DECEMBER 06, 2017 : WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
Lectionary: 177

Reading 1IS 25:6-10A

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.

On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

Responsorial PsalmPS 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6

R. (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage. 
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

Alleluia 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 15:29-37

At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others. 
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. 
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole, 
the lame walking, 
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat. 
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way." 
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?" 
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" 
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish." 
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 
They all ate and were satisfied. 
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "This is the LORD - we have waited for him"

What sign does God give his people that the promised Messiah, God's Anointed Son, will come to bring his heavenly peace and blessing and kingdom power to overcome the power of sin and oppression? In Jesus's time the people were in eager expectation that the Messiah would come soon. The prophets foretold that he would come in the power of Elijah and would perform mighty sings like Moses did when he delivered his people from slavery in Egypt. Some 700 years before Jesus came, Isaiah had prophesied that God would provide a heavenly banquet for all peoples and would destroy death once and for all (Isaiah 25:6-8). Jesus, God's Anointed Son, came to fulfill that promise. 

Jesus' miracles are both a sign of the coming of God’s kingdom and a demonstration of God's power to deliver his people from slavery to sin and Satan's oppressive rule. Jesus' miracles also showed the magnitude of God’s mercy.

When the disciples were confronted by Jesus with the task of feeding four thousand people many miles away from any source of food, they exclaimed: Where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them? The Israelites were confronted with the same dilemma when they fled Egypt and found themselves in a barren wilderness. Like the miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness, Jesus, himself provides bread in abundance for the hungry crowd who came out into the desert to seek him. The gospel records that all were satisfied and they took up what was leftover.

Jesus nourishes us with the true bread of heaven
In the multiplication of the loaves and fishes we see a sign and a symbol of what God always does. God knows our needs and he cares. When God gives, he gives in abundance. The gospel account records that the leftovers from the miraculous meal was more than seven times the amount they began with. Seven is a symbol of completion and wholeness. When God gives, he gives until we are satisfied. When God works for his people he gives abundantly - more than we could deserve and more than we need. He nourishes us with his life-giving word and with the bread of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven God will feast us at his banquet table. Are you satisfied with God's provision for you? And do you long with expectant hope for the coming of his kingdom in all its fullness?

Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the longing and hunger in our hearts. May I thirst for your kingdom and find joy in your presence. Give me the true bread of heaven and nourish me with your life-giving word."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The joy of the hope rooted in Christ, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"Having said that the Lord will reign in Zion and Jerusalem, Isaiah leads us to the mystical meaning of the passage (Isaiah 25:6-10). Thus Zion is interpreted as a high place that is good for surveillance, and Jerusalem is the vision of the world. In fact, the church of Christ combines both: it is high and visible from everywhere, and is, so to speak, located on the mountain. The church may be understood as high also in another way: there is nothing low in it, it is far removed from all the mundane things, as it is written, 'I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!' (Psalm 47:7-8). Equally elevated are its orthodox and divine doctrines; thus the doctrine about God or about the holy and consubstantial Trinity is true, pure and without guile.
    "'The Lord of hosts will make for all people,' not just for the Israelites elected for the sake of their patriarchs but for all the people of the world. What will he make? 'A feast of wines on the lees; they will drink joy, they will drink wine. They will be anointed with myrrh on the mountain.' This joy, of course, means the joy of hope, of the hope rooted in Christ, because we will reign with him, and with him we will enjoy every spiritual joy and pleasure that surpasses mind and understanding. By 'wine' he points to the mystical sacrament, that of the bloodless sacrifice, which we celebrate in the holy churches." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 25:6-7) 

www.dailyscripture.net

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, MATTHEW 15:29-37
Advent Weekday
(Isaiah 25:6-10a; Psalm 23)

KEY VERSE: "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd" (v 32).
TO KNOW: Like Moses, Jesus went up on a mountain to teach the people. Jesus was a compassionate teacher who had concern for the needs of his people, both spiritual and physical. He took pity on the crowd that had been following him for three days and were without food. The disciples were at a loss as to how they could feed so many hungry people. Jesus took what the disciples had, seven loaves of bread and some fish, gave thanks, broke the bread, and distributed it to the disciples who in turn satisfied the hungry people. This “Gentile feeding” corresponds to the “Jewish feeding” (Mt 14:13–21). The seven remaining baskets signified the fullness of God's care for all people, gentile and Jew. These same acts: taking, thanking, breaking and offering are what priests continue to do in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass. The "Breaking of the Bread" was an early name for the Eucharist (Greek, eucharistia, "the giving of thanks," Acts.2:42).
TO LOVE: In what ways will I feed God's hungry people this Advent?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, I give you thanks for satisfying my hunger in your Eucharistic presence.​

Optional Memorial of Saint Nicholas, bishop

Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, Lycia (modern Turkey). He was generous to the poor, and a special protector of the innocent and wronged. Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of his life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered. One story tells of three young women who wished to marry, but their father was poor and they had no dowry. Hearing of their plight, Nicholas went to their house by night and threw three bags of gold through the open window, possibly saving the girls from a life of destitution. The bags of gold are said to have landed in their stockings or shoes left by the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. These stories led to his patronage of children in general, and his becoming known as Santa Claus. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving in much of Europe. 

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Advent Season of Creation. St Nicholas.

Isaiah 25:6-10. Psalm 22(23). Matthew 15:29-37.

I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life — Psalm 22(23).

This is the Lord for whom we have waited.

