† Quote of the Day "Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart." — St. Therese of Lisieux Today's Meditation "In that blessed [Christmas] night also Joseph became the patron, the vicar, and the patriarch of the whole Catholic Church. It is certain, St. Athanasius tells us, that the stable where Jesus was born is 'a figure of the Church, whose altar is the manger, whose vicar is Joseph, whose ministers are the shepherds, whose priests are the angels, whose great High-Priest is Jesus Christ, and whose throne is the Blessed Virgin.'" —Edward Healy Thompson, p. 233
An excerpt from The Life and Glories of St. Joseph Daily Verse "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." — Hebrews 13:8 | St. Victoria St. Victoria (d. 250 A.D.) was a Christian noblewoman from Rome. She, together with her sister, St. Anatolia, were forced into arranged marriages with two pagan noblemen. Both Victoria and Anatolia desired to devote themselves entirely to God rather than marry. Upon this refusal, their suitors denounced the sisters as Christians to the authorities under the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius. The sisters were seized and put under house arrest in order to break their faith and convince them to marry. Instead of weakening, their faith in Christ became more resolute. While under house arrest they sold all of their belongings, gave their money to the poor, and converted the servants and guards who attended them to Christianity. Both St. Victoria and her sister were eventually killed for their faith; first Anatolia, and later Victoria. St. Victoria was stabbed through the heart at the request of her rejected suitor, Eugenius. Her feast day is December 23rd. | Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent Reading 1 Mal 3:1-4, 23-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner's fire,
or like the fuller's lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by. Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom. Responsorial Psalm Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 R. (see Luke 21:28) Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
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. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
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. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 1:57-66 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him." | Daily Meditation: Luke 1:57-66 He will be called John. (Luke 1:60) What an odd name for Elizabeth and Zechariah to choose for their son! In ancient Israel, everyone presumed that a firstborn son would be named after his father. But Zechariah remembered the angel's instruction to him, that his son should be named John (Luke 1:13). And so he confirmed Elizabeth's claim that the two of them had decided upon this unexpected name. Everyone must have been amazed when he wrote that message on a tablet—and even more amazed when his tongue was loosened and he burst out in praise of the Lord. Clearly, something supernatural was going on! But what does the name "John" mean? "Yahweh is gracious!" That truth runs through the entire story of John's life. Think about how the Lord, first of all, enabled John even to be born! Then think about how he arranged everything about John's birth, right down to his name! God was also gracious to Elizabeth and Zechariah, who had yearned for a child for so long. He heard and granted Zechariah's prayer and then graced him with nine months of silence so that he could ponder the Lord's faithfulness and loving-kindness. He even blessed Elizabeth with the joy and encouragement of a "prenatal visit" from Jesus himself! God was indeed gracious to John, the man who would become the "prophet of the Most High" and forerunner to the Messiah (Luke 1:76). No wonder John would go on to proclaim the message of God's graciousness—his mercy and forgiveness and salvation—to all of Israel. The graciousness that God showed throughout John's life is meant for your life, too! It's a graciousness that comes to you through Christ Jesus, whose birth you will celebrate in two days. Through him, you have received the grace of forgiveness and salvation, along with "the power to become children of God" (John 1:12). So much grace! So much goodness flowing from the throne of God! May we all, like John, become "prophets of the Most High" who testify to God's graciousness by our words, actions, and prayers! "Lord, help me be a witness of your loving, gracious presence among us." Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today: "No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him....." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. I think it's fair to say that you cannot really understand Jesus without understanding John, which is precisely why all four Evangelists tell the story of the Baptist as a kind of overture to the story of Jesus.
John did not draw attention to himself. Rather, he presented himself as a preparation, a forerunner, a prophet preparing the way of the Lord. He was summing up much of Israelite history, but stressing that this history was open-ended, unfinished.
And therefore, how powerful it was when, upon spying Jesus coming to be baptized, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning of that: behold the one who has come to be sacrificed. Behold the sacrifice, which will sum up, complete, and perfect the temple. Moreover, behold the Passover Lamb, who sums up the whole meaning of that event and brings it to fulfillment.
And this is why John says, "He must increase; I must decrease." In other words, the overture is complete, and now the great opera begins. The preparatory work of Israel is over, and now the Messiah will reign......." End quote from Bishop Barron.
John is born, "God is Gracious is born". Do you believe?
Do you believe that God is Gracious?
In the end we will know how gracious He is even if we cannot see why. Why we hurt. Why things don't work out when and how we want them.
John is the message that "God is gracious". John lives proclaiming a repentance message. This is God being gracious, that we would heed His word, that we would repent. This is an opportunity, an eye opening chance for us all to live for Him, God our Father.
Tomorrow, we will celebrate the King that John announced his whole life. Tomorrow night, in the dark of night, in the vigil for Christmas, the light will come into our dark world.
It is like a birth, for the world.
Lord, I know you are good, and I know you are gracious.
Help us my Lord, our Father, help us be in Your light, that we might live in Your Holy and Gracious will all the days of our lives. May your grace bring us healing, peace, love, hope, so that we might live in faith, in the very love of God the Father. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Lamentations 3:22–23 22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;1 his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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