Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-09-15 OM, St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoazin

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 12-09-15 | Revised New American Bible

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December 2015

Pope's Intentions

Universal: Experiencing God's mercy, That all may experience the mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving.

Evangelization: Families, That families, especially those who suffer, may find in the birth of Jesus a sign of certain hope.

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Daily Gospel Commentary

Wednesday of the Second week of Advent

Commentary of the day
Saint Bede the Venerable (c.673-735), monk, Doctor of the Church
Homily 12 for Pentecost Eve

"Take my yoke upon your shoulders… Your souls will find rest."

The Holy Spirit will give the righteous perfect peace in eternity. But already now, he gives them very great peace when he enkindles the heavenly fire of love in their heart. For the apostle Paul said: "This hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Rom 5:5) The true and even the only peace of souls in this world consists in being filled with divine love and animated by the hope of heaven to the point of coming to consider the successes and failures of this world as unimportant, of being completely stripped of the desires and lusts of this world, and of rejoicing in the offenses and persecutions suffered for Christ, so that one can say with the apostle Paul: "We boast of our hope for the glory of God. But not only that – we even boast of our afflictions!" (Rom 5:2)

The person who imagines that he will find peace in the enjoyment of the goods of this world, in riches, is mistaken. The frequent troubles here below and even the end of this world should convince that person that he has built the foundations of his peace on sand (Mt 7:26). On the contrary, all who, touched by the breath of the Holy Spirit, have taken upon themselves the very good yoke of God's love and who, following his example, have learned to be gentle and humble of heart, begin now to enjoy a peace, which is already the image of eternal rest.

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Those in the Catholic Church, whom some rebuke for praying to Saints and going on pilgrimages, do not seek any Saint as their savior. Instead, they Seek saints as those whom their Savior loves, and whose intercession and prayer for the seeker He will be content to hear. For His Own sake, He would have those He loves honored. And when they are thus honored for His sake, then the honor that is given them for His sake overflows especially to Himself.

St. Thomas More

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The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 11
28.	Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.	Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos.	δευτε προς με παντες οι κοπιωντες και πεφορτισμενοι καγω αναπαυσω υμας
29.	Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.	Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me, quia mitis sum, et humilis corde : et invenietis requiem animabus vestris.	αρατε τον ζυγον μου εφ υμας και μαθετε απ εμου οτι πραος ειμι και ταπεινος τη καρδια και ευρησετε αναπαυσιν ταις ψυχαις υμων
30.	For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.	Jugum enim meum suave est, et onus meum leve.	ο γαρ ζυγος μου χρηστος και το φορτιον μου ελαφρον εστιν

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28. Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.
30. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

CHRYS; By what He had said, He brought His disciples to have a desire towards Him, showing them His unspeakable excellence; and now He invites them to Him, saying, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden.

AUG; Whence do we all thus labor, but that we are mortal men, bearing vessels of clay which cause us much difficulty. But if the vessels of flesh are straitened, the regions of love will be enlarged. To what end then does He say, Come to me, all you who labor, but that you should not labor?

HILARY; He calls to Him those that were laboring under the hardships of the Law, and those who are burdened with the sins of this world.

JEROME; That the burden of sin is heavy, the Prophet Zachariah bears witness, saying, that wickedness sits upon a talent of lead. And the Psalmist fills it up, your iniquities are grown heavy upon me.

GREG; For a cruel yoke and hard weight of servitude it is to be subject to the things of time, to be ambitious of the things of earth, to cling to falling things, to seek to stand in things that stand not, to desire things that pass away, but to be unwilling to pass away with them. For while all things fly away against our wish, those things which had first harassed the mind in desire of gaining them, now oppress it with fear of losing them.

CHRYS; He said not, Come you, this man and that man, but all whosoever are in trouble, in sorrow, or in sin, not that I may exact punishment of you, but that I may remit your sins. Come you, not that I have need of your glory, but that I seek your salvation. And I will refresh you. Not, I will save you, only; but that is much greater, I will then refresh you, that is, I will set you in all quietness.

RABAN; I will not only take from you your burden, but will satisfy you with inward refreshment.

