious man, and humble, but known to all the poor of Kraków for his kindness.
His goods and his money were always at their disposal, and time and again they
took advantage of him. He kept only the money and clothes absolutely needed to
support himself. He slept little, and then on the floor, ate sparingly, and
took no meat. He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, hoping to be martyred by the
Turks. He made four pilgrimages to Rome, carrying his luggage on his back. When
he was warned to look after his health, he was quick to point out that, for all
their austerity, the fathers of the desert lived remarkably long lives.
Comment:
John of Kanty is a typical saint: He was kind, humble and generous, he suffered opposition and led an austere, penitential life. Most Christians in an affluent society can understand all the ingredients except the last: Anything more than mild self-discipline seems reserved for athletes and ballet dancers. Christmas is a good time at least to reject self-indulgence.
John of Kanty is a typical saint: He was kind, humble and generous, he suffered opposition and led an austere, penitential life. Most Christians in an affluent society can understand all the ingredients except the last: Anything more than mild self-discipline seems reserved for athletes and ballet dancers. Christmas is a good time at least to reject self-indulgence.
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 1,57-66
Lectio:
Monday, December 23, 2013
4th Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
Lord, loving and mighty God,
you fulfilled your promise to save us
when Jesus, your Son, became one of us.
We are no longer in the dark,
for you let your light shine on us.
Bring us your salvation now,
set us really free from our sins,
let us become fully human with Jesus
and go with him in your way of peace and love.
Let him be our strength,
our constant companion on the road,
that through him and growing in his humanity,
we may be your beloved sons and daughters.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Lord, loving and mighty God,
you fulfilled your promise to save us
when Jesus, your Son, became one of us.
We are no longer in the dark,
for you let your light shine on us.
Bring us your salvation now,
set us really free from our sins,
let us become fully human with Jesus
and go with him in your way of peace and love.
Let him be our strength,
our constant companion on the road,
that through him and growing in his humanity,
we may be your beloved sons and daughters.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel reading - Luke 1,57-66
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they shared her joy.
Now it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. 'No,' she said, 'he is to be called John.' They said to her, 'But no one in your family has that name,' and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, 'His name is John.' And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God.
All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. 'What will this child turn out to be?' they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they shared her joy.
Now it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. 'No,' she said, 'he is to be called John.' They said to her, 'But no one in your family has that name,' and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, 'His name is John.' And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God.
All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. 'What will this child turn out to be?' they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.
3) Reflection
• In chapters 1 and 2 of his Gospel, Luke describes the announcement of the birth of two little ones, John and Jesus, who will occupy a very important place in the realization of God’s project. What God begins in the Old Testament, begins to be realized through them. This is why, in these two chapters, Luke presents or recalls many facts and persons of the Old Testament and even succeeds in imitating the style of the Old Testament. And all this in order to suggest that with the birth of these two little boys history completes a round of 180 degrees and the time of the fulfilment of the promises of God begins through John and Jesus, and with the collaboration of their parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary and Joseph.
• There is a certain parallelism between the announcement and the birth of both children:
a) The announcement of the birth of John (Lk 1, 5-25) and of Jesus (Lk 1, 26-38)
b) The two mothers who are pregnant meet and experience the presence of God (Lk 1, 27-56)
c) The birth of John (Lk 1, 57-58) and of Jesus (Lk 2, 1-20)
d) The circumcision in the community of John (Lk 1, 59-66) and of Jesus (Lk 2, 21-28)
e) The canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1, 67-79) and the canticle of Simeon with the prophecy of Anna (Lk 2, 29-32)
f) The hidden life of John (Lk 1, 80) and of Jesus (Lk 2, 39-52)
• Luke 1, 57-58: Birth of John the Baptist. “The time came for Elizabeth to have her child and she gave birth to a son. When her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they shared her joy”. Like so many women of the Old Testament Elizabeth was sterile: Just like God had pity on Sarah (Gn 16, 1; 17, 17; 18, 12), on Rachel (Gn 29, 31) and on Anna (1 Sm 1, 2.6.11) transforming the sterility into fecundity, in the same way he had pity on Elizabeth and she conceived a son. Elizabeth hid herself during five months. When after, the five months, people could see in her body God’s goodness toward Elizabeth, all rejoiced with her. This community environment, in which all got involved in the life of others, both in joy as in sorrow, is the environment in which John and Jesus are born, grew and received their formation. Such an environment marks the personality of a person for the whole life; and it is precisely this community environment that we lack most today.
