For God says: Pray wholeheartedly. . . though you may feel nothing, though you may see nothing . . . for in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then is your prayer most pleasing to Me.
~~St. Julian of Norwich
For God says: Pray wholeheartedly. . . though you may feel nothing, though you may see nothing . . . for in dryness and in barrenness, in sickness and in weakness, then is your prayer most pleasing to Me.
~~St. Julian of Norwich
December 4, 2020
Friday of the First
Week of Advent
Lectionary: 179
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 Psalm
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.
Gospel
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.
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In today's responsorial Psalm we say: "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?"
What are you afraid of right now? What disappointment are you afraid is coming? What's worrying you? What's stealing your joy?
When we "gaze on the loveliness of the Lord," our faith grows and we realize that there is no reason to be afraid. We realize: God is so wonderful, so caring, so good, so awesomely powerfully concerned about my every need, my every hope, my every prayer, of course there is nothing that will happen to me that is so bad as to produce more harm than good!
Fear is the opposite of faith. When we have fear, we're blind to the wonderfulness of the Lord, and like the two men in the Gospel reading, we need to be healed.
Faith is the cure - faith that identifies Jesus as Lord, faith that appreciates the loveliness of the Lord, faith that believes that God is going to make good come from every hardship, no matter how bad it looks.
This faith is what empowers us to believe that we shall indeed "see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living", and it becomes the source of our hope.
This is a faith that is willing to "wait for the Lord with courage," because we know that God is watching over us, and thus we can experience hope even during hardships.
Fear is not of God. It does not belong in a Christian's life. Neither does worry, because worry is caused by fear. Whenever we become concerned about anything that might be worrisome, if the Lord truly is our Savior, as we claim him to be, then we choose to turn it over to him in trust, because we know we can trust him!
Those who are blinded by fear are those who cannot see the Lord in the situation that worries them, and thus they have valid reason to live in fear. However, you and I should know better. We have already seen the Lord do much good. We have valid reasons to live in confident hope, despite all the visible evidence to the contrary.
Are you living in this hope? How visible is it? Do you have more hope than fear, more peace than worry?
Most faith-filled Christians experience temporary blindness from time to time. That's simply because we forget to gaze upon the loveliness of the Lord. In the darkness, we need to turn toward the light of Christ, but that's not all. We need to stare at it until it blinds us to whatever we were worried about! The goodness of God must become our focus.
Fear sets in when we get distracted by the attractions of this world, losing sight of what is pure and holy and heavenly. Faith tells us to not be distracted by our trials and hardships. Instead of focusing on the evidence of impending disaster, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, the reason for our hope.
Victorious hope comes from remembering to keep our eyes focused on Jesus at all times!
Today's Prayer
My Lord, teach me with your Holy Spirit how to be wise, obedient and fearless. Help me to accept Your timing in Your wonderful and silent work. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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