1ST WEEK OF ADVENT
St. John of Damascus, priest
Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet/White)
Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
1st Reading: Is 11:1-10
From the stump of Jesse a shoot will come forth;
from his roots a branch will grow and bear fruit.
The spirit of the Lord will rest upon him —
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of counsel and power,
a spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh.
Not by appearances will he judge,
nor by what is said must he decide,
but with justice he will judge the poor
and with righteousness decide for the meek.
Like a rod, his word will strike the oppressor,
and the breath of his lips slay the wicked.
Justice will be the girdle of his waist,
truth the girdle of his loins.
The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
the leopard will rest beside the kid,
the calf and the lion cub will feed together
and a little child will lead them.
Befriending each other, the cow and the bear
will see their young ones lie down together.
Like cattle, the lion will eat hay.
By the cobra‘s den the infant will play.
The child will put his hand into the viper‘s lair.
No one will harm or destroy over my holy mountain,
for as water fills the sea
the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh.
On that day the ”Root of Jesse” will be raised as a signal for the nations. The people will come in search of him, thus making his dwelling place glorious.
Gospel: Lk 10:21-24
At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, ”I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. I have been given all things by my Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said to them privately, ”Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you, that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Reflections
St. Luke today does record that Jesus ”rejoiced in the Holy Spirit”, the only time that he does so. And He rejoices because of the overwhelming experience of intimacy and communion with God. We get just a glimpse here of the awesome intimacy that Jesus has felt with God. Just think how incredibly strong that bond must have been, since it was enough to accept the consequences of being God‘s beloved. It gave him the courage to love without condition, to forgive his enemies, to violate the Sabbath to stress the weight of mercy and healing over violations of sacred laws and finally to accept the cross as the ultimate test of his fidelity to God. What do we rejoice in? When we are happy, it is usually because something good has happened to us, or we have received something we wanted, or we have done something good for another. But it is usually more about us than God, who is the One who really loves us without counting the cost and loves us by giving his life to us. Let us ask Jesus today to teach us the secret of His Heart. How can we grow in our love for God today? Pope Francis says: ”We are not Christian ”part-time,” only at certain moments, in certain circumstances, in certain decisions; no one can be Christian in this way. We are Christian all the time! Totally! May Christ‘s truth, which the Holy Spirit teaches us and gives to us, always and totally affect our daily life. Let us call on him more often so that he may guide us on the path of disciples of Christ. Let us call on him every day. I am making this suggestion to you: let us invoke the Holy Spirit every day; in this way the Holy Spirit will bring us close to Jesus Christ.”
Daily Reflection 2018
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