DECEMBER 21, 2019 : SATURDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 197

Reading 1SG 2:8-14

Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
"For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!

"O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely."

OrZEP 3:14-18A

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.

Responsorial PsalmPS 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21

R.(1a; 3a) Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 1:39-45

Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Peter Canisius, please go here.

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Meditation: Joyful Anticipation of the Messiah

Do you recognize the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus in your life? Blessed are you if you see and recognize the Lord with the "eyes of faith". The word "blessed" [makarios in Greek] literally means "happiness" or "beatitude". It describes a kind of joy which is serene and untouchable, self-contained, and independent from chance and changing circumstances of life.

God gives us supernatural joy with hope in his promises
There is a certain paradox for those "blessed" by the Lord. Mary was given the "blessedness" of being the mother of the Son of God. That blessedness also would become a sword which pierced her heart as her Son died upon the cross. Anselm, a great teacher and Archbishop of Canterbury (1033-1109), spoke these words in a homily: "Without God's Son nothing could exist; without Mary's son, nothing could be redeemed."  To be chosen by God is an awesome privilege and responsibility. Mary received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. Her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because it was fueled by her faith, hope, and trust in God and his promises.

Jesus promised his disciples that "no one will take your joy from you" (John 16:22). The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which enables us to bear any sorrow or pain and which neither life nor death can take away. Do you know the joy of a life given over to God in faith and trust?

They were filled with the Holy Spirit
What is the significance of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth before the birth of Jesus? When Elizabeth greeted Mary and recognized the Messiah in Mary's womb they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with a joyful anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promise to give a Savior. What a marvelous wonder for God to fill not only Elizabeth's heart with his Holy Spirit but the child in her womb as well. John the Baptist, even before the birth of the Messiah, pointed to his coming and leaped for joy in the womb of his mother as the Holy Spirit revealed to him the presence of the King to be born.

The Lord wants to fill each of us with his Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us to enable us to know and experience the indwelling presence of God and the power of his kingdom. The Holy Spirit is the way in which God reigns within each of us. Do you live in the joy and knowledge of God's indwelling presence with you through his Holy Spirit?

"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me joy in seeking you more earnestly. Increase my faith in all your promises, my hope in the joy of heaven, and my love for You as my All."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: John prophecies from the womb, by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD)

"Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother's womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy - since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, 'As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy.' John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you' (Jeremiah 1:5). Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements." (excerpt from SERMON 5.4)

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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, LUKE 1:39-45
Advent Weekday
(Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Psalm 33)

KEY VERSE: "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled" (v. 45).
TO KNOW: Mary was God's obedient servant who willingly responded to the divine call to bear the Savior of the world. When the angel Gabriel declared that Elizabeth, Mary's older kinswoman, was about to give birth, she quickly traveled the four day journey to Ain Karim in the hill country of Judah. Upon hearing Mary's greeting, the babe leaped for joy within Elizabeth's womb recalling King David's dance when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem (2 Sm 6:14). Elizabeth expressed her unworthiness at being visited by the mother of her Lord. Her words echoed David's humility: "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" (2 Sm 6:9). Mary was the Arc of the New Covenant bearing her divine son Jesus in her womb. Elizabeth proclaimed Mary to be blessed for believing that God's promises to her would be fulfilled.
TO LOVE: How can I imitate Mary's example of faithful service?
TO SERVE: Mary, my mother, help me to respond to God's call with faith and trust as you did.

O RADIANT DAWN

Today's O Antiphon is "O Oriens" (O Radiant Dawn). In the ancient Church at Holy Mass, Christians faced east so that they could greet the coming of the Savior, both in the consecration of the bread and wine and in the expectation of his glorious return as the King of Glory. They turned to the rising Son, who is Justice itself, who will lay bare the truth of our every word, thought and deed on the Final Day.
O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadow put to flight.

