DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Wednesday, December 10, 2014 2nd week of Advent - Psalter Week 2 (Violet) Readings: Is 40:25-31; Ps 103:1-10; Mt 11:28-30 Response: O bless the Lord, my soul Rosary: Glorious Mysteries Verse: Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Pope Saint Gregory III He was just standing there, not doing anything special. As a Syrian priest he must have felt a little out of place among the Roman people mourning that day for the dead Pope. As a good preacher, he must have wanted to speak to the funeral procession about Christs promise of resurrection. As a learned man, he must have wondered who would follow the holy Saint Gregory II as Pope and where he would take the Church. As a holy man, he must have been praying for Gregory II and for all the people around him to find their place after death in Gods arms. But he was just one of the crowd. Not to God. And not to the people who recognized the well-known holy man in their midst. Right in the middle of the funeral procession they singled him out. They swept him away and clamored for him to be named the next bishop of Rome. Then suddenly, unexpectedly, without his even lifting a finger, his whole life changed and he could no longer just stand there and do nothing. After he was proclaimed Pope Gregory III, Emperor Leo III attacked the veneration of holy images. Because Leo III thought the honor paid to Jesus, Mary, and the saints by keeping statues and icons was idolatry, he condemned them and wanted them destroyed. Gregory III didnt just stand there but immediately sent a letter to Leo III. He couldnt get the letter through because the priest-messenger was afraid to deliver it. So instead, Gregory called a synod that approved strong measures against anyone who would try to destroy images of Jesus, Mary, or the saints. Gregory took his stand and Leo III apparently thought the only way to move him was through physical force. So Leo sent ships to kidnap Gregory and bring him to Constantinople. Many people in Rome must have tried to get Gregory to move -- but he just stood there. And once again God intervened. A storm destroyed Leos ships. The only thing Leo could do was capture some of the papal lands. So Leo got a few acres of land and we kept our wonderful reminders of the love of God, the protection of Jesus, the prayers of Mary, and the examples of the saints. All because Gregory knew when to take a stand -- and when to stand there and let God work. FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1, Isaiah 40:25-31 25 To whom can you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look: he who created these things leads out their army in order, summoning each of them by name. So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one fails to answer. 27 How can you say, Jacob, how can you repeat, Israel, My way is hidden from Yahweh, my rights are ignored by my God? 28 Did you not know? Had you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, he created the remotest parts of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary, his understanding is beyond fathoming. 29 He gives strength to the weary, he strengthens the powerless. 30 Youths grow tired and weary, the young stumble and fall, 31 but those who hope in Yahweh will regain their strength, they will sprout wings like eagles, though they run they will not grow weary, though they walk they will never tire. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10 1 [Of David] Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name; 2 bless Yahweh, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness. 3 He forgives all your offences, cures all your diseases, 4 he redeems your life from the abyss, crowns you with faithful love and tenderness; 8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger and rich in faithful love; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve, nor repay us as befits our offences. GOSPEL, Matthew 11:28-30 28 Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: Lord our God, you are near to us in Jesus Christ your Son. When we go astray, you look for us until you find us. Bring us back to you, show us the way to you and to one another through him who is our way, Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord, who lives with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. ON READING 1: Isaiah 40:25-31 (God, Creator and Ruler of All - Continued) Is 40, 12-41:29. The message of hope at the start of the second part of Isaiah is not the product of naive credulity nor is it a dream that can never come true. These verses outline the logical basis of that hope: first, the immense power of God, to be seen in creation (40:12-31); and second, the sovereignty of God, who rules over the destiny of human beings and desires to save his people, and who raises up Cyrus to do that very thing (41:1-29). Is 40, 12-31. These verses deal with the first of the arguments to justify hope. A series of ironical questions, vividly worded, conveys the omnipresence and transcendence of God (similar to what happens in Job 38:2-21): the Lord made all things and there is nothing, no one, to compare with him (vv. 12-26). In v. 26, the host is a reference to the heavenly bodies. In Babylonian religion and cosmology, these were considered to be gods. The sacred writer demythologizes them, making them mere creatures of God. But the Lord does not confine himself to