Posted on 12/13/2014 7:04:41 PM PST by Salvation
December 14, 2014
Reading 1 Is 61:1-2a, 10-11
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
Responsorial Psalm Lk 1:46-48, 49-50, 53-54
R/ (Is 61:10b) My soul rejoices in my God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
R/ My soul rejoices in my God.
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
R/ My soul rejoices in my God.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R/ My soul rejoices in my God.
Reading 2 1 Thes 5:16-24
Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
Alleluia Is 61:1 (cited in Lk 4:18)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 1:6-8, 19-28
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘make straight the way of the Lord,’”
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
This Sunday is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday based on the Introit for the day: Gaudete in Domino semper, iterum dico, Gaudete (from Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, Rejoice). This theme is developed most fully in today’s readings in 1 Thessalonians 5:16ff. It, too, begins with the salutation and imperative, “rejoice always!”
Let’s take a closer look at that reading and what is meant by the admonition to “rejoice.”
The text begins, Rejoice always. The Greek word properly translated here as “rejoice” is ÷áßñåôå (chairete). However, more is intended here than to merely rouse ourselves to some sort of the emotional state of joy or happiness. You may note the root word “charis” in “chariete,” and charis refers to grace. Hence chairete means, properly, to delight joyfully in and BY God’s grace, to experience God’s favor (grace), to be conscious of and glad for His grace.
Since it is a work of grace, the gift of this sort of joy is more fully understood as a serene, confident, and stable joy, a joy not rooted merely in the passing moods of our fallen human state.
The text continues further to identify three basic ways that our joy can become both stable and deeply rooted in our personality and psyche. In effect, the text does not merely instruct us to rejoice always, but tells us how this can be done. Let’s look at these three ways.
I. PERSEVERANCE IN PRAISE – The text says, Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Hence we see the first three foundations for rejoicing always. Let’s take them a little out of order.
A. Grateful - In all circumstances give thanks – Thanksgiving is an important discipline that trains our mind to focus on reality. For it so happens that we tend to be negative, perhaps due to our fallen nature. The reality is that every day ten trillion things go right and only a few things go wrong. Now you may think that ten trillion is an exaggeration, but it is not. Consider all the things that have to go right with every cell in your body. Add to that all the many things and factors on this earth, indeed in the whole universe, that must be perfectly balanced in order for you and me to even be here at all, alive and flourishing. Ten trillion is not an exaggeration.
However, if we are not careful, we are going to focus on the five or six things that went wrong today. And, mind you, some of them may feel serious at times (although usually they are not). Nevertheless, even the truly serious mishaps cannot negate the reality of the ten trillion things that have gone right.
Thanksgiving disciplines our mind to focus on the bigger reality of our countless blessings. Even some of the mishaps of a day can actually be blessings in disguise.
Hence we are told to give thanks in all circumstances. Daily thanksgiving disciplines our mind to focus on the astonishing number of blessings. What you feed grows, so if the negative is fed, it will grow. But, if the positive is fed, it will grow and become an important basis of stable joy in our life. Give thanks in all circumstances.
B. Prayerful – Pray without ceasing - Here, too, is a discipline of the mind. Paul does not mean to say that we should stay in a chapel all day. He means that we should lay hold of the normal Christian life, which is to be living in conscious contact with God at every moment of our day. To the degree that we are consciously aware of God’s presence and in a dialogue of love with Him all day, our joy is deeper and becomes more stable. Thus we are able, by this ongoing sense of His presence, to “rejoice always.”
C. Spirit-filled – Do not quench the Spirit - That such gifts (ongoing prayer and thanksgiving) are “God’s will for us,” means that God wants to give us these gifts. Hence we should not quench the Spirit, which bids us to seek these things. Rather, we should heed His promptings and seek these gifts, even pester God for them. Too often we quench the Spirit by not taking seriously the promises He offers us in Christ Jesus. We are not convinced that the Spirit can give us a whole new life and deepen our prayer and gratitude, so we don’t even ask. We also quench the Spirit by cluttering our lives with endless distractions, never sitting still long enough to listen to the small, still voice of God. But if we fan into flame the gifts of God’s love, God the Holy Spirit will kindle a fire in us that will never die away. And as the gifts of His love, including deeper prayer and constant thankfulness, take hold, our joy deepens and we can “rejoice always.”
