Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Lectionary: 185
Lectionary: 185
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6
R. (see John 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of
life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord will come; go out to meet him!
He is the prince of peace.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 11:16-19
Jesus said to the crowds:
"To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
'He is possessed by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is vindicated by her works."
"To what shall I compare this generation?
It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another,
'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance,
we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.'
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
'He is possessed by a demon.'
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is vindicated by her works."
Meditation: The
Lord will lead you in the way you should go
Do you seek God's way of peace and wisdom for your
life? The prophets remind us that God’s kingdom is available to those who are
teachable and receptive to the word of God. Through their obedience to God's
word and commandments, they receive not only wisdom and peace for themselves,
but they, in turn become a blessing to their children and their offspring as
well. Jesus warns the generation of his day to heed God's word before it is too
late. He compares proud teachers and vain scholars with stubborn playmates who
refuse to follow wise counsel and instruction.
Jesus parable about a group of disappointed musicians
and their stubborn friends who refuse to sing or dance at the appropriate
occasion challenge us to examine whether we are selective to only hear and do
what we want to hear. The young music players in Jesus' parable react with
great dismay because they cannot get anyone to follow their instruction. They
complain that if they play their music at weddings, no one will join in their
festive song and dance; and if they play mournful tunes and songs at funerals,
no one will join in at all. This parable echoes the wisdom of Ecclesiastes 3:4
- "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time
to dance." Are you in tune with the message of God's kingdom? And do you
heed God's word of wisdom and truth as if your life depended on it?
Spiritual indifference and deaf ears can block God's
word for us
Jesus' message of the kingdom of God is a proclamation of good news that produces great joy and hope for those who listen and obey - but it is also a warning of bad consequences and disaster for those who refuse to accept God's gracious invitation. Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with resistance and deaf ears? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's austerities to the devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship as evidence for pretending to be the Messiah. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of John the Baptist and now they close their ears to Jesus, God's anointed Son sent to redeem us from bondage to sin and death.
Jesus' message of the kingdom of God is a proclamation of good news that produces great joy and hope for those who listen and obey - but it is also a warning of bad consequences and disaster for those who refuse to accept God's gracious invitation. Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with resistance and deaf ears? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's austerities to the devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship as evidence for pretending to be the Messiah. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of John the Baptist and now they close their ears to Jesus, God's anointed Son sent to redeem us from bondage to sin and death.
What can make us spiritually dull and slow to hear
God's voice? Like the generation of Jesus' time, our age is marked by
indifference and contempt, especially in regards to the things of heaven.
Indifference dulls our ears to God's voice and to the good news of the Gospel.
Only the humble of heart can find joy and favor in God's sight. Is you life in
tune with Jesus' message of hope and salvation? And do you know the joy and
blessing of believing and obeying God's word?
"Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear the good news
of your kingdom and set my heart free to love and serve you joyfully. May
nothing keep me from following you wholeheartedly."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The river of forgiveness washes us clean,
by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"This water is good, then. I mean
here the grace of the Spirit. Who will give this Fountain to my heart? Let it
spring up in me, let that which gives eternal life flow on me. Let that
Fountain overflow on us and not flow away. For Wisdom says, 'Drink water out of
your own vessels and from the fountains of your own wells, and let [not] your
waters flow abroad in your streets' (Proverbs 5:15-16). How shall I keep this
water so that it does not seep out or glide away? How shall I preserve my
vessel, lest any crack of sin penetrating it should let the water of eternal
life exude? Teach us, Lord Jesus, teach us as you taught your apostles, saying,
'Lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where rust and moth destroy
and where thieves break through and steal (Matthew 6:19)...
"If you seek Jesus, forsake the broken cisterns, for Christ did not make it his custom to sit by a pool but by a well. There that Samaritan woman (John 4:6) found him, she who believed, she who wished to draw water. Although you ought to have come in early morning, nevertheless if you come later, even at the sixth hour, you will find Jesus wearied with his journey. He is weary, but it is because of you, because he has long looked for you, your unbelief has long wearied him. Yet he is not offended if you only come now. He asks to drink who is about to give. But he drinks not the water of a stream flowing by, but your salvation. He drinks your good dispositions. He drinks the cup, that is, the passion that atoned for your sins, that you, drinking of his sacred blood, might quench the thirst of this world." (excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.16.182–84)
"If you seek Jesus, forsake the broken cisterns, for Christ did not make it his custom to sit by a pool but by a well. There that Samaritan woman (John 4:6) found him, she who believed, she who wished to draw water. Although you ought to have come in early morning, nevertheless if you come later, even at the sixth hour, you will find Jesus wearied with his journey. He is weary, but it is because of you, because he has long looked for you, your unbelief has long wearied him. Yet he is not offended if you only come now. He asks to drink who is about to give. But he drinks not the water of a stream flowing by, but your salvation. He drinks your good dispositions. He drinks the cup, that is, the passion that atoned for your sins, that you, drinking of his sacred blood, might quench the thirst of this world." (excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1.16.182–84)
FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 15. MATTHEW 11:16-19
Advent Weekday
(Isaiah 48:17-19; Psalm 1)
Advent Weekday
(Isaiah 48:17-19; Psalm 1)
KEY VERSE: "But wisdom is vindicated by her works" (v 19).
