Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Thursday 1st Week of Advent
December 7, 2006
Thursday 1st Week of Advent - Yr II
ISAIAH 26:1-6
On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong
city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the
gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation
of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you."
Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. He humbles
those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it
to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the
needy, by the footsteps of the poor.
MATTHEW 7:21, 24-27
Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father in heaven. "Everyone who listens to these words of
mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on
rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted
the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on
them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell,
the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it
collapsed and was completely ruined."
REFLECTION
The first reading is a hymn Isaiah wrote for choral groups, for
communities, for nations to sing. In it he peers into the future; he
gazes into the Messianic age and there envisions the population of
Jerusalem joyously acclaiming the protective strength of the city's
walls and ramparts. Impregnable walls are they and invulnerable
ramparts, able to repel the fiercest assaults. Impregnable and
invulnerable, because it is the Lord God who has built them. The Lord
God is an "everlasting rock."
In the Gospel reading Jesus is bringing the Sermon on the Mount to a
close. In the Sermon he has talked about his values, how they bring us
beyond the spirituality of the Old Testament, and how they contradict
the values of the world in which we live.
Before he closes his Sermon, Christ brings us down and sets our feet
firmly on the ground with his parable of the house built on sandy soil
and the house built on rock. Singing the praises of Jesus' teaching,
admiring its beauty and at the insights it provides us, in itself is
building on sandy soil. We hit hard rock when we live his teachings in
everything we do each day.
Advent is a time for us to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord on
Christmas, to look; therefore, at our values and our value systems, to
ask ourselves is there need of reorganizing our priorities. We need to
also to ask ourselves if Christ's values are evident to others in
every act we perform each day.
God and Christ and their values are the rock on which we build our
Christian lives.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Marcelina Tan. Eternal rest
grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she and
all the souls of the dearly departed rest in peace.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Prayer Intention: Johnson H. Gotamco
- 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!
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