† Quote of the Day "There are two ways of knowing how good God is: one is never to lose Him, and the other is to lose Him and then to find Him." — Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Today's Meditation "We must beg God constantly in our prayers to uphold us by His hand; we should keep ever in our minds the truth that if He leaves us, most certainly we shall fall at once into the abyss, for we must never be so foolish as to trust in ourselves. After this I think the greatest safeguard is to be very careful and to watch how we advance in virtue; we must notice whether we are making progress or falling back in it, especially as regards the love of our neighbor, the desire to be thought the least of all and how we perform our ordinary, everyday duties. If we attend to this and beg Our Lord to enlighten us, we shall at once perceive our gain or loss." —St. Teresa of Avila, p.98-99
An excerpt from Interior Castle Daily Verse "But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers." — James 3:8-10 | St. Winebald (701-761 A.D.) - also known as Winibald or Wynbald - a Saxon prince born into a holy and royal family in England. His father, St. Richard the King, and his mother, St. Wunna of Wessex, are both saints, as well as his brother, St. Willibald, his sister, St. Walburga, and his uncle, St. Boniface. After making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his father and brother, and then spending many years in Rome, Winebald was recruited by his uncle, Boniface, to join him in evangelizing Germany. Winebald was ordained a priest and worked as a missionary across Germany, Holland, France, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg, leaving behind many flourishing churches and monasteries under the Rule of St. Benedict. St. Winebald was an important figure in laying the foundations of Christianity across much of Europe. After his death, his tomb became a pilgrimage shrine. His feast day is December 18. | Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent Reading 1 Jer 23:5-8 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
"The LORD our justice." Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt";
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north"–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land. Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19 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.
For 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.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Leader of the House of Israel,
giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:
come to rescue us with your mighty power!
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 1:18-25 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus. | Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 23:5-8 I will raise up a righteous shoot to David. (Jeremiah 23:5) For centuries, especially in Spain, December 18 has been celebrated as the feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Coming just a week before Christmas, this feast focuses on the sense of wonder and anticipation Mary must have had as the birth of her son drew nearer. So today, let's imagine what that expectation might have looked like. Think about today's Gospel reading. Joseph, Mary's betrothed, is visited by an angel telling him not to divorce Mary but to take her as his wife—"for it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her" (Matthew 1:20). Imagine Mary marveling at the news when Joseph shared his dream with her. Any fear or dread she might have felt over the prospect of raising the Messiah alone was turned into joy. The man she loved was going to share this adventure with her. Together they were going to raise the Son of God. They could even compare notes on what it was like to see an angel! Or imagine Mary reflecting on the promises like the ones in today's first reading. The time had finally come for the Lord to once again deliver his people from exile. Only this time, it was not an exile from their homeland but the deeper exile of sin. And Mary had the privilege of witnessing it firsthand! Mary must have become more and more excited as her time drew near. The physical demands of her pregnancy probably meant that she needed to slow down and rest more. And that gave her more time to ponder all that was about to happen. We, on the other hand, tend to speed up as Christmas approaches. Can you decide that you'll try to take a little extra time each day this week to join Mary in pondering God's promises and marveling in what he has already done? Jesus is still reaching into the dark and broken places of this world, inviting everyone to break free of whatever exile they are in. If you slow down just a bit, you might be able to sense him stretching out his hand, ready to perform another miracle. Isn't that an exciting prospect? "Jesus, I am in awe of your desire to deliver us. Lord, let the world see your power again!" | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today: "Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
....." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, an angel tells Joseph in a dream to name his son Jesus "because he will save his people from their sins."
Well, that's the Good News of Christmas. The rightful King has returned to reclaim what is his and to let the prisoners go free. The God announced by all the prophets and patriarchs—by Abraham, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, and Isaiah—is a God of justice, and this means that he burns to set things right. God hates the sin and violence and injustice that have rendered gloomy his beautiful world, and therefore he comes into that world as a warrior, ready to fight. But he arrives (and here is the delicious irony of Christmas) stealthily, clandestinely—sneaking, as it were, unnoticed behind enemy lines.
The King comes as a helpless infant, born of insignificant parents in a small town of a distant outpost of the Roman Empire. He will conquer through the finally irresistible power of love, the same power with which he made the universe........" End quote from Bishop Barron.
From a Spanish Reflection today:
"In just a few lines, and articulated like a story or, better yet, like a dream in which an angel appears to Jesus, the evangelist has made it clear to us that the protagonist of the Gospel he is going to write is a man, but in whose birth the Spirit of God has intervened. And that this man is the expected savior and messiah, the one announced by the prophets, the one who is going to save his people, he is "God with us." Now we have no choice but to continue reading to see what this man did and said, how he lived and how he died. Because in him we will see God himself." end quote from Fernando Torres.
Saint Joseph never said a word. We only knew about his intentions, and we were told he was a righteous man.
Everything we hear about Saint Joseph is about holiness, and a man of God. How old was he? What did he do?
He was a skilled craftsman. He was a provider. He was a protector.
And guess what? This does not happen until he died, at an early age of our Lord, but until today he is a provider, a protector, a righteous and holy man.
We pray now, to the newest saint of our age that is going to teach us humility and grace, that points to Mary, and Mary points to Jesus. "Do as your mother says" he seems to say. And Mother Mary only said a few words, and one of them was "do whatever He tells you" at the wedding feast, where the first miracle happens. She was a widow by then.
Today, we must turn to our stepfather and love of Jesus, who needed Saint Joseph too, as provider, protector, and teacher of great holiness as was Mary our Mother.
And in doing so, we too become providers, protectors of holiness, by the very giving our lives. Jesus
Mary
Joseph
I love you.
Save souls. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 55:6–7 [Isaiah 55] 6 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