Optional Memorial of Saint Peter Canisius, priest and doctor of the Church

Ordained in 1546, Peter Canisius became a Jesuit after attending a retreat conducted by Blessed Peter Faber. He traveled and worked with Saint Ignatius of Loyola. While at prayer he received a vision of the Sacred Heart, and thereafter offered his work to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Peter Canisius led the Counter Reformation in German lands. His catechism went through 200 editions during his life, and was translated into 12 languages. Peter Canisius founded colleges, and was a preacher, writer and teacher. He addressed the Council of Trent on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.  

FIRST DAY OF WINTER

In the United States and the rest of the northern hemisphere, the first day of the winter season is the day of the year when the Sun is farthest south (on December 21st or 22nd). This waning of the sun is known as the Winter Solstice. The Romans celebrated “The Feast of the Invincible Sun” on this day. For Christians, Christ is the Invincible Son. In the Southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are exchanged so that the winter solstice is the day on which the Sun is farthest north. 

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Saturday 21 December 2019

St Peter Canisius
Song of Songs 2:8-14 / Zephaniah 3:14-18. Psalm 32(33):2-3, 11-12, 20-21. Luke 1:39-45.
Cry out with joy in the Lord, you holy ones; sing a new song to him – Psalm 32(33):2-3, 11-12, 20-21.
‘God rejoices over you, renews you, and dances with shouts of joy for you.’

What unites the readings today is joy. Joy is richer, if more fleeting, than happiness. Joy mines deeper to the soul, because what defines it is a sense of release and relief.

Deeper after experience, joy is full of promise, and tastes an infinite future. The lover in Song of Songs looks forward to consummation. Zephaniah tells Israel ‘The Lord…is with you; never again will you fear any harm’. Elizabeth was old and ‘said to be barren,’ but now, joined by her cousin who has ‘hurried’ to share good news, the baby in her womb has leapt ‘for joy’.

Alas, we see this glorious encounter of two mothers-to-be through the lens of expectant sorrow – a story that will end for these boy cousins in arrest and execution. But, no, for resurrection turns tawdry tragedy to divine comedy – then an endless Christmas awaits us children, like presents under the tree.

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Saint Peter Canisius

Saint of the Day for December 21

(May 8, 1521 – December 21, 1597)

 

Detail | Saint Petrus Canisius | photo by SchiDD

Saint Peter Canisius’ Story

The energetic life of Peter Canisius should demolish any stereotypes we may have of the life of a saint as dull or routine. Peter lived his 76 years at a pace which must be considered heroic, even in our time of rapid change. A man blessed with many talents, Peter is an excellent example of the scriptural man who develops his talents for the sake of the Lord’s work.

Peter was one of the most important figures in the Catholic Reformation in Germany. He played such a key role that he has often been called the “second apostle of Germany,” in that his life parallels the earlier work of Boniface.

Although Peter once accused himself of idleness in his youth, he could not have been idle too long, for at the age of 19 he received a master’s degree from the university at Cologne. Soon afterwards he met Peter Faber, the first disciple of Ignatius of Loyola, who influenced Peter so much that he joined the recently formed Society of Jesus.

At this early age Peter had already taken up a practice he continued throughout his life—a process of study, reflection, prayer, and writing. After his ordination in 1546, he became widely known for his editions of the writings of Saint Cyril of Alexandria and St. Leo the Great. Besides this reflective literary bent, Peter had a zeal for the apostolate. He could often be found visiting the sick or imprisoned, even when his assigned duties in other areas were more than enough to keep most people fully occupied.

In 1547, Peter attended several sessions of the Council of Trent, whose decrees he was later assigned to implement. After a brief teaching assignment at the Jesuit college at Messina, Peter was entrusted with the mission to Germany—from that point on his life’s work. He taught in several universities and was instrumental in establishing many colleges and seminaries. He wrote a catechism that explained the Catholic faith in a way that common people could understand—a great need of that age.

Renowned as a popular preacher, Peter packed churches with those eager to hear his eloquent proclamation of the gospel. He had great diplomatic ability, often serving as a reconciler between disputing factions. In his letters—filling eight volumes—one finds words of wisdom and counsel to people in all walks of life. At times he wrote unprecedented letters of criticism to leaders of the Church—yet always in the context of a loving, sympathetic concern.

