.: 12/15/22

Thursday, December 15, 2022

† ". I tell you, among those. "

†Saint Quote
"Every pious desire, every good thought, every charitable work inspired by the love of Jesus, contributes to the perfection of the whole body of the faithful. A person who does nothing more than lovingly pray to God for his brethren, participates in the great work of saving souls."
–Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich

†Today's Meditation
"You know, there ought to be a prize today for people who make excuses – because I think we'd all win something. We are in the habit today of making excuses. And because our faith is weak, we excuse ourselves from answering God's call, from doing God's will, from listening to the Church, from listening to the Gospel. We come up with all the fantastic reasons why we don't have to be good; why Christians don't have to be Christians; why we don't have to strive; why we don't have to go that extra mile that God is asking us to go – to show that extra bit of compassion or that extra bit of love, to do that extra bit of work. And so we make excuses that are so comfortable that we can literally walk away and forget what God asks us to do."
—Mother Angelica, p. 15

An Excerpt From
Mother Angelica's Guide to the Spiritual Life

†Daily Verse
"Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.""
–Matthew 28:18-20

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St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli

St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli (1587–1651) was born in Genoa, Italy, to an aristocratic family. She was pious and desired the religious life, however, at the age of fifteen she was forced into an arranged marriage. Her husband, a wealthy and illustrious man, lived dissolutely as a drinker and a gambler despite Virginia's good example. After having two daughters, Virginia was widowed at the age of twenty. Refusing another arranged marriage, Virginia took a vow of celibacy and began charitable works in service of the sick and poor while raising her children. Once her daughters were grown, she used her wealth to found a refuge center for the suffering which grew into a large hospital, and soon into two religious congregations: the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Mount Calvary, and the Daughters of Our Lady on Mount Calvary. Virginia was committed not only to serving the poor and destitute—even to the point of seeking them out in the streets—she was also committed to training the underprivileged with skills so that they could attain a better way of life. She also worked as a peacemaker to help settle the frequent bloody rivalries which rose up between noble families. St. Virginia Centurione Bracelli's feast day is December 15.

Thursday of the Third Week in Advent

Reading I Is 54:1-10

Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear,

Break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor,

For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife

than the children of her who has a husband,

says the Lord.

Enlarge the space for your tent,

spread out your tent cloths unsparingly;

lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes.

For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left;

your descendants shall dispossess the nations

and shall people the desolate cities.

Fear not, you shall not be put to shame;

you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced.

The shame of your youth you shall forget,

the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.

For he who has become your husband is your Maker;

his name is the Lord of hosts;

Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

called God of all the earth.

The Lord calls you back,

like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

A wife married in youth and then cast off,

says your God.

For a brief moment I abandoned you,

but with great tenderness I will take you back.

In an outburst of wrath, for a moment

I hid my face from you;

But with enduring love I take pity on you,

says the Lord, your redeemer.

This is for me like the days of Noah,

when I swore that the waters of Noah

should never again deluge the earth;

So I have sworn not to be angry with you,

or to rebuke you.

Though the mountains leave their place

and the hills be shaken,

My love shall never leave you

nor my covenant of peace be shaken,

says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

Responsorial Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear

and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord, you brought me up from the nether world;

you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the Lord, you his faithful ones,

and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;

a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,

but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
"Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me;

O Lord, be my helper."
You changed my mourning into dancing;

O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Alleluia Luke 3:4, 6

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 7:24-30

When the messengers of John the Baptist had left,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.
"What did you go out to the desert to see a reed swayed by the wind?
Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine garments?
Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously
are found in royal palaces.
Then what did you go out to see?
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
This is the one about whom Scripture says:

Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

he will prepare your way before you.
I tell you,
among those born of women, no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he."
(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors,
who were baptized with the baptism of John,
acknowledged the righteousness of God;
but the Pharisees and scholars of the law,
who were not baptized by him,
rejected the plan of God for themselves.)

Daily Meditation: Isaiah 54:1-10

In an outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from you. (Isaiah 54:8)

At first glance, this verse can be troubling. The prophet depicts God as responding to the Israelites' sins with an "outburst of wrath" that destroys Israel and banishes his people from the Promised Land. Then God is overtaken by feelings of "pity" and decides to bring them back home (Isaiah 54:8).

Does God really waver between wrath and tenderness? Is he subject to emotional outbursts? And more important, does he really punish people so violently?

No, God does not create suffering or chaos, war or destruction. These are all the result of a world thrown out of joint by sinful human beings. They come from a world that has distanced itself from the Lord and his command to live in love. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Punishments," or the consequences of sin, "must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin" (1472). The "wrath" that Isaiah talks about here is his way of describing these consequences.

God never changes. From before you were created, he knew you and loved you. From your first moment, he delighted in you and determined to open heaven to you. Even now, despite whatever sins or mistakes you have made and despite whatever else has happened in your life, he wants nothing more than to embrace you and pour his grace into you. Like the father of the prodigal son, he is eagerly waiting to welcome you and anyone else who turns from sin.

So run to him! Cast aside whatever lies are telling you that God is angry with you or is punishing you or has turned his back on you. And if there's any sin on your part that is holding you back, bring it to him in repentance and Confession. He already knows what it is, and his forgiveness is always there for you.

Let nothing stand between you and the Lord. Let these words—the final words from today's reading—always be in your heart and on your lips: "My love shall never leave you nor my covenant of peace be shaken, says the Lord" (Isaiah 54:10).

"Lord, in the face of such constant love, what else can I do but fall on my knees and worship you?"

Psalm 30:2-6, 11-13
Luke 7:24-30

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"The Lord calls you back, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit..."

Do you sense a calling, from our Lord? What is the calling all about? What is He trying to tell me? This is the daily question of a faithful follower.
The disciples didn't always clearly know what our Lord was saying...but they had a sense, that gut feeling they knew He was true and to be followed...follow now, ask questions later. This is faith. This is a plunge. This is walking on water.

We pray today;
"I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you brought me up from the nether world; you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me"

In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher:
"Then what did you go out to see?
Someone dressed in fine garments? "

Many go to church, and are...dismayed. They see it is not perfect. They see all the hypocrites like me and all these others trying but keep goofing things up and they walk out. They come and see the music isn't great. They come and see that the priest is not good and they leave. They come and see that every Sunday it's just the same old thing over and over, and they leave. They come and see what they hoped for...isn't there. And so, this should open our eyes. What is it that you were looking for in the first place? Some god you had imagined to be perfect the way you imagined?

Jesus our Lord was born perfect, but he was rejected. He didn't have a countenance to be remembered as beautiful in human terms, but just a normal person...on earth.

What if on earth, He's among us, every single day, and we fail to recognize Him?

What if we've turned our backs on Him?
What's if we've decided to cover our eyes and ears on Him?
That's something that worries me, about me and everyone else. And this is why I try to gulp, and swallow every Word He Says, because what He says...goes.
my child, following Christ is not easy. Not when you decide to do everything He's asked. This is not for those who have no desire, no will, to let themselves go and let Him do as He desires through us.

Therefore, you must train your mind, body, and spirit, to do what God wants. This is the "disciple" in the word and deed of discipline. My job is to encourage you, as I too... learn. The best way to learn is to get involved and teach and do what He says, trial and error, blood, sweat, and tears. Then you may grow in virtue, holiness, and purity. Why? Because, when you venture HIS way, there is true life. The life HE has desired for us, which goes beyond measure of joy possible...for an eternity.

........................................
Lord, You call me to venture into the deep, teach me to walk Your way.
...............................................

adrian