Friday, December 08, 2006
Saturday 1st Week of Advent
December 9, 2006
Saturday 1st Week of Advent - Yr II
ISAIAH 30:19-21, 23-26
Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: O people of Zion, who
dwell in Jerusalem, no more will you weep; He will be gracious to you
when you cry out, as soon as he hears he will answer you. The Lord will
give you the bread you need and the water for which you thirst. No
longer will your Teacher hide himself, but with your own eyes you shall
see your Teacher, While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:
"This is the way; walk in it," when you would turn to the right or to
the left. He will give rain for the seed that you sow in the ground,
And the wheat that the soil produces will be rich and abundant. On that
day your flock will be given pasture and the lamb will graze in
spacious meadows; The oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat
silage tossed to them with shovel and pitchfork. Upon every high
mountain and lofty hill there will be streams of running water. On the
day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall, The light of the moon
will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven
times greater like the light of seven days. On the day the LORD binds
up the wounds of his people, he will heal the bruises left by his
blows.
MATTHEW 9:35-10:1, 5A, 6-8
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their
synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every
disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved
with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep
without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is
abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to
send out laborers for his harvest." Then he summoned his Twelve
disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them
out and to cure every disease and every illness. Jesus sent out these
Twelve after instructing them thus, "Go to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven
is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out
demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."
REFLECTION
The magnificently expressed prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah
sustaining us and safeguarding us in today's first reading is
fulfilled perfectly in Jesus whom we see in today's Gospel reading
visiting, gathering, feeding and healing. We ourselves have had
experience of Jesus entering our lives and sustaining us in moments of
spiritual and physical weakness. Thus graced, we must take seriously
Jesus' mandate, the closing line of today's Gospel reading: "The
gift you have received, give as a gift."
Anyone who waits for the Lord with these words in mind will certainly
experience the happiness of a meaningful Christmas. Believing and
sharing our belief with the dispersed, brokenhearted, and wounded, is
sure to secure for us, this Christmas, a share in the reward pledged by
Jesus in the Book of Revelation and recalled in today's Communion
Antiphon: "I am coming quickly and will repay each man according to
his deeds."
Our faith is not to be squandered. Advent, which prepares the way for
Christmas, should remind us that happiness for those who await the Lord
is secured through actively sharing our faith. How can we accomplish
this? Advent gives us a key. did not God give himself to us in the
Incarnation? Emmanuel, Isaiah's most celebrated prophecy, literally
means, "God-is-with-us." As God gives himself to us in Jesus, we
must give ourselves to others in Jesus' name. Specifically, we can
accomplish this by being people of compassion in the faith that the
Lord does provide. Compassion means reaching out to those who are in
pain, to those who hunger for justice, to those in any need whose lives
we touch, day in and day out, in the neighborhood, in the parish, at
work, in school, wherever human contacts occur.
The Lord provides. This we believe. This we should strive to help
others believe as well.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the speedy recovery and healing of Kim Yao.
- for the speedy recovery and healing of Addie Velasco.
- for the personal intentions and well-being of Gina Ylaya
- In Thanksgiving: Maria Alyssa Martina
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Acero Ambrosio Tan Chew
- Birthday: Sara Lim
- Prayer Intention: Charlene & Manolette Carlos & Family
- In Memoriam (+): Chua Chen
- 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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