• Luke 1, 59: To give the name on the eighth day. “On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and they wanted to call him Zechariah as his father”. The involvement of the community in the life of the family of Zechariah, Elizabeth and John is such that the relatives and neighbours even want to interfere in the choice of the name of the child. They want to give the child the name of his father: Zechariah!” Zechariah means: God has remembered. Perhaps they wanted to express their gratitude to God for having remembered Elizabeth and Zechariah and for having given them a son in their old age.
• Luke 1, 60-63: His name is John! Elizabeth intervenes and she does not permit the relatives to take care of the question of the name. Recalling the announcement of the name made by the angel to Zechariah (Lk 1, 13), Elizabeth says: "No! He will be called John”. In a very small place such as Ain Karem, in Judah, the social control is very strong. And when a person gets out of the normal usage of the place, she is criticized. Elizabeth does not follow the usage of the place and chooses a name outside the normal models. This is why the relatives and neighbours complain saying: “No one in your family has that name!” The relatives do not easily give in and make signs to the father to know from him what name he wants for his son. Zechariah asks for a writing tablet and writes: "His name is John”. All remained astonished because they must have perceived something of the mystery of God which surrounds the birth of the little child.
And this perception which people have of the mystery of God present in the common facts of life, Luke wants to communicate it to us, his readers. In his way of describing the events, Luke is not like a photographer who only registers what the eyes can see. He is like a person who uses the X-Ray which registers what the human eye cannot see. Luke reads the facts with the X-Rays of faith which reveals what the human eye cannot perceive.
• Luke 1, 64-66: The news of the child is diffused. “All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judah. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts: What will this child turn out to be? They wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him”. The way in which Luke describes the facts recalls the circumstances of the birth of the persons who in the Old Testament had an important role in the realization of God’s project and whose childhood seemed already to be marked by the privileged destiny which they would have: Moses (Ex 2, 1-10), Samson (Jg 13, 1-4 and 13, 24-25), Samuel (1 Sm 1, 13-28 and 2, 11).
• In the writings of Luke we find many references to the Old Testament. In fact, the first two chapters of his Gospel are not stories in the sense which we, today, give to the story. They are rather, a mirror to help the readers to discover that John and Jesus came to fulfil the prophecies of the Old Testament. Luke wants to show that God, through the two children, came to respond to the most profound aspirations of the human heart. On the one side, Luke shows that the New Testament realizes what the Old Testament prefigured. On the other, it shows that the New one exceeds the Old one and does not correspond in everything to what the people of the Old Testament imagined and expected. In the attitude of Elizabeth and Zechariah, of Mary and Joseph, Luke represents a model of how to convert oneself to believe in the New one which is being reached.
• In chapters 1 and 2 of his Gospel, Luke describes the announcement of the birth of two little ones, John and Jesus, who will occupy a very important place in the realization of God’s project. What God begins in the Old Testament, begins to be realized through them. This is why, in these two chapters, Luke presents or recalls many facts and persons of the Old Testament and even succeeds in imitating the style of the Old Testament. And all this in order to suggest that with the birth of these two little boys history completes a round of 180 degrees and the time of the fulfilment of the promises of God begins through John and Jesus, and with the collaboration of their parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah and Mary and Joseph.
