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Chủ Nhật, 10 tháng 12, 2017

DECEMBER 11, 2017 : MONDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT

Monday of the Second Week of Advent
Lectionary: 181

Reading 1IS 35:1-10
The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
They will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
Then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.

Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water;
The abode where jackals lurk
will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus.
A highway will be there,
called the holy way;
No one unclean may pass over it,
nor fools go astray on it.
No lion will be there,
nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it.
It is for those with a journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will walk.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.
R. (Isaiah 35:4f) Our God will come to save us!
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD –for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Our God will come to save us!
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Our God will come to save us!
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. Our God will come to save us!
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold the king will come, the Lord of the earth,
and he himself will lift the yoke of our captivity.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 5:17-26
One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. 
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. 
But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof
and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles
into the middle in front of Jesus. 
When Jesus saw their faith, he said,
"As for you, your sins are forgiven." 

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
"Who is this who speaks blasphemies? 
Who but God alone can forgive sins?" 
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
"What are you thinking in your hearts? 
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'? 
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he said to the one who was paralyzed,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." 

He stood up immediately before them,
picked up what he had been lying on,
and went home, glorifying God. 
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
"We have seen incredible things today."


Meditation: "Your God will come and save you"
Is there anything in your life that keeps you from receiving the blessings of God's kingdom? The prophets foretold that when the Messiah came to usher in God's kingdom the blind would see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk (Isaiah 35:5-6). Jesus not only brought physical healing, but healing of mind, heart, and soul as well. Jesus came to bring us the abundant life of God's kingdom (John 10:10). But that new life and transformation can be stifled by unbelief, indifference, and sinful pride. Sin cripples us far more than any physical ailment can. Sin is the work of the kingdom of darkness and it holds us in eternal bondage. There is only one solution and that is the healing, cleansing power of Jesus' forgiveness.
The coming of God's kingdom restores, heals, and brings pardon and new life 
Jesus' treatment of sinners upset the religious teachers of the day. When a cripple was brought to Jesus because of the faith of his friends, Jesus did the unthinkable. He first forgave the man his sins. The scribes regarded this as blasphemy because they understood that only God had authority to forgive sins and to unbind a man or woman from their burden of guilt. Jesus claimed an authority which only God could rightfully give. Jesus not only proved that his authority came from God, he showed the great power of God's redeeming love and mercy by healing the cripple of his physical ailment. This man had been crippled not only physically, but spiritually as well. Jesus freed him from his burden of guilt and restored his body as well. 
The Lord Jesus sets us free from slavery to sin and makes us whole
The Lord Jesus is ever ready to bring us healing of body, mind, and soul. His grace brings us freedom from the power of sin and from bondage to harmful desires and addictions. Do you allow anything to keep you from Jesus' healing power?
"Lord Jesus, through your merciful love and forgiveness you bring healing and restoration to body, soul, and mind. May your healing power and love touch every area of my life - my innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories. Pardon my offenses and transform me in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may walk confidently in your truth and righteousness."
Daily Quote from the early church fathersJesus heals spiritually and physically, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"When the Savior says to him, 'Man, your sins are forgiven you,' he addresses this to humankind in general. For those who believe in him, being healed of the diseases of the soul, will receive forgiveness of the sins which they formerly committed. He may also mean this: 'I must heal your soul before I heal your body. If this is not done, by obtaining strength to walk, you will only sin more. Even though you have not asked for this, I as God see the maladies of the soul which brought on you this disease.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 12)


MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, LUKE 5:17-26
Advent Weekday

(Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 85)

KEY VERSE: "I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home" (v 24).
TO KNOW: Jesus was continually confronted by the religious leaders who feared that he was not following their rigid interpretation of the law. Luke contrasted their suspicion with the faith of some men who came to Jesus out of concern for their paralyzed friend. When the men were unable to get through the crowd, they climbed the outside stairway of the house where Jesus was teaching, and removed some tiles from the roof. Then they lowered the invalid through the hole they had made down to the feet of Jesus. Jesus was concerned about the paralytic's physical well-being, but also for his spiritual health. When Jesus told the man that his sins were forgiven, the religious leaders were scandalized as only God could forgive sins. To prove his authority over both physical and spiritual affliction, Jesus healed the man. The people were astonished and gave praise to God, which is the true purpose of any miracle.
TO LOVE: To what lengths am I willing to go to bring a friend to Jesus?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, heal me from anything that impedes my Christian walk.