TO KNOW: Jesus was exasperated with those who opposed his work and the work of John the Baptist. Jesus compared these faithless ones to spoiled children who could not be satisfied. He recited a little verse that appeared in Aesop's fables (6th century before Christ): "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn." Those who opposed John did so because of his austere, ascetic life-style; yet, at the same time, they rejected Jesus because of his association with sinners and outcasts. John was thought to be "demon-possessed" and Jesus was said to be a "glutton and a drunkard" (v 19). Divine wisdom would vindicate the works of Jesus the Messiah and his herald John.
TO LOVE: Do I make rash judgments about those with whom I disagree?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to understand the other person's point of view.
Friday 15
December 2017
Advent Season of Creation. Day of Penance.
Isaiah 48:17-19. Psalm 1:1-4, 6. Matthew 11:16-19.
Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life – Psalm
1:1-4, 6.
They listened neither to John the Baptist nor to the Son of Man.
I have heard plenty of children calling out to each other, if
not across the marketplace then certainly across the yard at school. For some
years I have taught teenagers. I start every class with an ancient prayer, one
which I learnt at school from an old man who had learnt it at school himself
from someone who had also learnt it. I tell my class that if it picks up
nothing else in the year other than this prayer, then that will be something
and not a small something either.
Come Holy Spirit
Fill the hearts of your faithful.
Enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit, Lord,
And they shall be created
And you will renew the face of the earth.
Fill the hearts of your faithful.
Enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit, Lord,
And they shall be created
And you will renew the face of the earth.
This prayer takes a few seconds, and sometimes it happens on
automatic while I am busy trying to remember what we are supposed to be doing
today. But that those few old words embody a great deal of my vision of
teaching and learning, two activities we are all called to it some way or
other. The Holy Spirit is never rushed nor hurried nor hassled nor fearful. The
Holy Spirit seldom looks at the clock and tends not to have problems getting
the technology to work. The Holy Spirit occupies the present moment, filling
hearts, renewing the face of the earth.
The Gospel today has a rich understanding of what St Ignatius
called ‘discernment of spirits.’ Jesus uses his fine sense of humour to mock
the crowds. They complained when John the Baptist fasted and they complained
again when Jesus was seen eating and drinking. They are out of tune, like
raucous children hanging around with nothing to do, waiting for something to
happen. They can’t read the season. The first reading offers an alternative. It
uses the word ‘alert.’ Being alert is one of the great themes of Advent, a time
when we are called to discern the presence of God in the busy marketplace of
our own lives afresh. Those who have their eyes and ears open for God
experience a force of nature: ‘your happiness would have been like a river,
your integrity like the waves of the sea.’
One time, I saw a student I had taught a few years before on the
other side of a noisy street in a shopping centre. He was pushing a pram, had a
backpack full of baby paraphernalia and had the weary look of a young parent.
He noticed me on the other side of the road as I was trying to find coins to
pay for the parking.
‘Hey sir,’ he yelled across the traffic, smiling. ‘enkindle the
fire.’
I was glad he remembered the prayer. The spirit will be as alert
to his needs and those of his baby as the spirit is to all of us.
ST. VIRGINIA CENTURIONE BRACELLI
Born in Genoa Italy on April 2, 1587, Virginia
was raised in an aristocratic family which was nonetheless pious, and from a
young age she longed to consecrate herself to God in the religious life.
However, she was pressured into an arranged marriage at the age of 15 on
account of her social status, and had two daughters.
Her husband, a drinker and gambler, died after only five years of marriage, and Virginia dedicated her time to raising her children, prayer and works of charity, which she devoted herself to entirely once her children had grown up, caring for the sick, elderly and abandoned.
She founded a refuge center in Genoa in 1625, which soon became overrun with the needy, and she rented an empty convent in 1631 where she cared for the sick with the help of other women, and she instructed the women in the faith in addition to thier work.
She constructed a church dedicated to Our Lady of Refuge, and soon the women who worked with her in the hospital were formed into two congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Mount Calvary, and the Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary.
Victoria retired from the administration of the orders, and performed manual labour and begged for alms, but was called back to administrative duties soon after.
She began to receive visions and locutions in the later years of her life. She died in Genoa on December 15, 1651 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 18, 2003.
Her husband, a drinker and gambler, died after only five years of marriage, and Virginia dedicated her time to raising her children, prayer and works of charity, which she devoted herself to entirely once her children had grown up, caring for the sick, elderly and abandoned.