heaven, away from the cares of men, heedless of what is happening to his people. He, who is author of everything that exists, of life, of the rulers of the earth, is infinitely good, and in his providence he supports and strengthens those who trust in him (vv. 27-31). The image of the eagle (v. 31) is reminiscent of Psalm 103:5: Your youth is renewed like the eagles. St. Augustine, commenting on these words, points out that in ancient times it was thought that when an eagle grew old it was unable to eat food because its beak got too big and, finding itself in such difficulty, it is said that the eagle, driven by natural instinct and the need to recover its youth, strikes the upper part of it beak against a rock, because the beak has grown too large and prevents it from eating. The beak is worn down by the rock and the eagle eats easily again, and its whole body is restored. Having been old, the eagle is made young and strong again: the sheen returns to its feathers, and power to its wings. It soars to the heights once more, and experiences in that way a type of resurrection (Enarrationes In Psalmos, 102, 9). And so, Christian preaching has used this simile in a spiritual sense as a call to renew ones efforts, trusting in God; If we hope in him, we can cope with difficulties without getting tired, for, as St Bernard points out, ubi autem amor est, labor non est, sed sapor: where there is love, there is no suffering, but rather savoring (In Cantica Canticorum, 85, 8 ). ON THE GOSPEL: Matthew 11:28-30 (Jesus Thanks His Father) Certain texts of the Gospel reveal to us all their significance when we place them on the background of the Old Testament. This is how this very brief and very beautiful text of the Gospel of today is. In this text there are echoes of two themes greatly loved and recalled by the Old Testament, one from Isaiah and the other one from the so called Wisdom Books. Isaiah speaks of the Messiah, the Servant and represents him as a disciple who is always looking for a word of comfort so as to be able to encourage those who are discouraged: “The Lord Yahweh has given me a disciple’s tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning, he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple”. (Is 50, 4). And the Messiah Servant launches an invitation: “Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty; though you have no money come! Buy and eat; come buy wine and milk without money, free” (Is 55, 1). These texts were present in the memory of the people. They were like the songs of our childhood. When people listens to them, souvenirs come to mind, there is nostalgia. The same with the word of Jesus: “Come to me!” revived the memory and brought close the nostalgic echo of those beautiful texts of Isaiah. The Books of Wisdom represent the divine wisdom as a woman, a mother who transmits to her sons her wisdom and tells them: “Buy her without money, put your necks under her yoke, let your souls receive instruction. She is near, within your reach. See for yourselves; how slight my efforts have been to win so much peace” (Si 51, 25-27). Jesus repeats this same phrase: “You will find rest!”. Precisely because his way of speaking to people, Jesus awakes their memory and thus the heart rejoiced and said: “The Messiah, so greatly awaited for has come!” Jesus transformed the nostalgia into hope. He made people advance a step forward. Instead of fixing themselves on the image of a glorious Messiah, king and dominator, taught by the Scribes, the people changed opinion and accepted Jesus, Messiah Servant. A humble and meek Messiah, welcoming and full of tenderness, who made them feel at ease, they the poor together with Jesus. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus. Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere people feel. Only our Lord, our Master--and those to whom He passes on His power -- can soothe the sinner by telling him, Your sins are forgiven (Matthew 9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: Jesus says now and always, Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. His attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life (Homily on Corpus Christi, 13 June 1974). Come to Me: the Master is addressing the crowds who are following Him, harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). The Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf. Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people, and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: Any other burden oppresses and crushes you, but Christs actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs down, but Christs gives you wings. If you take a birds wings away, you might seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies (St. Augustine, Sermon 126). All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you (St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book 1, Chapter 7, 4). FINAL PRAYERS: Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name; bless Yahweh, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness. (Ps 103) Restore my sight, Lord, So I may see you, In the stable and beyond. Amen. It is by God’s mercy that we are saved. May we never tire of spreading this joyful message to the world. -- Pope Francis Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. -- St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:01:46 +0000
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