REMIG; Come, He says not with the feet, but with the life, not in the body, but in faith. For that is a spiritual approach by which any man approaches God; and therefore it follows, Take my yoke upon you.

RABAN; The yoke of Christ is Christ's Gospel which joins and yokes together Jews and Gentiles in the unity of the faith. This we are commanded to take upon us that is, to have in honor; lest perchance setting it beneath us, that is wrongly despising it, we should trample upon it with the miry feet of unholiness; wherefore He adds, learn of me.

AUG; Not to create a world, or to do miracles in that world; but that I am meek and lowly in heart. Would you be great? Begin with the least. Would you build up a mighty fabric of greatness? First think of the foundation of humility; for the mightier building any seek to raise, the deeper let him dig for his foundation. Whither is the summit of our building to rise? To the sight of God.

RABAN; We must learn then from our Savior to be meek in temper, and lowly in mind; let us hurt none, let us despise none, and the virtues which we have strewn in deed let us retain in our heart.

CHRYS; And therefore in beginning the Divine Law He begins with humility, and sets before us a great reward, saying, And you shall find rest for your souls. This is the highest reward, you shall not only be made useful to others, but shall make yourself to have peace; and He gives you the promise of it before it comes, but when it is come, you shall rejoice in perpetual rest. And that they might not be afraid because He had spoken of a burden, therefore He adds, For my yoke is pleasant, and my burden light.

HILARY; He holds forth the inducements of a pleasant yoke, and a light burden, that to them that believe He may afford the knowledge of that good which He alone knows in the Father.

GREG; What burden is it to put upon the neck of our mind that He bids us shun all desire that disturbs, and turn from the toilsome paths of this world?

HILARY; And what is more pleasant than that yoke, what lighter than that burden? To be made better, to abstain from wickedness, to choose the good, and refuse the evil, to love all men, to hate none, to gain eternal things, not to be taken with things present, to be unwilling to do that to another which yourself would be pained to suffer.

RABAN; But how is Christ's yoke pleasant, seeing it was said man above, Narrow is the way which leads to life? That which yoke is entered upon by a narrow entrance is in process of time made broad by the unspeakable sweetness of love.

AUG; So then the they who with an unfearing neck have submitted to the yoke of the Lord endure such hardships and dangers, that they seem beneath to be called not from labor to rest, but from rest to labor. But the Holy Spirit was there who, as the outward man decayed, renewed the inward man day by day, and giving a foretaste of spiritual rest in the rich pleasures of God in the hope of blessedness to come, smoothed all that seemed rough, lightened all that was heavy. Men suffer amputations and burning, that at the price of sharper pain they may be delivered from torments less but more lasting, as boils or swellings. What storms and dangers will not merchants undergo that they may acquire perishing riches? Even those who love not riches endure the same hardships; but those that love them endure the same, but to them they are not hardships. For love makes right easy, and almost nothing all things however dreadful and monstrous. How much more easily then does love do that for true happiness, which avarice does for misery as far as it can?

JEROME; And how is the Gospel lighter than the Law, seeing in the Law murder and adultery, but under the Gospel anger and concupiscence also, are punished? Because by the Law many things are commanded which the Apostle fully teaches us cannot be fulfilled; by the Law works are required, by the Gospel the will is sought for, which even if it goes not into act, yet does not lose its reward. The Gospel commands what we can do, as that we lust not; this is in our own power; the Law punishes not the will but the act, as adultery Suppose a virgin to have been violated in time of persecution, as here was not the will she is held as a virgin under the Gospel; under the Law she is cast out as defiled.

Catena Aurea Matthew 11

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Christ Carrying the Cross

Vincenzo Catena

1520s
Oil on panel, 47 x 38 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

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Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Hermit

Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Hermit
Optional Memorial
December 9th

unknown artist

 

 St Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548). Little is known about the life of Juan Diego before his conversion, but tradition and archaelogical and iconographical sources, along with the most important and oldest indigenous document on the event of Guadalupe, "El Nican Mopohua" (written in Náhuatl with Latin characters, 1556, by the Indigenous writer Antonio Valeriano), give some information on the life of the saint and the apparitions.

