†Quote of the Day
"To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement." St. Augustine †Today's Meditation
"Sometimes [Jesus] would decide to spend the night [in the garden of Gethsemane], when He had left the city at a late hour or when He had been long at prayer. Then Gethsemane became a sacred dormitory, and the disciples were privileged to assist at the mystery of Jesus falling into the gentle unconsciousness of sleep while He still kept infinity in His heart. God condescended to lie there resting by the trunk of a tree, His head upon His arms, with His disciples stretched here and there about Him – they, poor mortals, sunk deep in nothingness while He kept heavenly vigil – and John, no doubt, huddled close against his Master, his cheek resting upon His cloak. But the day was to come when Jesus would be there alone, unable to rest His wearied heart upon the soul of the Twelve."
–A.G Sertillanges, p. 83-84 †Daily Verse
"He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."" Matthew 22:37-40 | St. Sabas St. Sabas (439-532 A.D.) was born near Caesarea in Cappadocia to an illustrious family. His father was an army officer who, being restationed in Alexandria, left Sabas (along with his estate) in the care of his wife's sister. Sabas was severely mistreated by his aunt, and he fled from her to live with his father's brother instead. This move led to a family feud over the management of his father's estate, and Sabas, a meek child disgusted with their worldliness, sought refuge in a monastery. He was well-treated there, and although only a child, excelled in the monastic life. When he reached the age of eighteen, after living in the monastery for ten years, Sabas traveled to Jerusalem to visit the holy places and to become a desert hermit. He lived in a Jerusalem monastery for a time before dwelling alone in a desert cave near Jericho, spending his days in prayer and penance. Because of his renowned virtue and holiness many men desired to follow his example. He was ordained a priest so that he could better direct the 150 monks in his care. Sabas became an important leader in the early Church by founding monasteries, fighting heresy, and serving in delegations to the Roman Emperor. He is one of the most highly-regarded patriarchs of Palestine, and is considered one of the Fathers of Eastern monasticism. His most important monastery, the Great Laura, is one of the oldest monasteries in the world and is still inhabited by Eastern Orthodox monks. St. Sabas' feast day is December 5th. | Tuesday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 11:1-10 On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land's afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea. On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious. Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 10:21-24 Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
| Daily Meditation: Isaiah 11:1-10 The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb. (Isaiah 11:6) "Cheer up! Everything will be okay." Well-meaning people offer this kind of consolation, but it doesn't help much with real problems. In today's first reading, the prophet Isaiah didn't offer such empty reassurance to the kingdom of Judah, which was surrounded by powerful empires. But he didn't offer military help or a diplomatic solution, either. Instead, he promised that God would do something altogether unexpected. From David's line would come a king unlike any other—one whose reign would bring true justice. His reign would extend beyond Judah to all nations. It would even extend over nature and usher in a new creation where natural enemies like wolves and lambs or cobras and children would live in peace. But what Isaiah promises seems unimaginable! After all, wolves eat sheep; it's what they do. Yet Isaiah used poetic language to describe the peaceable kingdom that the Messiah would bring. This promise of a new creation might strike us as unrealistic, one more example of "empty talk" that will never come to pass. But Isaiah wasn't making empty promises. God's promise was true because it was fulfilled in Jesus. We know that he exercised power over nature when he calmed the sea (Luke 8:22-25). But even more, because of his Incarnation, death, and resurrection, his reign now extends over the whole earth. A time will come when we will behold it in fullness: all creation will be renewed, and Jesus will be Lord over all. On that day, peace will reign. There will be no more enmity or war, sickness or injustice, sin or death: "There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain" (Isaiah 11:9). We all long for that day because we all have "impossible" situations that we can't resolve. They may even seem too difficult to pray for. Yet Isaiah declares that we can have hope. The new creation has come, and Jesus has the power to help us. He can bring new life even where it seems impossible. As you begin Advent, surrender your impossibilities to Jesus. Trust him to come and act. He will move forward his plan of peace for you. He's not bound by what seems impossible. "Come, Jesus, make all things new in my life!" Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Luke 10:21-24 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"On that day, A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him.......
On that day, The root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious."_ end of verse.
. . . What stump? Who is Jesse? Do you know King David? It's his dad, King David's father. And from King David's lineage we would trace the royal Kingship to Jesus Christ our King. Scripture is fulfilled. And this sets up a signal for all nations and gentiles will seek it and see it too! It is Christ our Lord. Have you seen the sign of our Lord? | We pray today:
"O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever......." end of psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
""I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike. ....." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron today:
"And what are the "things" that have been concealed from the learned and revealed to the childlike? Nothing other than the mystery of Jesus' relationship to his Father, the love that obtains between Father and Son, the inner life of God. From the beginning, this is what God wanted to give us... . ." end quote Bishop Barron.
It is interesting to see our Lady, our Blessed Mother appear in the last several centuries and mostly to children, like at Fatima, or to a childlike heart, like Juan Diego. Our Lord reveals Himself mostly to the childlike, but many times even to the staunchest of hearts, like St. Paul when he was Saul, a fierce persecutor of Christians. And the same is happening today. Our Lord is revealing Himself to Christian Persecutors, many of them in the Muslim people. They are seeing Him in dreams, and many are converting to Him.
And this is good, because our Lord is proving Himself to be good and alive, and here for the will of the Father God. Our Lord is King! Remember? From the stump of Jesse? The royal priesthood.
Ahh. Now we are getting somewhere. It is not a worldly King with powers and authorities, no. It is about a King of priests, and of the holiest ones it is Christ Crucified, a sign for all nations, to reveal the will of the Father. "I desire MERCY not sacrifice."
What does divine mercy mean? It means everything. There is a reason we are offered the blood and body of Christ. There is a reason on the altar, and in the confessional. It is about salvation!
Your salvation. Our Salvation. And this is good. Priests are to be good, the very person of Christ. The Kingdom of the royal priesthood lives on. How do you honor the King? In the priest? And in each other? Are we not all baptized priests too? Things are eye opening. There is light in the dark when Christ is in our lives. Pray with me:
Lord, be King of my heart, be my love! |  Click To Hear | Complete the work
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Philippians 1:6 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
