DECEMBER 23, 2017 : SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 199

Reading 1MAL 3:1-4, 23-24

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.

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.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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."

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "What then will this child be?" 

Are you surprised to see the relatives of Zechariah and Elizabeth disagreeing 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 the Baptist and in the birth of Jesus the Messiah we see the grace and favor of God breaking forth into a world broken by sin, corruption, and death - a world lost without hope. 
The Old Testament prophets foretold the return of the prophet Elijah (Malachi 3:1, and 4:5) who would announce the coming of the Messiah - the Savior and Ruler of the earth. John the Baptist fulfills the role of Elijah (Matthew 11:13-14). His miraculous birth shows the mercy and favor of God in preparing his people for the coming of its Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
When God acts to save us he graciously fills us with his Holy Spirit and makes our faith come "alive" to his promises. When we respond to his word with trust the Lord fills us with the joy of the Holy Spirit and renews our hope and gratitude for the mercy and gift of new life and salvation he gives us through Jesus Christ. Do you make your life an offering of thanksgiving to God, along with your family and all that you have and hope to accomplish? God wants to fill us with the joy of his saving presence 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."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The parallels between John and Jesus, by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD)
"The elderly Elizabeth gave birth to the last of the prophets, and Mary, a young girl, to the Lord of the angels. The daughter of Aaron gave birth to the voice in the desert (Isaiah 63:9), but the daughter of David to the strong God of the earth. The barren one gave birth to him who remits sins, but the Virgin gave birth to him who takes them away (John 1:29). Elizabeth gave birth to him who reconciled people through repentance, but Mary gave birth to him who purified the lands of uncleanness. The elder one lit a lamp in the house of Jacob, his father, for this lamp itself was John (John 5:35), while the younger one lit the Sun of Justice (Malachi 4:2) for all the nations. The angel announced to Zechariah, so that the slain one would proclaim the crucified one and that the hated one would proclaim the envied one. He who was to baptize with water would proclaim him who would baptize with fire and with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). The light, which was not obscure, would proclaim the Sun of Justice. The one filled with the Spirit would proclaim concerning him who gives the Spirit. The priest calling with the trumpet would proclaim concerning the one who is to come at the sound of the trumpet at the end. The voice would proclaim concerning the Word, and the one who saw the dove would proclaim concerning him upon whom the dove rested, like the lightning before the thunder." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 1.31)

www.dailyscripture.net

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 23, LUKE 1:56-66
Advent Weekday
(Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Psalm 25)

KEY VERSE: "He will be called John" (v 60).
TO KNOW: 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 was usually named during the ritual. Everyone assumed that the boy would bear the name of his father Zechariah, but Elizabeth declared that he was to be called "John" according to the angel's command (Lk 1:13). Zechariah had been mute since the angel's announcement, but when he confirmed that the child would be named 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.
TO LOVE: Have my words brought comfort and hope to others this Advent?
TO SERVE: O Jesus, Emmanuel, be with me throughout my life.​

O EMMANUEL, December 23

Today's O Antiphon is "O Emanuel" (God-with-us). With this last antiphon our expectation finds joy in the certainty of fulfillment. We call Jesus by one of the most personal and intimate of his titles, Emmanuel. We recall that in his birth from the Virgin Mary God takes on our very flesh and human nature – “God who is with us.”
 O come, o come, Emmanuel,
 And ransom captive Israel,
 That mourns in lonely exile here,
 Until the Son of God appear.
 Refrain: Rejoice, rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Optional Memorial of Saint John of Kanty, Priest   

  
At age 41, John of Kanty was assigned as parish priest at Olkusz, Bohemia. He was terrified of the responsibility, but did his best. That wasn’t enough for his parishioners, but eventually he won their hearts. After several years in his parish, he returned to the University of Cracow where he taught Scripture for the rest of his life. John was a serious, humble man, generous to a fault, sleeping little, and eating frugally. 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 difficult 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. 

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Saturday 23 December 2017

Advent Season of Creation. St John of Kenty.

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24. Psalm 24(25):4-5, 8-9, 10, 14. Luke 1:57-66.

Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand – Psalm 24(25):4-5, 8-9, 10, 14.

Who will this child turn out to be?

The sudden return of Zechariah’s speech after naming of the baby amazes all around him and the people realise there is a divine power at work. News of these events spread throughout the entire hill country of Judea. This special event early in the child’s life suggest he is special. Those who heard of the event pondered it (as Mary was doing).

Even though they are convinced that ‘the hand of the Lord was with him’ Luke constantly reminds the audience throughout the Gospel that Jesus is the more important one and John is preparing the way for him. The birth of John to his elderly parents, such faithful Jews is an extraordinary event.

John is to become a prophet. Living with simplicity and love he witnessed Jesus. As with the Old Testament prophets he shows us how his own bodily life became a prophetic sign to the people. It is part of our own prophetic call to live with a different set of values than our world that as Pope Francis says “nourishes a mistaken assumption that there is an infinite availability of goods in the world…Techno science has turned into technocracy, which has become a real dictatorship with a firm logic of domination over everything and everyone…The great illusion, dominant today, lies in believing that techno science can solve all environmental problems. This is a misleading idea because it involves isolating the things that are always connected…there is intrinsic value in every being.”

