12 December Friday TODAYS READINGS: Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe A DREAM FULFILLED But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. – Luke 1:29 I loved being a TV reporter and pinch-hitter anchor. I was even blessed to do a report for CNN. Staying with the network was my ticket to make my dream of hosting my own TV show a reality one day. But in 2007, I heard God speak to me through my prayer time, Bible reading and circumstances. “Resign and don’t plan.” What?! Mary was greatly troubled too when the angel told her she would have a baby even though she was a virgin. That didn’t make sense to her as well. But she gave her yes immediately. It took me two disturbed years before I finally resigned. It was painful. I lost my identity. I was a news person; who was I now? But God was changing me. I had to lose my job for the Lord to make me see that I had worshiped a different god in my heart — my work. I’d skip Mass, birthdays and prayer time for my job. God realigned my priorities. Everything started making sense. I found peace. Then, the impossible happened. I was offered a TV show. Just like that. God was faithful even when I wasn’t. Hosting this show is a temporary blessing. I have something permanent — the Giver of the blessing. Carlo Lorenzo (carloflorenzo@yahoo) Reflection: Whatever God is asking you to do, trust that it will result into something spectacular even when it doesn’t make sense today. Do yourself a favor, give your yes. Lord, help our hearts find extreme joy and peace in putting You first. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. 1ST READING Our Lady of Guadalupe has inspired millions in the Americas to live as disciples. As patroness of the Americas, Mary intercedes for those two continents that their peoples’ destinies remain firmly wedded to their faith in Christ. Now that we have Pope Francis from Argentina, the message to the world and the Church is the need of the Gospel to speak to the lives of the people today and not be caught up in the glories of the past. Zechariah 2:14-17 (or Revelations 11:29, 12:1-6, 10) 14 Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord. 15 Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they shall be his people, and he will dwell among you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 16 The Lord will possess Judah as his portion in the holy land, and he will again choose Jerusalem. 17 Silence, all mankind, in the presence of the Lord! For he stirs forth from his holy dwelling. P S A L M Judith 13:18-19 R: You are the highest honor of our race. 18 “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth. (R) 19 Your deed of hope will never be forgotten by those who tell of the might of God.” (R) GOSPEL Mary, you are the one to whom so many millions first cast their eyes when they want something from God. Please pray that we will all learn to look to your Son for the greatest inspiration in our lives of faith. Help us, as a good mother will always do, to get our priorities straight when it comes to our redemption. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God. Luke 1:26-38 (or Luke 1:39-47) 26 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 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. 36 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; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38Mary 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. think: Mother Mary, please pray that we will all learn to look to your Son for the greatest inspiration in our lives of faith. AVE MARIA! Athanasius, Father of the Church, proclaimed, “Christ became who we are, that we might become who He is!” This is one of the most profound truths of Christianity. Simply put, Jesus became man that man may have the opportunity to share in the life of God. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. God’s Incarnation is the passageway to man’s Divinization. This is the good news that the Lady who appeared to Juan Diego revealed. This is the good news that the image miraculously imbedded in Juan Diego’s cloak proclaimed. It depicted the image of Our Lady, dressed as a native Aztec princess, wearing a black belt, a symbol of a woman pregnant with child. Until now, that image is venerated all over the world. Pilgrims visit the Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico to pray in front of thetilma, the cloth bearing Mary’s image. But our Lady did not manifest herself in that cloak to be looked at and adored. When we contemplate the image of our Lady of Guadalupe, we not only look at Mary. We contemplate the Child that Mary bears in her womb. One day, a little girl was studying the arithmetic symbols. She learned the plus sign, minus sign and so on. One sunny day, she accompanied her father to a nearby church. Upon arrival at the church’s door, the girl asked her father, “What is that big plus sign doing in front of the altar?” The father answered the little girl, “My dear daughter, that is not a plus sign. That is the cross; it is where our Lord Jesus Christ was nailed for us to be saved!” In a way, the little girl was correct in saying that the cross is a plus sign. The image of the cross as the plus sign pictured our redemption because through this cross, a big plus has been added into our life — something that we could not have accomplished through our own power, something that we could not have gained apart from Mary’s receptivity to God’s invitation. Had it not been through the cross of Christ, man would have remained alienated to God. Had it not been through the wood of the cross, man would have been alienated from the fullness of life. Fr. Joel Jason REFLECTION QUESTION: When you bless yourself with the sign of the cross, do you do it with conscious reverence and gratitude? We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You, for by Your holy cross and resurrection You have redeemed the world! In Christ sincerely, Jun R. Cabal
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 23:38:50 +0000
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