 clickable | | Advent Is Construction Season The call of Advent is clear. From both the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist, we hear, "Make straight in the desert a highway for our God." Isaiah was writing to the people exiled far from their homeland. John the Baptist was talking to people who had lost their way in a tangle of politics and religion. In our own lives, we hear this call as well. We all have some roadwork to do in our souls. We might say Advent is construction season. —from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent by Diane M. Houdek |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote "The adorable Heart of Jesus is our comfort, our way, our life."
— St. Frances Xavier Cabrini † Meditation of the Day
"Strong passions are the precious raw material of sanctity. Individuals who have carried their sinning to extremes should not despair or say, 'I am too great a sinner to change,' or 'God would not want me.' God will take anyone who is willing to love, not with an occasional gesture, but with a 'passionless passion,' a 'wild tranquility'. A sinner, unrepentant, cannot love God, any more than someone on dry land can swim; but as soon as a person takes his errant energies to God and asks for their redirection, he will become happy, as he was never happy before. It is not the wrong things one has already done that keep one from God; it is present persistence in that wrong. Someone who turns back to God, as the Magdalene and Paul, welcomes the discipline that will enable him to change his former tendencies. Mortification is good, but only when it is done out of love of God. ... Mortifications of the right sort perfect our human nature; the gardener cuts the green shoots from the root of the bush, not to kill the rose, but to make it bloom more beautifully."
— Venerable Fulton Sheen, p. 185 † Verse of the Day "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
Isaiah 35:10 |  click to read more | | St. Bibiana St. Bibiana, also known as Vibiana or Viviana (d. 361), was born in Rome, the daughter of Christian parents who were martyred in the persecutions of Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate. Her father was severely beaten and sent to live in exile as a slave, but died from his wounds. Her mother was beheaded shortly after. St. Bibiana and her sister, Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and imprisoned in their family home in utter poverty and hunger. They were offered reward if only they would renounce Jesus, but the sisters, strong in faith and prayer, said they would rather die. Finding that they did not die from lack of food, the Roman governor summoned them. Demetria, after professing the faith, died at his feet. St. Bibiana was given to the guardianship of a pagan woman who tried to force her into prostitution. St. Bibiana refused and resolutely maintained her faith in Christ. For this she was beaten, tied to a pillar, and cruelly scourged. She eventually died from her tortures, and her body was discarded to be eaten by wild dogs. The animals, however, would not touch her. Her body was recovered by a priest and buried, with a chapel built over the tomb for her veneration. St. Bibiana's feast day is December 2nd. | Reading 1 Is 4:2-6 On that day,
The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory,
and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor
for the survivors of Israel.
He who remains in Zion
and he who is left in Jerusalem
Will be called holy:
every one marked down for life in Jerusalem.
When the LORD washes away
the filth of the daughters of Zion,
And purges Jerusalem's blood from her midst
with a blast of searing judgment,
Then will the LORD create,
over the whole site of Mount Zion
and over her place of assembly,
A smoking cloud by day
and a light of flaming fire by night.
For over all, the LORD's glory will be shelter and protection:
shade from the parching heat of day,
refuge and cover from storm and rain. Responsorial Psalm
Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Alleluia See Ps 80:4 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come and save us, LORD our God;
let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 8:5-11 When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 8:5-11 1st Week of Advent Many will come from the east and the west, and will recline . . . at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 8:11) Jesus was amazed that this Roman soldier had exhibited such faith in him—more faith, even, than many of his fellow Jews. And yet, in Jesus' time, this man would not have been considered worthy to be on the "guest list" for that heavenly banquet. But that didn't stop Jesus; he made it clear that he had come to save not only the Jewish people but every single person, including this pagan commander. This is the heart of the good news that Jesus was proclaiming: no one was excluded from God's guest list. Not that Roman soldier, not any other Roman, not any Greek or anyone else alive at the time. And the same holds true today: not the nephew who says he's an atheist, not the neighbor who has struggled all his life with addiction, not the coworker enmeshed in New Age practices. Everyone is on the list. Everyone is invited. Why such a wide invitation into the kingdom of heaven? Because God loves each person equally and deeply. They don't have to believe in him for him to love them. They don't have to love him for him to love them in return. They don't even have to repent of their sins before he will love them! This is an important truth to keep in mind in these weeks leading up to Christmas. There are usually more parties and family gatherings this month, and you will likely be around people you don't normally see. That means that there will be more opportunities to share with people about Jesus' open invitation. You don't have to worry about what to say, either. Just talk about how you have experienced God's love. Talk about how you have felt it in good times and in bad times, when you felt deserving of it and when you felt unworthy. Let your story assure them that the kingdom is available to them as well. Let them see that Jesus' love is wide enough for everyone. "Jesus, thank you for inviting me into your kingdom. Show me how I can extend your invitation to everyone around me." Isaiah 4:2-6
Psalm 122:1-9 |  clickable | The One who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, judge not before the time, before the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will reveal the intentions of hearts. They will each receive praise accordingly from God.
—Alfred Delp, S.J.
from Advent of the Heart | my2cents:
"The branch of the LORD will be luster and glory,
and the fruit of the earth will be honor and splendor
for the survivors of Israel."
And who are the survivors? In an obituary, they usually list the survivors of a lost loved one. It's usually those close to the deceased. Now we are talking descendants. And now we are not only speaking bloodlines, because Christ Has opened the gates wide open of His heart, where an immense flood of mercy and love has crossed our landscape for 2,000 years. And you are to be that love and mercy of God. Especially with our Lord Himself. Gracious. Think Grace. | Let us pray: " Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord."
The house of the Lord is supremely important, and now I desire you to think Holy Mass. Here we actually get to do what Jesus commands us to do. | In the Holy Gospel, we heard a Roman warrior lead the way for our disposition to the mystery of faith, and that is one in complete trust, and so we say his words right at the moment we are to receive Jesus in the Holy Mass "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.". Today we say "...and I shall be healed". What happened to "my servant"? That must mean you have to become the servant or the caring centurion. We all need healing, amen? We all need the Lord, amen? But what about your servants? Most healings in the Bible come through a couple ways, either the person asks to be healed directly, or others came pleading to Jesus for them to be healed, amen? And who gets healed? Everybody gets healed, if found with grace and faith, and this is why everyone should go to a Priest first before visiting a hospital. Sounds crazy? Wouldn't the priest's office be full with a long waiting line? Can you imagine then... a huge long waiting line...to the confessional? The Holy Sacrament to Reconcile, and what about the Holy Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick? It is a rare one, I mean, few go to confessions and even fewer for the other healing Sacrament! Is that crazy or what? We trust medicine more, we trust doctors more, we trust the works of man more. The centurion was weird, and crazy at the same time for doing what he did.
Yet, we are called to the same, and so Jesus our Lord ends with: ""Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."
Dining with super saints? In Heaven? What's Jesus talking about? Our next life as saints? Do we turn into saints later and that's how it happens? NO. Protestants teach that you will be perfect in Heaven. But that is another twisted verse, man made. Jesus tells us to be Perfect. It is a command. Be perfect. Have perfect faith. What is His perfection? Absolutely no blemish, right? Think Confession...again. Think being healed. Because the Annointing of the Sick is one that forgives sins too! AHHH! You see? God loves you so much, He would never say "come to Me" and never give you the means and the Way.
For He Gave Us His Very Self ! | Lord, help us be perfect.
Help us be perfectly yours.
Guide us always to that light of perfection.
Guide us to your most precious and Sacred Heart.
Today, and always...Forever! |  hear it read | Random Bible Verse 1 Mt 4:6
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Thank You Lord | |
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