Thursday, December 28, 2006
5th day, Octave of Christmas
December 29, 2006
5th day, Octave of Christmas
1 JOHN 2:3-11
Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his
commandments. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his
commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps
his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we
may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him
ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved, I am writing no new
commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the
beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. And yet
I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among
you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already
shining. Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is
still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother remains in the light,
and there is nothing in him to cause a fall. Whoever hates his brother
is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is
going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
LUKE 2:22-35
When the days were completed for their purification according to the
law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present
him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every
male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer
the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in
accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man
in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see
death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit
into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to
perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his
arms and blessed God, saying: "Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which
you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the
nations and the glory of your people Israel." The child's father and
mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them
and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is destined for the
fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be
contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
REFLECTION
The temple area teemed with people. It was something like a
marketplace. Jesus, Mary and Joseph came into the Temple area and
immediately were lost in the milling crowds. An ordinary poor couple
with a very young baby: there was really nothing worth noticing. There
were priests and Pharisees among the crowd, rubbing shoulders with the
little family, yet not a single one of these religious elite of God's
own people had any idea this child was "a light to enlighten the
pagans and the glory of [God's] people Israel." It seems very
strange that though every Jew was eagerly waiting and yearning for the
Messiah to come, no one, not even the religious leaders, recognized
him. No one, that is, other than the old man, Simeon, and the old
widow, Anna. God had told Simeon that he would live until his eyes
beheld the Messiah. He was a devout and pious man and the Holy Spirit
was on him, Luke says. Undoubtedly the Spirit inspired Simeon to look
at the earthly reality and see God at work in it. Simeon saw in Jesus
the fulfillment of the messianic promises. He saw much more besides; he
recognized that Jesus' task embraced the salvation not only of the
Jewish people, but of the whole human race.
Let us ask the Spirit to teach us how to look into our daily
experiences and find the task God intends us to fulfill in his plan for
the salvation of all humankind.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Lydia Cu
- Birthday: Francisco Sun
- Prayer Intention: Virgilio & Ma. Concepcion Calimon
- Wedding Anniversary: Butch & Rose Narciso
- Wedding Anniversary: John & Cynthia Tan
- In Memoriam (+): Joaquin Yap
- 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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