2nd WEEK OF ADVENT
Psalter: Week 2 / (Red)
St. Lucy, virgin & martyr
Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 & 10
O bless the Lord, my soul!
1st Reading: Is 40:25-31
To whom, then, will you liken me or make me equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes and see: who has created all this? He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty is his power, so great his strength, that not one of them is missing.
How can you say, O Jacob, how can you complain, O Israel, that your destiny is hidden from me, that your rights are ignored by Yahweh? Have you not known, have you not heard that Yahweh is an everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, his knowledge is without limit. He gives strength to the enfeebled, he gives vigor to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in Yahweh will renew their strength. They will soar as with eagle‘s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.
Gospel: Mt 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy; and my burden is light.“
REFLECTION:
In a parish with old religious beliefs and traditions, there are people who still do the flagellation practices during Holy Week as a sign of penance and contrition for their sins. Though the Church does not condemn this practice, she does not recommend it. This is not to discredit this tradition, but there is a better way to encounter the forgiving Christ–the wonderful sacrament of reconciliation. Through the absolution of the priest the sinner has the assurance that sins are forgiven by Christ, who died for him/her on the cross. We do not have to whip ourselves physically and carry wooden crosses as symbolic gestures of repentance. We cannot gain our salvation by our own efforts but through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
In humility, let us unburden our sinful self to the Lord through this sacrament. God constantly invites us, “Come to me, all you labor and are burdened…“
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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