Saturday, December 22, 2012
4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT – C
DECEMBER 23, 2012
4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT – C
Mi 5:1-4a / Heb 10:5-10 / Lk 1:39-45
MICAH 5:1-4A
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, from the ancient times. Yahweh, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of his deported brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand and shepherd his flock with the strength of Yahweh, in the glorious Name of Yahweh, his God. They will live safely while he wins renown to the ends of the earth. He shall be peace.
HEBREWS 10:5-10
This is why on entering the world, Christ says: You did not desire sacrifice and offering; you were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said: "Here I am. It was written of me in the scroll. I will do your will, O God." First he says: Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire nor were you pleased with them—although they were required by the Law. Then he says: Here I am to do your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the body of Christ Jesus.
LUKE 1:39-45
Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with holy spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, "You are most blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord's word would come true!"
REFLECTION
The Visitation made by our Blessed Mother Mary to her cousin Elizabeth may indeed be considered a classic case of selflessness in imitation of God who gives Godself through his Son Jesus Christ to become one with humanity. She herself was in a delicate stage as she was found to be pregnant with Jesus. But still, this did not deter her from thinking of the situation of others. In particular, she did not mind undertaking the arduous travel to her cousin to simply be of assistance to her.
She then poses a challenge to all of us. Can we readily follow her example? As always, easier said than done. Yet we have to begin with ourselves. Are we willing to truly forget ourselves for the sake of others who may actually be in a worse condition compared to us?
Mary's selflessness may then be a challenge to all especially those who are in leadership positions as they are tasked to be more mindful of the welfare of the common good so that the situation of majority of our people may somehow improve. The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen and thus, will mean a more difficult life for those in the lower classes in society to meet even their basic needs. It is really time to be more selfless by sharing more of what we have.
May the example of our Blessed Mother challenge us to truly move toward selflessness so that others may truly benefit and thus hopefully remember how God continues to take care of them. We pray in a very special way for leaders to be more concerned with the common good and be more effective by leading by example.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
…In Thanksgiving: Ma. Theresa O. Bernardo
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Catherine Pasquella
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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© 2012 Daily-Homily
4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT – C
Mi 5:1-4a / Heb 10:5-10 / Lk 1:39-45
MICAH 5:1-4A
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, so small that you are hardly named among the clans of Judah, from you shall I raise the one who is to rule over Israel. For he comes forth from of old, from the ancient times. Yahweh, therefore, will abandon Israel until such time as she who is to give birth has given birth. Then the rest of his deported brothers will return to the people of Israel. He will stand and shepherd his flock with the strength of Yahweh, in the glorious Name of Yahweh, his God. They will live safely while he wins renown to the ends of the earth. He shall be peace.
HEBREWS 10:5-10
This is why on entering the world, Christ says: You did not desire sacrifice and offering; you were not pleased with burnt offerings and sin offerings. Then I said: "Here I am. It was written of me in the scroll. I will do your will, O God." First he says: Sacrifice, offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire nor were you pleased with them—although they were required by the Law. Then he says: Here I am to do your will. This is enough to nullify the first will and establish the new. Now, by this will of God, we are sanctified once and for all by the sacrifice of the body of Christ Jesus.
LUKE 1:39-45
Mary then set out for a town in the hill country of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with holy spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, "You are most blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who believed that the Lord's word would come true!"
REFLECTION
The Visitation made by our Blessed Mother Mary to her cousin Elizabeth may indeed be considered a classic case of selflessness in imitation of God who gives Godself through his Son Jesus Christ to become one with humanity. She herself was in a delicate stage as she was found to be pregnant with Jesus. But still, this did not deter her from thinking of the situation of others. In particular, she did not mind undertaking the arduous travel to her cousin to simply be of assistance to her.
She then poses a challenge to all of us. Can we readily follow her example? As always, easier said than done. Yet we have to begin with ourselves. Are we willing to truly forget ourselves for the sake of others who may actually be in a worse condition compared to us?
Mary's selflessness may then be a challenge to all especially those who are in leadership positions as they are tasked to be more mindful of the welfare of the common good so that the situation of majority of our people may somehow improve. The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen and thus, will mean a more difficult life for those in the lower classes in society to meet even their basic needs. It is really time to be more selfless by sharing more of what we have.
May the example of our Blessed Mother challenge us to truly move toward selflessness so that others may truly benefit and thus hopefully remember how God continues to take care of them. We pray in a very special way for leaders to be more concerned with the common good and be more effective by leading by example.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
…In Thanksgiving: Ma. Theresa O. Bernardo
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Catherine Pasquella
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2012 Daily-Homily
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 4:50 AM 
