Sunday, December 04, 2005
MONDAY 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
| DAILY-HOMILY - Powered by InJesus |
| Subscribe Unsubscribe Change E-mail View Archive MONDAY 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT DAILY-HOMILY Dec 4, 2005 |
MONDAY 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT – YEAR I
ISAIAH 35:1-10
The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water; The abode where jackals lurk will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus. A highway will be there, called the holy way; No one unclean may pass over it, nor fools go astray on it. No lion will be there, nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it. It is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk. Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.
LUKE 5:17-26
One day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with him for healing. And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence. But not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "As for you, your sins are forgiven." Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?" Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply, "What are you thinking in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"– he said to the one who was paralyzed, "I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, "We have seen incredible things today."
REFLECTION
In today's gospel a paralyzed man is brought to Jesus for healing. One of the greatest things in life is becoming aware of the gifts we have received from God and using them for the good of others. We often can wonder about the paralyzed man and how he became so. Was he born paralyzed? Did it come suddenly or was it gradual?
In our spiritual lives, we can unfortunately become paralyzed. Spiritual paralysis does not come all of a sudden like a stroke that paralyzes someone. Spiritual paralysis is the result of going from one small sin to bigger and bigger ones.
Sin confines us to our stretcher and comfort zone. Sin cripples us far more than any physical ailment. Sin is the work of the kingdom of darkness and it holds us in eternal bondage. There is only one solution and that is the healing cleansing power of Jesus' forgiveness. Seeing the faith of the men, Christ acknowledges them and says to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven." This man had been crippled not only physically but spiritually as well. Jesus freed him from his burden of guilt and restored his body as well. The man must have loved to hear these words and feel the peace of soul that it brings. The Lord is ever ready to bring us healing of body, mind and soul. His grace brings us freedom from the power of sin and from bondage to harmful desires and addictions. Do you allow anything to keep you from Jesus' healing power?
Ask the Lord Jesus today that his healing power may touch every area of your life, your innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes and memories. Jesus will always be there to bring us closer to him, and through the sacrament of reconciliation he shows us the depth of his love by forgiving us our sins. Once forgiven of his sins, the burden of sin is lifted from the paralyzed man. His newfound dignity demands that he hold his head up high. Christ's generosity is beyond our imagination and surpasses ours by far. Christ tells him to rise and walk, to take up the stretcher and move on in life. Christ invites us to grow in our virtue and fly like an eagle to the eights of holiness.
Sin ties us down and makes us slaves to our passions, emotions and insecurities. By receiving absolution in confession, the chain is cut and once again we are freed in Christ to fly high. All we need to do is to trust in God's mercy.
Jesus' love is a forgiving love and he truly forgives our sins through the sacrament of reconciliation. We know for sure that we have not always appreciated this sacrament as we ought to. Let us ask Jesus today to help us understand and trust more in his mercy and love. Let us prepare for the coming of Christ this Christmas season by cleansing ourselves of even the smallest stains of sin through the sacrament of reconciliation.
PRAYER
"Lord Jesus, through your merciful love and forgiveness you bring healing and restoration to body, soul, and mind. May your healing power and love touch every area of my life – my innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories. Pardon my offences and transform me in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may walk confidently in your truth and righteousness."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray -
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Msgr. James V. Keating, eternal rest grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him.
- for the continued & complete recovery of Mike Torres.
- for the eternal repose of the souls of Dominga Marasigan and Leovigildo Cadorna, Jr.. Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Victoria B. Roman II
- Prayer Intention: Keng Koc & Mary Co
- Wedding Anniversary: Keng Koc & Mary Co
- Wedding Anniversary: Augusto & Elizabeth Go
- In Memoriam: Roberto Lim
- In Memoriam: Lui She
- In memoriam: Ordonio De La Pena
- In Memoriam: Magdalena Asis Cordoba
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
***************************************************************
Welcome to DAILY-HOMILY, a Catholic-based Scripture and Homily Reflection. It is a great source for scripture reading and reflectionfor Weekdays, Sundays and Holydays of Obligation. Subscribe to this list and you will receive a free, informed, down to earth and illustrated homily. It's a FREE service.
***************************************************************
To subscribe or unsubscribe, tell friends about Daily-Homily, read past reflection and feedbacks, give donation or submit a prayer request please go to:
Webpage: http://homily.dailyfoodforthought.org/ Group Email: dailyhom...@gmail.com To subscribe: subscribe...@dailyfoodforthought.org To Unsubscribe: unsubscribe...@dailyfoodforthought.org To post a Prayer Request: prayer_requ...@dailyfoodforthought.org
PRAYER FOR ENLIGHTENMENT BEFORE MEDITATING ON GOD'S WORD:
http://www.marythequeen.org/
Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!
© 2005 Daily-Homily
| Visit My InJesus to manage your subscriptions, change your profile, or check out thousands of other great ministry groups. If you do not have access to the web, you can use these addresses to unsubscribe or subscribe: |