Juan Diego was born in 1474 with the name "Cuauhtlatoatzin" ("the talking eagle") in Cuautlitlán, today part of Mexico City, Mexico. He was a gifted member of the Chichimeca people, one of the more culturally advanced groups living in the Anáhuac Valley.

When he was 50 years old he was baptized by a Franciscan priest, Fr Peter da Gand, one of the first Franciscan missionaries. On December 9, 1531, when Juan Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to the Bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The Bishop, who did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. On 12 December, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac. Here, the Blessed Mother told him to climb the hill and to pick the flowers that he would find in bloom. He obeyed, and although it was winter time, he found roses flowering. He gathered the flowers and took them to Our Lady who carefully placed them in his mantle and told him to take them to the Bishop as "proof". When he opened his mantle, the flowers fell on the ground and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed Mother, the apparition at Tepeyac.

With the Bishop's permission, Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a small hut near the chapel where the miraculous image was placed for veneration. Here he cared for the church and the first pilgrims who came to pray to the Mother of Jesus.

Much deeper than the "exterior grace" of having been "chosen" as Our Lady's "messenger", Juan Diego received the grace of interior enlightenment and from that moment, he began a life dedicated to prayer and the practice of virtue and boundless love of God and neighbour. He died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe, Mexico City.

The miraculous image, which is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. She is supported by an angel whose wings are reminiscent of one of the major gods of the traditional religion of that area. The moon is beneath her feet and her blue mantle is covered with gold stars. The black girdle about her waist signifies that she is pregnant. Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact that Christ is to be "born" again among the peoples of the New World, and is a message as relevant to the "New World" today as it was during the lifetime of Juan Diego.

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20020731_juan-diego_en.html

 

Collect:
O God, who by means of Saint Juan Diego showed
the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for your people,
grant, through his intercession,
that, by following the counsels our Mother gave at Guadalupe,
we may be ever constant in fulfilling your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

Readings from the Common of Holy Men and Women

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[Saint] Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin [Catholic Caucus]
Miracle that Brought Gospel to Millions of Mexicans
St. Juan Diego's tilma: "completely outside" science
Science Sees What Mary Saw From Juan Diego’s Tilma
Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady
Why Juan Diego is an American Saint
Pope Canonizes American Indian Saint
Blessed Juan Diego: A Model of Humility
Canonization of Juan Diego drawing Texans to Mexico City
Pope to Visit Mexico in July to Canonize Juan Diego.

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Information: St. Juan Diego

Feast Day: December 9

Born: 1474, Tlayacac, Cuauhtitlan, Mexico

Died: May 30, 1548, Tenochtitlan, Mexico City, Mexico

Canonized: July 31, 2002, Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico by Pope John Paul II

Major Shrine: Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico

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Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

Saint Juan Diego

Feast Day: December 09
Born: 1474 :: Died: 1548

Juan Diego was born in Mexico and lived a simple life as a weaver, farmer and laborer. Juan was a member of the Chichimeca people (an Indian tribe). They called him the talking eagle. His Christian name was Juan Diego.

On December 9, 1531, Juan rose before dawn to walk fifteen miles to Mexico City to attend daily Mass. As he passed Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud encircled by a rainbow. A woman's voice called him to the top of the hill.

There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She said she was the Virgin Mary and Mother of the true God. She asked Juan to tell the bishop to build a church on that site, so she could be present to help and defend those were suffering and in pain.

After Juan's mission was completed, he became a hermit. He spent the rest of his life in prayer and penance.

His little hut was near the first chapel that was built on Tepeyac Hill. He was greatly respected and parents wished their children would grow up to be holy like Juan Diego.

Juan took care of the little church and met the pilgrims who began to come there to honor their Mother of Guadalupe. He would show them the miraculous tilma or cloak that preserves Mary's beautiful image.

The pope personally visited the magnificent church of Our Lady of Guadalupe and prayed there for all of the people of Mexico.

He prayed especially for those who were killed during the terrible persecution of the Church in the early part of this century. An he prayed for all the pilgrims who come to this beautiful church with such faith in the Mother of God.