II. PERSPECTIVE THROUGH PROPHECY – The text says, Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good.
In the first place, “prophetic utterances” refers to Scripture itself. Scripture is a prophetic interpretation of reality. It describes the world as it truly is and sets forth a clear vision. It is an antidote to the muddled and murky suppositions of worldly thinking that, at best, grope in the darkness, and at worst, are deceitful and erroneous. We ought not despise God’s Word in any way, but should accept it wholeheartedly. To the degree that we do so, we are assured of the ultimate victory of God, His truth, and His Kingdom. Our own victory is also set forth in the paschal mystery of God’s Word, wherein every cross, faithfully carried, produces for us a weight of glory beyond all compare (cf 2 Cor 4:17). This vision, this prophetic interpretation of reality, produces in us a serene joy that allows us to “rejoice always.”
“Prophetic utterances” also refers to the teachings of the Church, the words of the Fathers of the Church, and the teachings of the saints down through the ages. There is a great deposit of faith that has been carefully collected and lovingly handed down from apostolic times. The dogmas and doctrines of the faith are like the precious fragments gathered up by the Apostles at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. For the Lord had told them that nothing was to go to waste. And so we, too, ought to seek out every instruction prophetically uttered by Mother Church, allowing nothing to fall to the ground.
The Fathers and saints, too, have left us wondrous testimony that we should neither despise nor ignore. They, along with the Church, utter wisdom and announce victory to every believer. In the laboratory of their own lives, they have tested the Word of God and found it to be true. Added to this number are many trustworthy people in our own time who teach us the Word of God. They include our parents, priests, religious, and holy men and women who have inspired us. And to the degree that we will let the Church and the saints teach us, along with trustworthy souls of our own time, to the degree that we do not despise these prophetic utterances, the foundation of our joy becomes more sure and we can rejoice always.
III. PROGRESS TOWARD PERFECTION - The text says, Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
The greatest source of sorrow in our life, the biggest killer of joy, is our sin. To the degree that we indulge it, our joy is sapped. But to the extent that we allow the Lord to deliver us from sin and make us more and more holy, our joy becomes deeper and more lasting. The words “holy” and “whole” are not far removed from each other. And to the degree that we become more whole, more perfected, more free from sin, more holy and blameless, our joy becomes deeper and we can increasingly “rejoice always.” God will do this for us if we are willing and if we ask Him.
Thus we see that the mandate, the exhortation, to “rejoice always” is far more than a command to whip ourselves up to an emotional high. Rather, it is a stable and serene joy rooted in prayerful gratitude, a mind transformed by God’s truth and a growing holiness. Allow the promise of the Lord to be fulfilled in you. For He has said,
Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (Jn 15:9-11).
This song says, “Joy, Joy, God’s great joy! Joy, Joy, down in my soul. Sweet, beautiful soul-saving joy. Oh Joy! Joy in my soul!”
Play it in a new window while you go to other threads!
3rd Sunday of Advent
Reading I: Isaiah 61:1-2,10-11 II: 1Thessalonians 5:16-24
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20 He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the prophet?" And he answered, "No."
22 They said to him then, "Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"
26 John answered them, "I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know,
27 even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
28 This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John is clearly important - he was sent by God - but he is important precisely as a witness. This emphasis probably reflects some misunderstanding of the Baptist at the time this Gospel was written.
-- Saint Lucy of Syracuse
Just A Minute (Listen) Some of EWTN's most popular hosts and guests in a collection of one minute inspirational messages. A different message each time you click. |
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
Today is the Rite of election. My sponsorette is going to say that she wants to study to join the Church. All I have to do is bless her and say, “Amen.” Pretty excited.
