† Quote of the Day "He who carries God in his heart bears heaven with him wherever he goes." — St. Ignatius of Loyola Today's Meditation "At this point in the season, we always stand teetering between a fuller engagement of the real point and purpose of Advent or getting swept away in the often overwhelming material preparations. Gaudete Sunday invites us to pause in the midst of the activity and breathe deeply. The material celebrations of Christmas come and go each year. But if we let the rich invitation of Advent seep to the core of our hearts, we actually find ourselves freed to prepare more intentionally and celebrate more fully with family and friends." —Fr. John Burns
An excerpt from Adore: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation Daily Verse "Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." — Matthew 5:19 | Pope St. Damasus I Pope St. Damasus I (306-384 A.D.) was born into a Christian family in Rome. He became a deacon and served at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Rome where his father served as priest. After the death of Pope Liberius, Damasus was elected Pope in the year 366 A.D. Violence broke out as a rival pope was also elected, and the two factions fought to enforce their candidate. Damasus was confirmed as the rightful pope by the Roman Emperor, and the anti-pope was banished from the city. Pope Damasus chose the scripture scholar St. Jerome as his personal secretary, to whom he commissioned the translation of the Bible into Latin (the Latin Vulgate). It was during Damasus' reign that Christianity was declared the religion of the Roman state. Pope Damasus also called the Council of Rome in 382 A.D. to clarify the canon of Sacred Scripture. He opposed heresy, worked to preserve the catacombs, and advocated for devotion to the Christians martyred under the Roman persecutions. His feast day is December 11. | Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 40:25-31 To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say,
and declare, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles' wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint. Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10 R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits. R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion. R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul! Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 11:28-30 Jesus said to the crowds:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." | Daily Meditation: Isaiah 40:25-31 Do you not know or have you not heard? (Isaiah 40:28) That's one way to grab your listeners' attention! Don't you know how amazing your God is? Haven't you been told about who he is and what he has done? Of course, the Israelites knew all of this—and so do you! But it's always helpful to recall the fundamental truths about our God and Father. The characteristics that the prophet listed after this question contain many "religious" words that we have heard and said about God so often that we can lose sight of how amazing they are. So let's look at some of them and ask the Spirit to write them on our hearts. Let's see if these awesome truths can fill us with the strength to "soar as with eagles' wings" (Isaiah 40:31). "The Lord is the eternal God" (Isaiah 40:28). He is forever the same. He has no beginning and no end. He never changes. Think about a moment when you felt his love in an especially moving way. That's the way he always is. He's constantly looking at you with that very same love! You can be confident he loved you like that yesterday and will love you like that tomorrow, no matter what happens. He is "creator of the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 40:28). The universe is not random. The sheer beauty of this world and the order and rhythm to the seasons of life all point toward the surpassing beauty of the Lord your Creator. The world was made by a loving, all-powerful Someone—a "Someone" who loves you! "He does not faint nor grow weary" (Isaiah 40:28). You never need to worry that God's strength or his commitment to you will waver. Whether you are planning for the future or simply trying to get through today, you can count on this: God's strength is constant, even when yours rises and falls. His covenant with you is rock solid, even when you waver in your faithfulness to him. And he never stops working to bring about what is best for you and your loved ones. Does one of these characteristics of God speak to you in a special way today? If so, keep it close! Write it down and repeat it from time to time. Share it with a friend. Use it to encourage a coworker or neighbor. Yes, you know! Yes, you have heard! This is your God! "Heavenly Father, open my eyes to see how amazing your love is!" Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10
Matthew 11:28-30 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Jesus said to the crowds:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light........." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus offers to free us from the burden of our pride.
What is it that makes our lives heavy and weighed down? Precisely the burden of our own egos, the weight of one's own self. When I am puffing myself up with my own self-importance, I'm laboring under all that weight. Jesus is saying, "Become a child. Take that weight off your shoulders and put on the weight of my yoke, the yoke of my obedience to the Father."
Anthony de Mello proposed the following parable to describe us prideful souls. A group of people sit on a bus that is passing through the most glorious countryside, but they have the shades pulled down on all the windows and are bickering about who gets front seat on the bus. This is the burden of pride: preferring the narrow and stuffy confines of the bus to the beauty that is effortlessly available all around. This, of course, is why Jesus can say, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What the Lord proposes is not a freedom from suffering but, what is much more important, a freedom from the self...." End quote from Bishop Barron.
Our Lord said to us today: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves. "
Can we yoke up with Him? Can we hook ourselves to Him? Can we bind ourselves to Him?
In the book of Heaven, Luisa is suffering always, and she finds herself in continuous union with our Lord.
Could it be that our suffering unites us more with our Lord?
Yes, if we bind ourselves to Him.
Right now, we are going through something with our daughter and her anxiety and is in a hospital for that, we'd appreciate prayers for healing. But in the meantime, I see suffering on so many parts and so many more around us. Some going through the same, some suffering in hospitals for other reasons, cancers, strokes, and so forth just within our friends and families. And so, we are at the moment, united in suffering. The pain. The anguish. The faith that is taking blows. I understand more clearly the sufferings many endure. I've been in hospitals in the bed broken and outside the bed visiting the broken. I visit every week nursing homes attached to the hospital, I see the sad that we make glad with a simple visit. We are binding in the suffering. Who wants to go suffer with others?
Jesus our Lord does. Why? There love is truly shown.
By all means, I should be the happiest fellow, right? I do all these things for the Lord. But at night, I feel the heavy weight of it all. I am not all happy. I feel the depressing weight from everyone in the world in a way. Last night, I prayed that we could be perhaps delivered from any oppression that is causing the depression in the world. The world just doesn't stop with its evil ways of what? Not caring. Not caring for the Lord and His desires of obedience, of holiness, and of purity, all things that should resemble Heaven on earth.
We read a quote today that speaks about the Book of Heaven and Luisa and what I have just said about binding with our Lord, with His yoke.
St. Ignatius of Loyola said: "He who carries God in his heart bears heaven with him wherever he goes."
Mother Mary carried God not only in her womb, but in her heart. And she still carries Him in her heart until today.
Here, with Him inside, He burns a bright light that dispels the darkness.
The world will not stop being oppressive, so long as there is evil in the world. But we can make something out of it. Go to the oppressed and liberate them from their sin. Free the captives. Launch an attack of love, a barrage of compassion, that is the message from the cross of Christ our Lord. He Has conquered the world, has He not? Christ is King, is He not? Then why should He not shine in your heart through all the suffering? You belong to the King of Kings. And this King reigns from the Kingdom of Love, the very Kingdom of God.
Pray with me:
Lord, I am sorry I have not started advent with a better attitude of penance in preparation for Your coming. I am now fasting and praying and preparing a room for You. A place for You to be born and dwell in as long as You like. May every heart that encounters You welcome You with open arms, and may we live together to do God's Holy Will. Jesus Christ, Be our Light, our Hope, and our Salvation. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 10:4–5 4 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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