• There is a certain parallelism between the announcement and the birth of both children:
a) The announcement of the birth of John (Lk 1, 5-25) and of Jesus (Lk 1, 26-38)
b) The two mothers who are pregnant meet and experience the presence of God (Lk 1, 27-56)
c) The birth of John (Lk 1, 57-58) and of Jesus (Lk 2, 1-20)
d) The circumcision in the community of John (Lk 1, 59-66) and of Jesus (Lk 2, 21-28)
e) The canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1, 67-79) and the canticle of Simeon with the prophecy of Anna (Lk 2, 29-32)
f) The hidden life of John (Lk 1, 80) and of Jesus (Lk 2, 39-52)
• Luke 1, 57-58: Birth of John the Baptist. “The time came for Elizabeth to have her child and she gave birth to a son. When her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had lavished on her his faithful love, they shared her joy”. Like so many women of the Old Testament Elizabeth was sterile: Just like God had pity on Sarah (Gn 16, 1; 17, 17; 18, 12), on Rachel (Gn 29, 31) and on Anna (1 Sm 1, 2.6.11) transforming the sterility into fecundity, in the same way he had pity on Elizabeth and she conceived a son. Elizabeth hid herself during five months. When after, the five months, people could see in her body God’s goodness toward Elizabeth, all rejoiced with her. This community environment, in which all got involved in the life of others, both in joy as in sorrow, is the environment in which John and Jesus are born, grew and received their formation. Such an environment marks the personality of a person for the whole life; and it is precisely this community environment that we lack most today.
• Luke 1, 59: To give the name on the eighth day. “On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child and they wanted to call him Zechariah as his father”. The involvement of the community in the life of the family of Zechariah, Elizabeth and John is such that the relatives and neighbours even want to interfere in the choice of the name of the child. They want to give the child the name of his father: Zechariah!” Zechariah means: God has remembered. Perhaps they wanted to express their gratitude to God for having remembered Elizabeth and Zechariah and for having given them a son in their old age.
• Luke 1, 60-63: His name is John! Elizabeth intervenes and she does not permit the relatives to take care of the question of the name. Recalling the announcement of the name made by the angel to Zechariah (Lk 1, 13), Elizabeth says: "No! He will be called John”. In a very small place such as Ain Karem, in Judah, the social control is very strong. And when a person gets out of the normal usage of the place, she is criticized. Elizabeth does not follow the usage of the place and chooses a name outside the normal models. This is why the relatives and neighbours complain saying: “No one in your family has that name!” The relatives do not easily give in and make signs to the father to know from him what name he wants for his son. Zechariah asks for a writing tablet and writes: "His name is John”. All remained astonished because they must have perceived something of the mystery of God which surrounds the birth of the little child.
And this perception which people have of the mystery of God present in the common facts of life, Luke wants to communicate it to us, his readers. In his way of describing the events, Luke is not like a photographer who only registers what the eyes can see. He is like a person who uses the X-Ray which registers what the human eye cannot see. Luke reads the facts with the X-Rays of faith which reveals what the human eye cannot perceive.
• Luke 1, 64-66: The news of the child is diffused. “All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judah. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts: What will this child turn out to be? They wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him”. The way in which Luke describes the facts recalls the circumstances of the birth of the persons who in the Old Testament had an important role in the realization of God’s project and whose childhood seemed already to be marked by the privileged destiny which they would have: Moses (Ex 2, 1-10), Samson (Jg 13, 1-4 and 13, 24-25), Samuel (1 Sm 1, 13-28 and 2, 11).
• In the writings of Luke we find many references to the Old Testament. In fact, the first two chapters of his Gospel are not stories in the sense which we, today, give to the story. They are rather, a mirror to help the readers to discover that John and Jesus came to fulfil the prophecies of the Old Testament. Luke wants to show that God, through the two children, came to respond to the most profound aspirations of the human heart. On the one side, Luke shows that the New Testament realizes what the Old Testament prefigured. On the other, it shows that the New one exceeds the Old one and does not correspond in everything to what the people of the Old Testament imagined and expected. In the attitude of Elizabeth and Zechariah, of Mary and Joseph, Luke represents a model of how to convert oneself to believe in the New one which is being reached.
4) Personal questions
• What has struck you most in the way in which Luke describes the facts of life?
• How do I read the facts of my life? Like a photo or like an X-Ray?
• What has struck you most in the way in which Luke describes the facts of life?
• How do I read the facts of my life? Like a photo or like an X-Ray?
5) Concluding prayer
Kindness unfailing and constancy mark all Yahweh's paths,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
Only those who fear Yahweh have his secret
and his covenant, for their understanding. (Sal 25,10.14)
Kindness unfailing and constancy mark all Yahweh's paths,
for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
Only those who fear Yahweh have his secret
and his covenant, for their understanding. (Sal 25,10.14)
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