The older I get the more beauty I see in these words. HOW lucky we are to have daily Mass.
I know that we can always read our Scripture, but to HEAR these words spoken and discussed every day of my life is very special. Sunday now means "tithing" day as that is the difference to me since I attend daily Mass.
I should HOPE so. How wonderful for both of you.
You have "stored up a treasure in heaven" with this act, I think.
God bless you both.
We had our Rite of Election last week. Over 25 people coming into our church alone.
Saint John of the Cross,
Priest & Doctor of the Church
Memorial
December 14th
Unknown artist
(1542-1591) Born in a town near Avila, Spain, he joined the Carmelitees in 1563. He was persuaded by St. Teresa of Avila to join her in reforming the Carmelites, and as a result he suffered many tribulations, including imprisonment. During his captivity he wrote the Dark Night of the Soul, a complex and profound work of mysticism. He is a doctor of the Church.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
O God, who gave the Priest Saint John
an outstanding dedication to perfect self-denial
and love of the Cross,
grant that, by imitating him closely at all times,
we may come to contemplate eternally your glory.
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.
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-10a
When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love Him," God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Gospel Reading: Luke 14:25-33
Now great multitudes accompanied Him; and He turned and said to them, "If any one comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build, and was not able to finish". Or what king, going to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an embassy and asks terms of peace. So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Pope Benedict XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Paul VI Audience Hall
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Saint John of the Cross
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In today’s catechesis, we discuss the sixteenth-century Spanish Carmelite mystic, Saint John of the Cross. John was born into a poor family. As a young man he entered the Carmelites and was ordained priest. Soon afterwards, he met Teresa of Avila in what was a decisive encounter for them both, as they discerned plans for reforming the Carmelite Order. He became confessor at Teresa’s monastery, and together they developed a rich articulation of the workings of the Lord upon the soul in the spiritual life. Despite persecution and misunderstanding from within his own Order, John produced some of the most illuminating and insightful treatises in all of Western spirituality. His four major writings are The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, The Spiritual Canticle, and The Living Flame of Love. One of the themes much developed by John was that of the purification of the soul: by means of created things, we can discover traces of the living God in this world. Faith, however, is the unique means by which we can come to know God as he is in himself. The demanding process of purification, at times active and at others passive, requires our determined effort, but it is God who is the real centre; all man can do is dispose himself and humble himself before the loving work of God in the soul. In this sense, John is for us a model of humble dedication and of faithful perseverance on the road to spiritual maturity.
© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
***
Pope John Paul II, who had written his doctoral dissertation on St. John of the Cross, wrote an apostolic letter observing the 400th anniversary of the saint's death. An English translation of this letter is accessible here: http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jpmaster.htm
The processional cross used by Pope John Paul II was closely based on a drawing of the crucifixion by St. John of the Cross.
Congrats both to you and the person you want to sponsor. Did that early this year with someone who finish up her initation into the Church. God Bless.
Some Hard Spiritual Truths That Will Set You Free. A Meditation on a Teaching from St. John of the Cross
Some Hard Spiritual Truths That Will Set You Free. A Meditation on...
A Love for Which He Suffered. A Meditation on the Poem of St. John the Cross: Un Pastorcico [Ecumen]
Ten Steps of Love through the Dark Night -- St. John of the Cross [Catholic Caucus]
On St. John of the Cross
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, St. John of the Cross, Doctor of the Church
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Counting All Else as Lost: The Poetic Life of St. John of the Cross [Catholic Caucus]
Free St. John of the Cross Program [free mp3 audio files series by Fr. Thomas Dubay from EWTN]
St. John of the Cross
Oh my goodness. I had to not look into her eyes the entire time for fear I would start to cry. Kneeling down and making the sign of the cross on her feet just about did it. Doing it on her shoulders made me think of the crosses all of us bear. What a blessing. She thanked me but I thanked her as a source of blessing for me.
John | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
John 1 |
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6. | There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. | Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joannes. | εγενετο ανθρωπος απεσταλμενος παρα θεου ονομα αυτω ιωαννης |
7. | This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. | Hic venit in testimonium ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. | ουτος ηλθεν εις μαρτυριαν ινα μαρτυρηση περι του φωτος ινα παντες πιστευσωσιν δι αυτου |
8. | He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. | Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. | ουκ ην εκεινος το φως αλλ ινα μαρτυρηση περι του φωτος |
[...] | |||
19. | And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: Who art thou? | Et hoc est testimonium Joannis, quando miserunt Judæi ab Jerosolymis sacerdotes et Levitas ad eum ut interrogarent eum : Tu quis es ? | και αυτη εστιν η μαρτυρια του ιωαννου οτε απεστειλαν οι ιουδαιοι εξ ιεροσολυμων ιερεις και λευιτας ινα ερωτησωσιν αυτον συ τις ει |
20. | And he confessed, and did not deny: and he confessed: I am not the Christ. | Et confessus est, et non negavit, et confessus est : Quia non sum ego Christus. | και ωμολογησεν και ουκ ηρνησατο και ωμολογησεν οτι ουκ ειμι εγω ο χριστος |
21. | And they asked him: What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered: No. | Et interrogaverunt eum : Quid ergo ? Elias es tu ? Et dixit : Non sum. Propheta es tu ? Et respondit : Non. | και ηρωτησαν αυτον τι ουν ηλιας ει συ και λεγει ουκ ειμι ο προφητης ει συ και απεκριθη ου |
22. | They said therefore unto him: Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself? | Dixerunt ergo ei : Quis es ut responsum demus his qui miserunt nos ? quid dicis de teipso ? | ειπον ουν αυτω τις ει ινα αποκρισιν δωμεν τοις πεμψασιν ημας τι λεγεις περι σεαυτου |
23. | He said: I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias. | Ait : Ego vox clamantis in deserto : Dirigite viam Domini, sicut dixit Isaias propheta. | εφη εγω φωνη βοωντος εν τη ερημω ευθυνατε την οδον κυριου καθως ειπεν ησαιας ο προφητης |
24. | And they that were sent, were of the Pharisees. | Et qui missi fuerant, erant ex pharisæis. | και οι απεσταλμενοι ησαν εκ των φαρισαιων |
25. | And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? | Et interrogaverunt eum, et dixerunt ei : Quid ergo baptizas, si tu non es Christus, neque Elias, neque propheta ? | και ηρωτησαν αυτον και ειπον αυτω τι ουν βαπτιζεις ει συ ουκ ει ο χριστος ουτε ηλιας ουτε ο προφητης |
26. | John answered them, saying: I baptize with water; but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. | Respondit eis Joannes, dicens : Ego baptizo in aqua : medius autem vestrum stetit, quem vos nescitis. | απεκριθη αυτοις ο ιωαννης λεγων εγω βαπτιζω εν υδατι μεσος δε υμων εστηκεν ον υμεις ουκ οιδατε |
27. | The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. | Ipse est qui post me venturus est, qui ante me factus est : cujus ego non sum dignus ut solvam ejus corrigiam calceamenti. | αυτος εστιν ο οπισω μου ερχομενος ος εμπροσθεν μου γεγονεν ου εγω ουκ ειμι αξιος ινα λυσω αυτου τον ιμαντα του υποδηματος |
28. | These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. | Hæc in Bethania facta sunt trans Jordanem, ubi erat Joannes baptizans. | ταυτα εν βηθανια εγενετο περαν του ιορδανου οπου ην ιωαννης βαπτιζων |
In the Russian iconographic tradition St. John the Baptist is sometimes shown winged, as an expression of his similarity to angels as a messenger and the forerunner of Christ.
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