When we reflect on our lives, we often experience a deep longing to have our hunger satisfied and to share our happiness with others. Isaiah catches this mood when he says,

‘On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy of fine strained wines. On this mountain, he will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples’.

He takes us to the mountain, God’s traditional resting place to offer a fruitful world and a table at which all people can find a seat. There will be no mourning because death is no more. We can imagine it as we keep in our hearts those whom hunger, isolation and loss exclude from the banquet.

The Gospel offers us another illustration of faith in a story of the feeding of thousands of people in a deserted place far from the towns. He tells his disciples to feed the crowd with seven bread rolls and a few fish. The impossible becomes possible when they trust Jesus and distribute the food. No one goes hungry, and there are basket loads of left-overs. As we read the passage, we enjoy the scene and ask that our compassion may lead us to try the impossible.

One of Pope Francis’ key insights in Laudato Si is that making room at the table of the world for all people and especially the most vulnerable goes together with respect for the world that we want to leave unspoiled to our children go together. The greed that feeds on great numbers of people who live in misery also trashes the world and leaves a bitter inheritance to our children.

The Pope explains the connection: ‘This lack of physical contact and encounter encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality. At times this attitude exists side by side with a “green” rhetoric. Today, however, we have to realise that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.’

For Pope Francis prayer begins in the feet and the hands and arises to our hearts and minds. As we pray for the world and those excluded from it, we ask that our prayers will reach our feet and hands.

www.pray.com.au

ST. NICHOLAS OF MYRA

On Dec. 6, the faithful commemorate a bishop in the early church who was known for generosity and love of children. Born in Lycia in Asia Minor around the late third or fourth century,  St. Nicholas of Myra is more than just the inspiration for the modern day Santa.

As a young man he is said to have made a pilgrimage to Palestine and Egypt in order to study in the school of the Desert Fathers. On returning some years later he was almost immediately ordained Bishop of Myra, which is now Demre, on the coast of modern day Turkey.

The bishop was imprisoned during the Diocletian persecution and only released when Constantine the Great came to power and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

One of the most famous stories of the generosity of St. Nicholas says that he threw bags of gold through an open window in the house of a poor man to serve as dowry for the man’s daughters, who otherwise would have been sold into slavery.

The gold is said to have landed in the family’s shoes, which were drying near the fire. This is why children leave their shoes out by the door, or hang their stockings by the fireplace in the hopes of receiving a gift on the eve of his feast.

St. Nicholas is associated with Christmas because of the tradition that he had the custom of giving secret gifts to children. It is also conjectured that the saint, who was known to wear red robes and have a long white beard, was culturally converted into the large man with a reindeer-drawn sled full of toys because in German, his name is “San Nikolaus” which almost sounds like “Santa Claus.”

In the East, he is known as St. Nicholas of Myra for the town in which he was bishop. But in the West he is called St. Nicholas of Bari because, during the Muslim conquest of Turkey in 1087, his relics were taken to Bari by the Italians.

St Nicholas is the patron of children and of sailors. His intercession is sought by the shipwrecked, by those in difficult economic circumstances, and for those affected by fires.

He died on December 6, 346.

www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=75

LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 15,29-37

Lectio Divina: 

 Wednesday, December 6, 2017

1st Week of Advent

1) Opening prayer

God of all people,
You know how people hunger and thirst
for truth, love and acceptance.
If we accept You and believe in You
we see our deepest trust and aspirations
being fulfilled by You
as we work for the coming of Your kingdom.
Help us to let the cup that You pour for us
overflow on all Your people,
that all may praise You
now and for ever.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 15:29-37

Jesus went on from there and reached the shores of the Lake of Galilee, and He went up onto the mountain. He took His seat, and large crowds came to Him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at His feet and He cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel. But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with Me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, or they might collapse on the way.” The disciples said to Him, “Where in a deserted place could we get sufficient bread for such a large crowd to have enough to eat?” Jesus said to them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” Then He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks He broke them and began handing them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.

3) Reflection

Today’s Gospel is like the rising sun. It is always the same sun every day which renews life and renders plants fertile. The greatest danger is routine. Routine kills the Gospel and extinguishes the sun of life.
• The elements which form the picture of the Gospel are always the same: Jesus, the mountain, the sea, the crowds, the sick, the needy, the problems of life. However, despite their familiarity they, like the sun, bring a life giving message.
• Like Moses, Jesus goes up to the mountain and the people gather around Him. They bring their problems with them: sickness, blindness, deafness, etc.  They are the new People of God who gather around the new Moses. Jesus cures all of them.
• Jesus calls the disciples. He has compassion for the people who have nothing to eat . According to the disciples, the solution  must come from outside: “Where to find bread to feed so many people?” According to Jesus, the solution must  come from the people through His help: “How many loaves have you?”  They answer “seven and a few small fish”. With these few loaves of bread and  fish, Jesus satisfies the hunger of all, and there are even some left over. If today people would share what they have, there would be no hunger in the world. Many things would be left over! Truly, another world is possible!
• The account of the multiplication of the loaves foretells the Eucharist : “Jesus, took the bread in His hands, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to His disciples”.

4) Personal questions

• Jesus feels compassion. Is there compassion in me when facing  the problems of humanity? Do I do something about it?
• The disciples expect  the solution to come from outside. Jesus shows differently. Where do I look for solutions?

• Is every day routine for me, or do I thank God for another day and creatively seek to do His will?

5) Concluding Prayer

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures He gives me repose. (Ps 23)

www.ocarm.org