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CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Wednesday, December 9

Liturgical Color: Violet

Today is the optional memorial of St. Juan
Diego. On this day in 1531, the Blessed
Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego,
requesting a church be built at the site
where Our Lady appeared.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Advent: December 9th

Optional Memorial of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (USA)

MASS READINGS

December 09, 2015 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who by means of Saint Juan Diego showed the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for your people, grant, through his intercession, that, by following the counsels our Mother gave at Guadalupe, we may be ever constant in fulfilling your will. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (8)

• Empanadas
• Mexican Chicken with Fruits
• Mexican Cold Fish
• Mexican Fritters
• Mexican Rice
• Mole Poblano
• Rose Petal Coconut Cake
• Rose Petal Pound Cake

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Activities (4)

• Namedays
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: December
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: December
• What is a Nameday?

show

Prayers (8)

• Advent Wreath Prayers I
• Advent Wreath Prayers II
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (2nd Plan)
• December Devotion: The Immaculate Conception
• Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Prayer to Jesus Christ for Immigrants
• Christmas Anticipation Prayer
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (1st Plan)

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Library (1)

• On The Canonization Of First Native American | Bishops' Commissions for Indigenous Peoples and for Social Welfare

Other Titles: St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

Today the Church in the United States celebrates the optional memorial of St. Juan Diego, an Indian convert, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared as he was going to Mass in Tlatlelolco, Mexico. Our Lady asked him to tell the Bishop that she desired a shrine to be built on the spot to manifest her love for all mankind. She left a marvelous portrait of herself on the mantle of Juan Diego as a sign for the Bishop. This miraculous image has proved to be ageless, and is kept in the shrine built in her honor, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas.

Jesse Tree ~ Moses

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St. Juan Diego
Little is known about the life of Juan Diego before his conversion, but tradition and archaelogical and iconographical sources, along with the most important and oldest indigenous document on the event of Guadalupe, "El Nican Mopohua" (written in Náhuatl with Latin characters, 1556, by the Indigenous writer Antonio Valeriano), give some information on the life of the saint and the apparitions.

Juan Diego was born in 1474 with the name "Cuauhtlatoatzin" ("the talking eagle") in Cuautlitlán, today part of Mexico City, Mexico. He was a gifted member of the Chichimeca people, one of the more culturally advanced groups living in the Anáhuac Valley.

When he was 50 years old he was baptized by a Franciscan priest, Fr. Peter da Gand, one of the first Franciscan missionaries. On December 9, 1531, when Juan Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to the Bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The Bishop, who did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. On December 12, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac. Here, the Blessed Mother told him to climb the hill and to pick the flowers that he would find in bloom. He obeyed, and although it was winter time, he found roses blooming. He gathered the flowers and took them to Our Lady who carefully placed them in his mantle and told him to take them to the Bishop as "proof". When he opened his mantle, the flowers fell on the ground and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed Mother, the apparition at Tepeyac.

With the Bishop's permission, Juan Diego lived the rest of his life as a hermit in a small hut near the chapel where the miraculous image was placed for veneration. Here he cared for the church and the first pilgrims who came to pray to the Mother of Jesus.

Much deeper than the exterior grace of having been chosen as Our Lady's messenger, Juan Diego received the grace of interior enlightenment and from that moment, he began a life dedicated to prayer and the practice of virtue and boundless love of God and neighbour. He died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Santa Maria di Guadalupe, Mexico City.

The miraculous image, which is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shows a woman with native features and dress. She is supported by an angel whose wings are reminiscent of one of the major gods of the traditional religion of that area. The moon is beneath her feet and her blue mantle is covered with gold stars. The black girdle about her waist signifies that she is pregnant. Thus, the image graphically depicts the fact that Christ is to be "born" again among the peoples of the New World, and is a message as relevant to the "New World" today as it was during the lifetime of Juan Diego.

Patron: Mexico.

Symbols: Pictured carrying a tilma full of roses.

Things to Do:

• Read Pope John Paul II's homily at the canonization of St. Juan Diego.

• Pray to St. Juan Diego for migrant Mexican workers who come to the USA trying to support their families.

• If you know of a Mexican family who may need your help, surprise them with a food basket or offer them a ride if they don't have a car. If you speak Spanish, see if they need an interpreter for an important appointment.

