Friday - December 15, 2017
Thus understanding and love, that is, the knowledge of and delight in the truth, are, as it were, the two arms of the soul, with which it embraces and comprehends with all the saints the length and breath, the height and depth, that is the eternity, the love, the goodness, and the wisdom of God.
–St. Bernard
TODAY'S READINGS
December 15, 2017
Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Lectionary: 185
Reading 1IS 48:17-19
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.
"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."
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."
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Proving the wisdom of our beliefs
The point Jesus makes in today's Gospel reading is summed up in the line: "But wisdom is vindicated by her works."
As we try to give birth to Jesus in today's world, serving as evangelizers, sharing Jesus with others, we often need vindication. There are plenty of people who dislike us or reject our wisdom because they misunderstand the faith that we have. However, if they were to pay attention and observe us astutely, they'd see proof that we are wise to have this faith. The proof is in the good works that we do. It's in our Christ-like behavior. It's in our sometimes supernatural ability to withstand difficulties without looking defeated.
Our good deeds and our loving actions reveal God's presence within us, and these are the only justifications that we need. For, without our loving Father dwelling within us, without Christ redeeming us, and without the Holy Spirit empowering us, we would be self-centered snobs who cause more chaos and confusion than children scrambling around the marketplace shouting jibes at each other about flutes and dirges. (I know that's how I'd be if God were not the source and center of my life.) We would be just as easily misled by the facts in front of us as the people who thought that John the Baptist was demonized and that Jesus was a party pig.
In John 8:12, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." We use this in our response to today's Psalm reading; it explains why we have wisdom instead of confusion: "Those who follow you, Lord, have the light of life."
When we're immersed in the light of Christ, we have the ability to see how foolish it is to follow the counsel of the wicked, as today's responsorial psalm describes.
When we're immersed in the light of Christ, we have his life growing in our lives, and thus we are like a tree planted near an endless source of nourishment. We thrive, our works produce wonderful fruits, and we grow stronger during trials rather than wither up and shrivel into chaff that gets easily blown away by the hardships.
Such faith is the best proof in the world that God is real and that Jesus is truly our Savior. The next time you're misunderstood and you feel tempted to defend your faith and explain your motives, zip your mouth shut and let your Godly works do the talking. This isn't easy, though, because we want instant vindication. We need to remind ourselves that God defends us far better than we could, and he does it by doing his works through us, which is often the only language that disbelievers understand.
Some people will eventually be converted by this. Others will remain blind to the truth due to their stubborn resistance. God's vindication might take a long time before it bears fruit that we can enjoy. However, regardless of what happens to those who observe our Christianity, our faith will grow.
The more we try to prove our faith by how we live our faith, the purer our faith becomes.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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