She founded a refuge center in Genoa in 1625, which soon became overrun with the needy, and she rented an empty convent in 1631 where she cared for the sick with the help of other women, and she instructed the women in the faith in addition to thier work.
She constructed a church dedicated to Our Lady of Refuge, and soon the women who worked with her in the hospital were formed into two congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Mount Calvary, and the Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary.
Victoria retired from the administration of the orders, and performed manual labour and begged for alms, but was called back to administrative duties soon after.
She began to receive visions and locutions in the later years of her life. She died in Genoa on December 15, 1651 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 18, 2003.
LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW
11,16-19
Lectio Divina:
Friday, December 15, 2017
2nd Week of Advent
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
too often we are deaf to your voice
and to the presence of your Son
among us, his people.
Inspire us by your prophets and your Spirit
that now is the right moment to change
and to commit ourselves
to the kind of life and to the justice
demanded by the kingdom.
Help us to make people see
that your Son is alive among us
and that he is our Lord for ever.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11, 16-19
'What comparison can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn't dance;
we sang dirges, and you wouldn't be mourners.
'For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He is possessed."
The Son of man came, eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."
Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.'
3) Reflection
• The leaders, the wise, are not always pleased when someone criticizes or challenges them. That happened in the time of Jesus and happens today also, both in society and in the Church. John the Baptist, saw, criticized, and was not accepted. They said: “He is possessed by the devil!” Jesus, saw, criticized and was not accepted. They said: “He has lost his head!”, “Crazy!” (Mk 3, 21). “He is possessed by the devil!” (Mk 3, 22), “He is a Samaritan!” (Jn 8, 48), “He is not from God!” (Jn 9, 16). The same thing happens today. There are some persons who hold on to what has always been taught and they do not accept another way of explaining or of living faith. Then they invent reasons and pretexts so as not to adhere: “It is Marxism!”, “It is against God’s Law!”, “It is disobedience to tradition and to the teaching of the Church” and they complain for the lack of coherence of the people. They always invent some pretext so as not to accept the message of God which Jesus announced. In fact, it is relatively easy to find arguments and pretexts to refute those who think in a way different from ours.
• Jesus reacts and renders public their incoherence. They considered themselves wise, but they were like children who wish to amuse the people on the square and they rebel when people do not move according to the music that they play. Or those who consider themselves wise without really having anything truly wise. They only accepted those who had the same ideas as they had. And thus, they themselves, because of their incoherent attitude, condemned themselves.
4) Personal questions
• Up to what point am I coherent with my faith?
• Do I have a critical conscience regarding the social and ecclesiastical system which, some times, invents reasons and pretexts to legitimize the situation and to prevent any change?
5) Concluding Prayer
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night. (Ps 1)
Lord our God,
too often we are deaf to your voice
and to the presence of your Son
among us, his people.
Inspire us by your prophets and your Spirit
that now is the right moment to change
and to commit ourselves
to the kind of life and to the justice
demanded by the kingdom.
Help us to make people see
that your Son is alive among us
and that he is our Lord for ever.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11, 16-19
'What comparison can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn't dance;
we sang dirges, and you wouldn't be mourners.
'For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He is possessed."
The Son of man came, eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners."
Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.'
3) Reflection
• The leaders, the wise, are not always pleased when someone criticizes or challenges them. That happened in the time of Jesus and happens today also, both in society and in the Church. John the Baptist, saw, criticized, and was not accepted. They said: “He is possessed by the devil!” Jesus, saw, criticized and was not accepted. They said: “He has lost his head!”, “Crazy!” (Mk 3, 21). “He is possessed by the devil!” (Mk 3, 22), “He is a Samaritan!” (Jn 8, 48), “He is not from God!” (Jn 9, 16). The same thing happens today. There are some persons who hold on to what has always been taught and they do not accept another way of explaining or of living faith. Then they invent reasons and pretexts so as not to adhere: “It is Marxism!”, “It is against God’s Law!”, “It is disobedience to tradition and to the teaching of the Church” and they complain for the lack of coherence of the people. They always invent some pretext so as not to accept the message of God which Jesus announced. In fact, it is relatively easy to find arguments and pretexts to refute those who think in a way different from ours.
• Jesus reacts and renders public their incoherence. They considered themselves wise, but they were like children who wish to amuse the people on the square and they rebel when people do not move according to the music that they play. Or those who consider themselves wise without really having anything truly wise. They only accepted those who had the same ideas as they had. And thus, they themselves, because of their incoherent attitude, condemned themselves.
4) Personal questions
• Up to what point am I coherent with my faith?
• Do I have a critical conscience regarding the social and ecclesiastical system which, some times, invents reasons and pretexts to legitimize the situation and to prevent any change?
5) Concluding Prayer
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night. (Ps 1)
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