• Meditate on Our Lady's beautiful words to St. Juan Diego: "Hear and let it penetrate into your heart, my dear little son; let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you. Let nothing alter your heart or your countenance. Also, do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else that you need?"

• Cook some Mexican dishes for dinner and bake a Rose Petal Pound Cake or other rose theme for dessert in honor of St. Juan Diego.

• From the Catholic Culture Library:
  • On The Canonization Of First Native American

  • Mexico Has Seen a Great Light

  • Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

• Recommended Reading: For children: The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola. For adults: The Wonder of Guadalupe by Francis Johnston.

• For music for Juan Diego's and Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast, see www.savae.org. The San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble have two cds of authentic music by Mexican medieval composers. Very beautiful!

• Visit Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas for detailed accounts on the apparition to Juan Diego. You can also send online cards from this site. See also Patron Saints Index.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 11:28-30

Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (Optional Memorial)

Come to me … and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

Do you feel restless as Christmas approaches? If so, these words from Jesus are meant for you. Why did he invite people to rest in him? Maybe he saw how weary they were or how frustrated they felt at not seeing much fruit from their labors. Perhaps he noticed the burdens they were carrying—family challenges, guilt over past sins, or fears for their future. How many of us have felt this way as well!

The good news is that Jesus understands our need for rest. Remember, he often experienced fatigue and difficulties himself. His physical tiredness came from walking miles in the heat, surrounded by crowds of people wanting something from him. But he also felt a spiritual burden, knowing that he would eventually be rejected by many of these same people and condemned to a painful death.

How did Jesus deal with all this stress? By going away to rest in his Father’s presence—sometimes all night long (Luke 6:12). Jesus knew that his mission required that he do the hard work of preaching and teaching and healing, but he also knew that it required time apart with his Father so that he could continue on the path laid out for him.

Similarly, God has specific work that he wants us to do, and it can be demanding at times, especially as Christmas Day draws nearer. That’s why we have to make time to get away, just to be with Jesus, to receive his rest, his comfort, and his grace. This can pose a challenge to us, but it is so important that we need to make sure we do it. If only for a few moments at a time, we need to put aside our long Christmas to-do lists and postpone all those pressing demands. Think about how refreshing a quick nap can be. Think of how helpful it can be to get outside for a short walk. Now imagine how much more refreshing it can be to spend just a few moments with Jesus!

Today, take time to rest quietly in the Lord’s presence. Put the Christmas demands out of your mind—at least for a moment. Don’t worry about saying anything. Just relax, and soak up his love.

“Lord, I rest in you. Come and fill me up!”

Isaiah 40:25-31
Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for December 9, 2015:

"Prayer increases the strength and spiritual unity of the family, helping the family to partake of God's own 'strength'." -- St. John Paul II, Letter to Families. A great encouragement to pray together as a family today!

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Regnum Christi

The Yoke of Love

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

December 9, 2015. Wednesday of the Second Week in Advent

 

By Father Walter Schu, LC

 

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you know the sincerity of my desire to spend this time with you. As I begin this meditation, I believe that you are here with me, that you never abandon me. Because I love you, my one wish is to please and console you in your solitude in the tabernacle. I hope in the boundless mercy that motivated your incarnation. May we one day meet again in your heavenly kingdom.

Petition: Mary, you who are the perfect model of humility, help me to be meek and humble like Christ your Son, who out of love for me became a helpless infant at Bethlehem.

1. Who Is This Man? Who is this man who stands before us in this Gospel—the man whose gaze has penetrated into the most secret recesses of our souls and discovered what lies hidden there? A man who recognizes that we labor, that we are burdened by the demands of life, weighed down by our sins and imperfections, straining under the load of our passions and unfulfilled desires. Who is this man who would dare promise what we have always longed for in the inner sanctuaries of our consciences, yet never quite allowed ourselves to hope for? Who could utter such a simple, gentle, and appealing invitation, more than we could ever find ourselves worthy of: “Come to me… and I will give you rest”? Who but God himself?

