SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Friday - December 06, 2019

Friday - December 06, 2019

During this holy time, my dear daughters, we ought to meditate continually on the self-abasement of our God, we ought to excite in ourselves the same ardent desire for Holy Communion, that the Patriarchs felt for the coming of the Messiah, preparing ourselves for it by frequent and ardent ejaculations. In your different employments, and in the midst of all your labours you may occupy your minds with these thoughts.

--St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier    

 

December 6 2019

 

« December 5  |  December 7 »

Friday of the First Week of Advent
Lectionary: 179

Reading 1IS 29:17-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.

Responsorial PsalmPS 27:1, 4, 13-14

R. (1a)  The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 9:27-31

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!"
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith."
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
"See that no one knows about this."
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.

**************************************************

Why Are You Afraid?

Today our responsorial psalm says: "The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom should I fear?"

Who intimidates you? Whose rejection are you trying to avoid? But let's not stop with the "who" of the matter. What are you afraid of right now? What disappointment do you fear? What's worrying you? What's stealing your joy and seems hopeless?

When we "gaze on the loveliness of the Lord" -- when we take time to meditate on God's love for us and his awesome power and his promises -- we realize that there is no reason to be afraid.

We realize: God is so wonderful, so caring, so good, so almighty, and so concerned about my every need, my every longing, and my every prayer. Therefore, there is nothing that will happen to me that is so bad as to produce more harm than good!

When we have fear, we're blind to the wonderfulness of the Lord, and like the two men in today's Gospel passage, we need to be healed.

Faith is what heals us -- faith that identifies Jesus as Lord, faith that appreciates the loveliness of the Lord, faith that knows that God will make good come from every hardship no matter how bad it looks.

This is the faith that empowers us to believe that we shall indeed "see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living", and this belief cures our fears.

This is the faith that is willing to "wait for the Lord with courage," because we know that God is watching over us, and thus we experience courage even during the hardest hardships.
Fear is not of God. It does not belong in a Christian's life. Neither does worry, because worry is the fear that we feel when we are trying to trust God but we doubt that he cares enough to make a difference.

Trusting God while overcoming this doubt converts worry into concern. Instead of anxiety we have hope. We care about the situation and we're ready to problem-solve as the Lord leads.

Those who are blinded by fear are those who do not gaze upon the loveliness of the Lord. He is not their reason for hope, and thus they have valid reason to live in fear. Those of us who know better, however, because we have already seen the Lord do much good, have valid reasons to live in hope despite all the visible evidence to the contrary.

Hope produces courage. Do you have this courage? How visible is it? Your courage is another time of giving birth to Jesus.

Courage sags when we get distracted by our trials and hardships, focusing on the evidence of disaster instead of on the reasons for hope, taking our eyes off of what is pure and holy and loving and heavenly.

Courage grows when we remember to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Today's Prayer
My Lord, may my faith be able to open the doors to the wonders You want to work in my life. Amen.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”