Wednesday - December 20, 2017
If there is anyone who is not enlightened by this sublime magnificence of created things, he is blind. If there is anyone who, seeing all these works of God, does not praise Him, he is dumb; if there is anyone who, from so many signs, cannot perceive God, that man is foolish.
-- St. Bonaventure
TODAY'S READINGS
December 20, 2017
Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
Lectionary: 196
Reading 1IS 7:10-14
The LORD spoke to Ahaz:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
"I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Responsorial PsalmPS 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6
R. (see 7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.
O Key of David,
opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom:
come and free the prisoners of darkness!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 1:26-38
In the sixth month,the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.
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Unlock your heart for the fullness of God
In what ways do you feel unloved? "Let the Lord enter!" we proclaim in today's responsorial psalm. Are there any doors inside your heart that are closed and locked?
Today's first reading shows us a man who kept his heart closed even when God offered him help during a crisis. King Ahaz could not have received a clearer message if God had sent it to him in an email.
Ahaz had become Judah's king in 732 B.C. When his little kingdom came under attack from fearsome enemies, he devised a plan that totally ignored God. To rescue him and the nation, God spoke to Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah. He warned him that his strategy was going to fail and that it wasn't even necessary because the enemies would soon be defeated by an even stronger kingdom.
Ahaz chose not to trust him, so God offered to give him proof, any sign of his choosing. But Ahaz didn't want a sign, because if he got it, he'd have to give up his false belief that he was his own best advisor and ruler. Rather than letting God be King, he appeased the invaders by closing the Holy Temple and letting them use God's altar for divination, child sacrifice, sexual rites, and spirit channeling. His pride led him deeper and deeper into darkness, and he took with him the whole nation of Judah.
As we get closer to the end of Advent, we need to ask ourselves: In what ways have I closed the door on God? How am I refusing to listen to God, because I'm sure that I know a better way? And which family and friends and co-workers am I taking with me on the road that leads away from God?
Whenever we insist on doing things our way, ignoring God, we're repeating Ahaz's self-worship, which is idolatry. Our hearts are already open to the Lord, but not entirely. To open the locked doors that still prevent our hearts from being completely open to God's kingship, we must identify the ways and times in which we try to usurp him.
Heart-breaking loneliness, for example, is a sign that we've locked God out; it's caused by insisting that God's love isn't enough, because we're focused on getting our happiness and love from the people who are not giving it to us.
Unrelenting anger and frustration could be signs that we've closed out God, because we're trying to control a situation that's not going well. The lock that keeps this door closed is the false belief that God isn't going to make good come from the problems we're facing.
Impatience is a sign that we have shut the door on God's perfect timing. Confusion is a sign that a closed door is muffling God's voice.
These enemies that block us from living in the fullness of God's plans have, in fact, been defeated by an even stronger kingdom: the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Give Jesus the key to your heart: (1) Take any negative, dissatisfying feeling you have and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the closed door that it indicates. (2) Then, with God's help, work to overcome the idolatrous attitude behind it. Watch for the bad feelings to be replaced by the loving reassurances of Jesus.
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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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