Optional Memorial of Saint Damasus I, pope

Damasus' pontificate suffered from the rise of Arianism (a heresy that denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ), and from several schisms. However, it was during Damasus' reign that Christianity was declared the religion of the Roman State by the Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313. Pope Damasus commissioned his secretary, Saint Jerome, to produce a Latin text of the Bible, which is known as the Vulgata Editio (the current text), for the reason that he used the “the common" (vulgar) language in his writing. Damasus presided over the Council of Rome in 382, at which, according to Roman Catholic tradition and the 6th century document Decretum Gelasianum, the modern Catholic canon of scripture was first set down. Damasus restored catacombs, shrines, and the tombs of martyrs. He expressed the wish that he would be buried in the catacombs with the early martyrs, but he feared that the presence of one of his lowly status would profane such an august place. Instead, when he died in 384, he was buried with his mother and sister.



Monday 11 December 2017

Advent Season of Creation.
Isaiah 35:1-10. Psalm 84(85):9-14. Luke 5:17-26.
Our God will come to save us!—Psalm 84(85):9-14.
Our God will come to save us!
Some time ago, I had the chance to visit an inspiring school on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, more than twenty kilometres from the bustling tourist areas of that city. It was called Fe y Alegria 26, a name which means Faith and Joy. These are great values to put at the heart of any community. The number 26 indicates that there is a family of such schools throughout Latin America. This particular school was established as a place of peace and safety at a time when terrorists were wrecking havoc in Peru; many people had flocked to the city in the hope of avoiding violence.
Lima is nothing if not dry. Water is such a precious resource that a tank near the school is protected by a high wall and barbed wire. The soccer pitch and playground are baked hard. There is hardly a blade of green grass anywhere to be seen. Whatever person or community was responsible for today’s first reading. The Prophet Isaiah surely understood this. Today’s reading longs for a time when:
Water gushes in the desert
Streams in the wasteland,
The scorched earth becomes a lake
The parched land springs of water.
I saw this vision come to life in Peru. At Fe y Alegria 26, students are encouraged to bring water to school every day.  Not just drinking water but also water recycled from washing and laundry at home. Each day, numbers of old soft drink bottles, filled with murky water, are lined up along the wall and counted. Students win house points for bringing the water which is then used to grow vegetables in the school garden.
So there is some greenery in the school. Tomatoes ripen on their trellis; passion fruit hangs from vines. In the middle of such an arid place, the words of Isaiah capture the spirit of what is happening: ‘let the wilderness and dry-lands exalt.’
Of course, it takes many bottles of water to make a viable garden. The whole school has to work together. This is one of the themes of the story of the paralysed man in the Gospel today. His friends have to find a way through the crowd, get him up onto the roof, remove the tiles and then lower him down. It all sounds like hard work, and it was. But the Gospel notices this. It does not say that Jesus saw his faith. It says he saw their faith.
Advent is a time when we acknowledge that we are like parched lands. Large parts of us are a wilderness, longing for rain. As we wait, we do all we can to bring water to those who are struggling around us. We pray the words of the poet Hopkins, ‘send my roots rain.’


ST. DAMASUS, POPE

Saint Damasus was born in Rome at the beginning of the fourth century. His father, a widower, had received Holy Orders there and served as parish priest in the church of St. Laurence.
Damasus was archdeacon of the Roman Church in 355 when the Pope, Saint Liberius, was banished to Berda. Damases followed him into exile, but afterwards returned to Rome. On the death of Saint Liberius in 366, our Saint was chosen to succeed him, at the age of sixty-two. A certain Ursinus, jealous of his election and desiring for himself that high office, had himself proclaimed pope by his followers, inciting a revolt against Damasus in Rome, in which 137 people died. The holy Pope did not choose to resort to armed defense, but the Emperor Valentinian, to defend him, drove the usurper from Rome for a time. Later he returned, and finding accomplices for his evil intentions, accused the holy Pontiff of adultery. Saint Damasus took only such action as was becoming to the common father of the faithful. He assembled a synod of forty-four bishops, in which he justified himself so well that the calumniators were excommunicated and banished.
Having freed the Church of this new schism, Saint Damasus turned his attention to the extirpation of Arianism in the West and of Apollinarianism in the East, and for this purpose convened several councils. He sent Saint Zenobius, later bishop of Florence, to Constantinople in 381 to console the faithful, cruelly persecuted by the Emperor Valens. He commanded Saint Jerome to prepare a correct Latin version of the Bible, since known as the Vulgate, and he ordered the Psalms to be sung accordingly. He rebuilt and adorned the Church of Saint Laurence, still called Saint Laurence in Damaso. He caused all the springs of the Vatican to be drained, which were inundating the tombs of the holy persons buried there, and he decorated the sepulchres of a great number of martyrs in the cemeteries, adorning them with epitaphs in verse. Before his death, he consecrated sixty-two bishops.
Saint Damasus is praised by Theodoret as head of the famous doctors of divine grace of the Latin church. The General Council of Chalcedon calls him the "honor and glory of Rome." Having reigned for eighteen years and two months, he died on December 10, 384, when he was nearly eighty years old. In the eighth century, his relics were definitively placed in the church of Saint Laurence in Damaso, except for his head, which was conserved in the Basilica of Saint Peter.
Source: The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Principal Saints, by Rev. Alban Butler.


LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 5,17-26
Lectio Divina: 
 Monday, December 11, 2017
2nd Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,
you come among your people;
to those who are poor and paralyzed
you bring them your forgiveness
and your tender compassion
through your Son Jesus Christ.
God, make us deeply believe
that you want to liberate us
from our discouragement and powerlessness.
Give us a sincere, trusting hope
in your healing, compassionate love,
through Christ Jesus our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 5, 17-26
Now it happened that he was teaching one day, and Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from every village in Galilee, from Judaea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was there so that he should heal.
And now some men appeared, bringing on a bed a paralysed man whom they were trying to bring in and lay down in front of him. But as they could find no way of getting the man through the crowd, they went up onto the top of the house and lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith he said, 'My friend, your sins are forgiven you.'
The scribes and the Pharisees began to think this over. 'Who is this man, talking blasphemy? Who but God alone can forgive sins?' But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, made them this reply, 'What are these thoughts you have in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Get up and walk"? But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- he said to the paralysed man-'I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.' And immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
They were all astounded and praised God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen strange things today.'
3) Reflection
• Sitting down, Jesus taught. People liked to listen to him. Which was the theme of Jesus’ teaching? He always spoke about God, of his Father, but he spoke in a new way, attractive, different from that of the Scribes and the Pharisees (Mk 1, 22.27). Jesus represented God as the great Good News for human life; a God Father/Mother who loves and accepts persons, and a God who does not threaten and does not condemn.
• A paralyzed man is brought by four men. Jesus is for them their only hope. Seeing their faith, he tells the paralytic: Your sins are forgiven you!  At that time, people believed that the physical defects (paralysis, etc.) were a punishment from God because of some sin committed. For this reason, the paralytics and many other disabled persons felt that they were rejected and excluded by God! Jesus teaches the contrary. Such a great faith of the paralytic was an evident sign of the fact that those who helped them were accepted by God. This is why Jesus declares: Your sins are forgiven you! That is: “God does not reject you!”
• The affirmation of Jesus did not coincide with the idea which the Doctors had of God. For this reason, they react: He is talking blasphemy! According to their teaching, only God could forgive sins. And only the priest could declare that a person was forgiven and purified. How could Jesus, in their eyes, a simple lay man, ever declare that the paralytic was forgiven and purified from his sins? And then, if a simple lay person could forgive sins, the doctors and the priests would have lost their functions! This is why they react and defend themselves.
• Jesus justifies his action: Which is easier to say: Your sins are forgiven or to say, Get up and walk?.  Evidently, for a man it is easier to say: Your sins are forgiven”, because nobody can verify or prove this fact. But if one says: “Get up and walk”, in this case everybody can see if he has or not this power to cure. For this reason, to show that, in the name of God, he had the power to forgive sins, Jesus says to the paralytic: “Get up and walk!” He cures the man! He shows that the paralysis is not a punishment from God because of sin, and he shows that the faith of the poor is a proof of the fact that God accepts them in his love.
4) Personal questions
• Placing myself in the position of those who helped the paralytic: Would I be capable to help a sick person, take him up to the top of the house and do what the four men did? Do I have such a great faith?
• Which is the image that I have of God in myself and which radiates on others? That of the doctors or that of Jesus? A God of compassion or of threat?
5) Concluding Prayer
I will hear what God proclaims;
the Lord – for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land. (Ps 85)



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