MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - November 26, 2022

 

Saturday - November 26, 2022

We know we are traveling together. If our pace is slow, go on ahead of us. We won't envy you but rather will seek to catch up with you. However, if you consider us capable of a quicker pace, run along with us. There is only one goal, and we are all anxious to reach it....some at a slow pace and others at a fast pace. Let everyone's sighs be uttered in longing for Christ.Let us run to Him and cry out for Him.

-- St Augustine

November 26, 2022

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 508

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    RV 22:1-7

 

John said:

An angel showed me the river of life-giving water,

sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God

and of the Lamb down the middle of the street,

On either side of the river grew the tree of life

that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month;

the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.

Nothing accursed will be found anymore.

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,

and his servants will worship him.

They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun,

for the Lord God shall give them light,

and they shall reign forever and ever.

 

And he said to me,

“These words are trustworthy and true,

and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits,

sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”

“Behold, I am coming soon.”

Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  PS 95:1-2, 3-5, 6-7AB

 

R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;

let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

 

For the LORD is a great God,

and a great king above all gods;

In his hands are the depths of the earth,

and the tops of the mountains are his.

His is the sea, for he has made it,

and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Come, let us bow down in worship;

let us kneel before the LORD who made us.

For he is our God,

and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          LK 21:36

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Be vigilant at all times and pray

that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           LK 21:34-36

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy

from carousing and drunkenness

and the anxieties of daily life,

and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.

For that day will assault everyone

who lives on the face of the earth.

Be vigilant at all times

and pray that you have the strength

to escape the tribulations that are imminent

and to stand before the Son of Man.”

 

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What's Changing?

This is my last reflection for Liturgical Year One. With the start of Advent on Sunday, we enter into a new liturgical year. Happy New Year already!

 

Today's Gospel reading is a fitting way to end the old and start the new. Jesus is speaking about the growth and blossoming of the kingdom of God. Everything on Earth will eventually pass away -- it's all temporary -- but whatever grows in the kingdom of God is permanent.

 

What is passing away in your life? In this are the seeds of a new life, a new healing, or a new maturity for your walk through the garden of God's kingdom on the road that leads to heaven.

 

What seeds have already sprouted from past changes in your life? Take a prayerful moment to notice how you've grown. Appreciate what has happened. Identify the buds that are ready to burst forth. How will they glorify God?

 

What fruits have you been producing for the kingdom of God? What buds have turned to flowers that have become blessings for others? These flowers indicate how beautiful you are to God (yes! you are beautiful!), and, like the flowers of a fruit tree, they will be transformed by the creative power of God into something even more beautiful: good and tasty fruits that will nourish others with a pleasant flavor and healthy spiritual vitamins.

 

What are the fruits already being produced by your life in Christ? Think of anything you do that benefits someone else. This is how God interacts with your world and changes it for the better. This is how Jesus redeems and sanctifies where you live, work, and play. It all starts with a seed that sprouts from a change in your life.

 

Today presents an ideal opportunity to reflect on your growth, because it will make your Season of Advent, which are days of preparation, more meaningful. By nurturing the soil of your growth and pulling out the weeds, you will enhance your Season of Christmas, which will be days of experiencing Christ being born where he's been missing from your life. This two-part combination of liturgical seasons will produce more of God's permanent kingdom within you.

 

Change is usually painful. It's the dying of something old. It's the cracking of a seed hull. Transitions seem scary, because we don't know what's going to happen next. But through it all, Christ is steady, God is faithful, his word remains solid and certain. The more we pay conscious attention to God's kingdom, the easier it becomes to look beyond what's passing away.

 

Look past what's transitional, and keep your eyes on Jesus and his permanent love for you. Confusion comes from uncertainty, which comes from not knowing what to expect next because the scenery looks different today. The path through this ever-changing garden of growth is found by quietly centering ourselves on the irrevocable word of God and on the unfailing presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

 

Change should not be feared. It means that the kingdom of God is near in a new way!

 

Today's Prayer

 

I thank You, Lord, because You talk to my heart and You reveal Your word to me. Give me the grace of persevering in my faith and in my charity to others till Your triumphal coming. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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