Prophets invite us to contemplate our Creator God, to discover God in all things. Pope Francis encourages us to a “prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment, free of the obsession with consumption.” Can I awaken to the reality of my own prophetic call? That my own life has a sacramental value for the world? That like John, I have a symbolic and sign value.

www.pray.com.au

ST. THORLAK OF ICELAND

The Scandinavian island nation of Iceland celebrates its national patron, St. Thorlak Thorhallsson, on Dec. 23.

Although Iceland's national assembly declared him a saint in 1198, only five years after his death, this “unofficial” canonization did not become an official part of the Church's liturgical calendar until Pope John Paul II confirmed him as the country's patron in January 1984.

Thorlak was born in 1133, less than two centuries after German and Norwegian missionaries began the first effective evangelization of Iceland. The pagan nation's conversion had involved a dramatic national struggle, as many Icelanders clung fiercely to their ancestral religion despite its customs of idol worship and infanticide.

The Catholic Church in Iceland had solidly established its presence by the time of Thorlak's birth. However, it had fallen into some disarray, particularly due to local clergy disregarding the rule of clerical celibacy, selling church positions for personal gain, and engaging in other breaches of discipline.

Thorlak's parents, barely able to earn a living as farmers, took note of their son's talents and made sure he received extensive religious instruction from a local priest. His gifts must have attracted wider notice, since Thorlak received ordination as a deacon before the age of 15 and became a priest at age 18.

Afterward, he left Iceland for a period of time to study theology in France and England. During this time he committed himself to living by the monastic rule of St. Augustine, an important part of the Western Church's tradition. This rule committed a priest not only to celibacy, but also to a life in community without personal possessions, after the manner of the apostles in the Church's earliest days.

Inspired by this vision of radical discipleship, he held fast to the discipline of clerical celibacy, even after returning to Iceland and being pressured to marry a wealthy widow. Instead, he ended up founding a monastery according to the Augustinian rule, which became renowned as a place of prayer and study.

Ten years after the founding of the monastery, the Norwegian Archbishop Augustine Erlendsson, another follower of the ancient Augustinian rule of life, called on Thorlak to become bishop of the Icelandic diocese of Skalholt. Although he was deeply attached to his monastic way of life, Thorlak recognized the pressing need for reform and guidance among the clergy.

As a bishop, he was deeply dedicated to implementing the reforms of the Western Church that Pope Gregory VII had begun during the past century, which envisioned not only a strict discipline of clerical celibacy, but also the independence of the Church against intrusion by secular authorities.

Thorlak also sought to improve public morality, and dared to confront even the most popular and powerful chieftain in Iceland, who was said to have had an extramarital affair with the bishop's own sister. Understandably, he often longed to put aside these kinds of burdens and return to the monastic life.

Before he could do so, he died on December 23, 1193.

St. Thorlak was undoubtedly Iceland's most popular native saint during the country's Catholic period. Over 50 churches were dedicated to his memory before Iceland became officially Lutheran during the 16th century. 

Today, St. Thorlak's former diocese of Skalholt is a part of the Diocese of Reykjavik, which was only established in its present form in 1968.

Although the Catholic Church no longer has a large presence in Iceland, celebration of St. Thorlak's feast has persisted as a widespread national custom. Icelanders celebrate on Dec. 23 as the final day of preparation before Christmas, and have maintained the custom of gathering to eat cured fish.

www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=93

LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 1,57-66

Lectio Divina: 

 Saturday, December 23, 2017

3th 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.

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 neighbors 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 neighbors were filled with awe, and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 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 plan. What God begins in the Old Testament starts to be realized through them. This is why, in these two chapters, Luke presents many facts and people of the Old Testament and succeeds in imitating the style of the Old Testament. This is in order to show that with the birth of these two little boys history makes a 180 degree turn. The time of the fulfilment of the promises of God begins through John and Jesus, 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 neighbors 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 barren. Just as God had pity on Sarah (Gn 16: 1; 17: 17; 18: 12), on Rachel (Gen 29: 31) and on Anna (1Sam 1: 2,6,11) transforming the sterility into fecundity, he also had pity on Elizabeth and she conceived a son. Elizabeth hid herself for five months. When, after the five months, people could see in Elizabeth’s body God’s goodness toward her, all rejoiced with her. This community, in which all got involved in the life of others, both in joy as in sorrow, is the environment in which John and Jesus were born, grew and received their formation. Such an environment marks the personality of a person for their whole life. 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 like his father”. The involvement of the community in the life of the family of Zechariah, Elizabeth and John is such that the relatives and neighbors even want to interfere in the choice of the name for 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 decide on  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. When a person departs from the normal custom of the place, she is criticized. Elizabeth does not follow the custom of the place and chooses a name outside the normal models. This is why the relatives and neighbors 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 surrounded 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 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 X-Rays which register what the human eye cannot see. Luke reads the facts with the X-Ray of faith which reveals what the human eye cannot perceive.
• Luke 1: 64-66: 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 people in the Old Testament who had an important role in the realization of God’s plan and whose childhood seemed to be marked by the privileged destiny which they would have: Moses (Ex 2: 1-10), Samson (Judg 13:1-4 and 13:24-25), and Samuel (1Sam 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 of stories today. They are, rather, a mirror to help the readers discover that John and Jesus came to fulfill 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, he 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 attitudes of Elizabeth and Zechariah, of Mary and Joseph, Luke presents a model of how to convert oneself to believing in the New one which is being formed.

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?

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. (Ps 25:10,14)

www.ocarm.org