At 70, Peter suffered a paralytic seizure, but he continued to preach and write with the aid of a secretary, until his death in his hometown of Nijmegen, Netherlands, on December 21, 1597.

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Reflection

Peter’s untiring efforts are an apt example for those involved in the renewal of the Church or the growth of moral consciousness in business or government. He is regarded as one of the creators of the Catholic press, and can easily be a model for the Christian author or journalist. Teachers can see in his life a passion for the transmission of truth. Whether we have much to give, as Peter Canisius did, or whether we have only a little to give, as did the poor widow in the Gospel of Luke (see Luke 21:1–4), the important thing is to give our all. It is in this way that Peter is so exemplary for Christians in an age of rapid change when we are called to be in the world but not of the world.

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Saint Peter Canisius is the Patron Saint of:

Germany

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Lectio Divina: Luke 1:39-45

Lectio Divina

Saturday, December 21, 2019

1) Opening prayer

God, we tend to lose ourselves
in the hustle and bustle of the day,
in our work and in our petty worries.
Give us the freshness of heart
to seek the things that matter,
those that make our lives deeply human,
and at the same time open us
to Your world and to Your values.
Make us long to encounter You with joy,
that we may discover again the quality
of gratuitous giving, of respect,
and of carefree, self-forgetting love,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading – Luke 1: 39-45

Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah.
She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
She gave a loud cry and said, “Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honored with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

3) Reflection

• Luke stresses the readiness of Mary in serving, in being a handmaid. The angel speaks about the pregnancy of Elizabeth, and immediately Mary rises and sets out as quickly as she can to go and help her. From Nazareth to the house of Elizabeth there were more than 100 km, at least four days of traveling!, There were no buses or trains. Mary begins to serve and fulfills her mission on behalf of the people of God.
• Elizabeth represents the Old Testament, which was about to end. Mary represents the New Testament. The Old Testament accepts the New one with gratitude and trust, recognizing in it God’s gift which is going to be realized and is going to satisfy people’s expectations. In the encounter of the two women the gift of the Spirit is manifested. The child leapt with joy in Elizabeth’s womb. This is Elizabeth’s faith-filled reading of things.
• The Good News of God reveals His presence in the most common things of human life: two housewives who visit each other to help one another. Visit, joy, pregnancy, children, mutual help, house, family: Luke wants us and the community to see precisely this, and to discover in this, God’s presence.
• Elizabeth says to Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” To this day, these words form part of the most prayed prayer in the whole world: “The Hail Mary”.
• “And blessed is she who has believed that the promise made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled”. This is the Elizabeth’s praise of Mary and the message of Luke for the community: to believe in the Word of God, because the Word of God has the power to fulfill all that it proclaims. It is a creative Word. It generates new life in the womb of the Virgin, and in the hearts of people who accept it with faith.
• Mary and Elizabeth already knew one another. In this encounter, they discover in each other a mystery which they had not known as yet, and which fills them with great joy. Today, we also meet people who surprise us because of the wisdom they possess and the witness of faith that they give. Has something similar ever happened to you?  Have you met people who have surprised you? What prevents us from discovering and living the joy of God’s presence in our life?
• The attitude of Mary before the Word expresses the ideal which Luke wants to communicate to the community: do not close yourselves off, but get out of yourselves, be attentive to the real needs of people and try to help others as far as possible according to their need.

4) Personal questions

• Putting myself in the place of Mary and Elizabeth: am I able to perceive and experience the presence of God in the most simple and common things in everyday life?
•  Elizabeth’s praise of Mary: “You have believed!” Her husband had difficulty  believing what the angel was telling him. What about me?

5) Concluding Prayer

We are waiting for Yahweh;
He is our help and our shield,
for in Him our hearts rejoice,
in His holy name we trust. (Ps 33:20-21)

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