2. How Can We Come to Him? How can we accept the invitation of the one who is God become man? How can we come to him? How can we attain what our souls have longed for all the days of our existence? Christ himself gives us the answer: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” He is so humble that he does not even wait for us to respond to his invitation. He humbles himself so that he can first come to us at Christmas. To discover how to turn to him with our heavy burden of selfishness and unrestrained passions, we can first approach the manger where the King of Kings lies so helplessly.

3. A Mystery of Humility and Love: Bethlehem is a mystery of humility and love. Doesn’t Christ seem humble to you, reduced to the state of a helpless infant? Without words or speeches he teaches a living lesson we need to feel with all the intensity of which we are capable, allowing the consequences to spring forth on their own. Can we imagine any other state in which the goodness and humility of God radiate more clearly? Before this helpless child, who is God Incarnate out of love for us, we are reduced to silent wonder. All vain ambitions fade, all anger and bitter passion soften and all idle pursuits are driven far from our hearts. The yoke that burdened us, the rod of our taskmaster, is smashed and it is replaced by the light and easy yoke of love.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me to penetrate more deeply into the mystery of your becoming a helpless and innocent child at Bethlehem for me. Help me to grow in goodness of heart so I can radiate your goodness to those around me.

Resolution: On my way to and from work today, I will contemplate Christ meek and humble in the manger at Bethlehem. I will imitate his loving humility in my own life and have the confidence to turn to him for help with my failings.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

December 9, 2015

In the Gospel reading Jesus invites us to go to him to refresh ourselves from fatigue and to ask for his help to lighten and to enable us to carry our life burdens and concerns.

Jesus invites us to learn from him, “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest.” He does not promise to carry our burdens. He invites is to learn from him how to carry our life burdens.

How did Jesus manage problems, difficulties and problems in his life? His followers were slow in learning from him, his own towns-folk did not receive him and his teaching well, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law saw him as a threat, hated him and eventually plotted to kill him.

So often we see Jesus going off by himself at night to pray to his heavenly Father. On the night before he died we see him in prayer and agony in the garden, “Father, if it is your will, remove this cup from me; still not my will but yours be done.” He surrendered all to the Father’s will.

We hesitate to be humble and to trust in God rather than in our own strength. Our difficulties and trials make us approach God for his help and support and bring us closer to him, in the way we see Jesus in his trials and challenges on earth. With God’s grace and help, everything is possible for us.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 1

<< Wednesday, December 9, 2015 >>

St. Juan Diego

Isaiah 40:25-31
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Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10

Matthew 11:28-30
Similar Reflections

RESTING WITH THE YOKE ON

"Take My yoke upon your shoulders and learn from Me." —Matthew 11:29

Because God doesn't grow weary (Is 40:28), and because we belong to God (Rm 14:7-8) and abide in God (Jn 15:4), His Word assures us that we won't grow weary when we do His will (Is 40:29). God gives us strength as we bear the burden we are meant to bear, which is His yoke (Mt 11:29). The strength we need, and the rest we need, comes as we do His will.

Jesus came to remove the oppressive yoke of our sins, which burdens and weighs us down. He replaces that sinful yoke with His yoke, what He terms "My burden" (Mt 11:30). Jesus shares the yoke with us (and does most of the work) and even calls our burden "His" burden. Thus we "find rest" in bearing the burdens of this yoke by coming to Jesus, Who is right beside us in the other loop of the yoke. We can't physically distance ourselves from Him, since He is yoked right next to us. However, most married couples can appreciate that someone can be right next to you, yet a million miles away. Therefore, we find rest by coming to Jesus, Who is right next to us, with humility, gratitude, and our full attention.

We have a choice to make in bearing Jesus' yoke. We can regard it as a cross to bear and "say, 'What a burden!' " (Mal 1:13) In this mindset, we might be following Jesus, but complaining and grumbling like the Israelites in the desert (see Nm 14:2ff). Alternatively, we can come to Jesus (Mt 11:28), accept His strength and help, and willingly go wherever He takes us. If we do this, we will find rest _ right in the midst of bearing His burden.

Prayer: Father, may I always "strive to enter into [Your] rest" (Heb 4:11) and thus find Your strength.

Promise: "He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your ills." —Ps 103:3

Praise: St. Juan Diego's humble obedience conquered the New World more than all the conquistadors combined.

[Salvation]