.: 12/13/21

Monday, December 13, 2021

† "..Shall I Tell You . . . ."

†Saint Quote
""Advent's intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope."
–Pope Benedict XVI

†Today's Meditation
"The most important and most fruitful acts of our freedom are not those by which we transform the outside world as those by which we change our inner attitude in light of the faith that God can bring good out of everything without exception. He is a never-failing source of unlimited riches. Our lives no longer have in them anything negative, ordinary, or indifferent. Positive things become a reason for gratitude and joy, negative things an opportunity for abandonment, faith, and offering: everything becomes a grace."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 58

An Excerpt From
Interior Freedom, p58

†Daily Verse
"A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
–John 10:10

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St. Lucy

St. Lucy (Lucia) of Syracuse (283–304 A.D.) was born to a wealthy Christian family on the island of Sicily. Her father died when she was in her infancy. Lucy grew in piety, and at a young age secretly consecrated her virginity to Christ. Her mother pressured her into an arranged marriage with a pagan nobleman in order to provide for her daughter's future, which Lucy avoided. When Lucy's mother was struck with a long and serious illness, Lucy convinced her mother to accompany her to pray at the tomb of St. Agnes. As a result, Lucy's mother was miraculously cured of her malady. Lucy then told her mother about her vow of chastity, and her mother consented to her refusal to marry. Lucy gave herself to serving persecuted Christians hiding in the catacombs, wearing a wreath of candles on her head to illumine the dark underground caverns, with her arms full of provisions. The man to whom Lucy was betrothed, upon finding that Lucy was a Christian and had refused his hand in marriage, had her imprisoned under the persecutions of Diocletian. The judge sentenced Lucy to prostitution in a brothel, but God rendered her body immovable and the soldiers were unable to carry out the task. They then tried to set her on fire, but the wood underneath Lucy would not burn. Finally, she was killed by the sword. Among her tortures her eyes were gouged out, making St. Lucy the patron saint of eye problems and blind people, among others. St. Lucy is among the great virgin martyrs of the Church, her name appearing in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Her feast day is December 13th.

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

Lectionary: 187
Reading I

Nm 24:2-7, 15-17a

When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,

the spirit of God came upon him,

and he gave voice to his oracle:

The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,

the utterance of a man whose eye is true,

The utterance of one who hears what God says,

and knows what the Most High knows,

Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,

enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;

your encampments, O Israel!

They are like gardens beside a stream,

like the cedars planted by the LORD.

His wells shall yield free-flowing waters,

he shall have the sea within reach;

His king shall rise higher,

and his royalty shall be exalted.

Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle:

The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,

the utterance of the man whose eye is true,

The utterance of one who hears what God says,

and knows what the Most High knows,

Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,

enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.

I see him, though not now;

I behold him, though not near:

A star shall advance from Jacob,

and a staff shall rise from Israel.

Responsorial Psalm

25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

R. (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;

teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,

and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,

because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;

thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,

he teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Alleluia

Ps 85:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us, LORD, your love,
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 21:23-27

When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
"By what authority are you doing these things?
And who gave you this authority?"
Jesus said to them in reply,
"I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things.
Where was John's baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?"
They discussed this among themselves and said,
"If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us,
'Then why did you not believe him?'
But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet."
So they said to Jesus in reply, "We do not know."
He himself said to them,
"Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Daily Meditation: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob! (Numbers 24:5)

Fair tents? Lush gardens? Tall cedars? Nourished as by flowing waters? A laughable description at best! It's easy to read Balaam's prophecy as comforting words of hope and miss out on the humorous disconnect in this passage. At the time when Balaam uttered these words, the Israelites were not much more than a ragged band of nomads and former slaves wandering in the desert.

But Balaam wasn't looking at the Israelites for who they were at that moment. He saw them as who they would become. And that's why this is such a hope-filled passage. This is the way God always looks at us. He doesn't see sins; he sees the blood of his Son washing us clean. He doesn't see weaknesses and failures; he sees his children clothed in the strength and dignity of Christ. As he looks down from heaven, he sees us spotlessly pure and filled with his Spirit.

That includes you!

God always sees you in light of his perfect plan and intentions for your life. So often, our sight is fixed on the ragged edges of who we are or what we've done. But we don't have to mire ourselves in problems, sins, and difficulties. We will always be far more than the sum of all our troubles. Why? Because we will always be treasured children of an all-loving God.

This central truth can set us free from anxiety. It can empower us to enjoy the gifts and talents God has given us. And it can move us to look forward with eager anticipation toward everything that he still has in store for us.

So what can you do today to respond to this amazing truth? You can praise God that he has adopted you as his son or daughter. You are precious in his sight, chosen and beloved from before time began. You are a member of God's own family, and you have great dignity and honor. Nothing can rob you of your place in God's house; nothing can convince him to disown you or abandon you. So marvel today in who you are—and in who you are destined to become!

"Father, I stand in awe and praise you for your power and incomparable love."

Psalm 25:4-9
Matthew 21:23-27

From Today's Holy Scripture:
"I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel."

Star from Jacob? Yes. The light from long ago. Yes. A staff, a new staff, carried on and away from Moses, for He shall lead the way. Moses parts the sea for salvation from enemies and therefore, death. But it through God's will. You see, once our will aligns with His...Salvation shines.

We pray in Psalms:
"Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. Teach me your ways, O Lord..."

How good is God, that He stoops to sinners, to show them the way? Have you stooped so low to sinners? Have you shown them the way? God is amazing. He reaches every day people in every corner of the world, from dungeons to Kings and Queens. It is amazing how He is everywhere. It is the very fact, then, that He is the very air we breathe. Welcome to the place that never ceases to amaze...a humble soul.

We heard of our Lord in the Gospel today:
"...the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?"
This question is like asking God Himself, "where did You come from?".
Our Lord answered their question with a question. As if to say "if you tell me what is on your conscience, then I will reveal to you the truth". I was meditating this morning in Mass, and the stores of Mass grace where being revealed, and it comes down to the soul that is desiring the Everlasting Way.

Does this make sense? So much is offered, if only. If only we would turn from our sinful ways. I heard a near death story that said a man went to hell, he was an atheist professor. He suffered and died and was shown the way to hell. Some people led him there. I don't know if he noticed the meaning of this experience here, but he followed some guys out of his death bed and into hell.

You see, it's who we follow, paths, ideologies, people, trends, and watch where they lead.
And the professor, Howard Storm, wrote a book about his experience, and when he speaks about hell, he explained it as a barren landscape, no rain, no birds, and there were others there that just took advantage of each other, often with violence, and lots of abuse. He said "it would've been a better place but nobody wanted to get along to do it" and it sounds like hell on earth. Right? They say world hunger would end if we knew how to share.
But where is the will...to align our will with God's will?

All good things that have happened through me are the times I let God work through me. Whether I acknowledge the fact or not, it is Him doing everything that is good.
So...can you do good? Yes. Will you do good? You can. Follow His commands. God is very blunt. He doesn't hide things.

We know what He wants, but we obscure His will by sinning.
I am witnessing the mindset of how some people work.

They say God won't give you more than you can handle.
I see a couple with one child and everything is a big deal, nightmare situation with the child.
Then I see a couple with 12 kids and things seem to work well in order, no big deal.
How is that?

I see people at work. Some cannot handle certain situations, or much stress.
Then I see another that can handle tons and tons of situations at once, and handles much stress rather well.
How is that?

"They discussed this among themselves and said, "If we say 'Of heavenly origin,' he will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we fear the crowd..."

Where did Jesus come from? If you say He is from Heaven, then we have something to grapple with, for the very word Israel means to wrestle with. Because, in my case, I grapple with the truth, and my tendency to sin...called concupiscence, which is something we are all born with...except Blessed Mother Mary.

Enter now, Grace.

I was meditating before writing, and I was letting God know how imperfect I am. And He reveals to me that is the key. I said "You told me to be perfect" and it is as if He said "Yes". What's wrong with that? And I say "I can't" and He says "Yes...you can".
My confessor told me for the 5th time "John 15" where Jesus says "...apart from me you can do nothing".
Shall we be apart from Him and render ourselves incapable of perfection?
No. Remain...let's go to the Light, the Star of Jacob, the Star of Israel, the Star of Bethlehem!

Let's pray:
Lord, Father,
Thank You for being my guiding and shining star.
The star of hope and truth and unity and true Love.
May we reach this perfection in Thee, both now and in eternity!

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian