Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-01-05

December 1, 2005
Thursday of the First Week in Advent

Psalm: Thursday 51

Reading I
Is 26:1-6

On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah:

“A strong city have we;
he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.
Open up the gates
to let in a nation that is just,
one that keeps faith.
A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace;
in peace, for its trust in you.”

Trust in the LORD forever!
For the LORD is an eternal Rock.
He humbles those in high places,
and the lofty city he brings down;
He tumbles it to the ground,
levels it with the dust.
It is trampled underfoot by the needy,
by the footsteps of the poor.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 118:1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a

R. (26a) Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
R. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Open to me the gates of justice;
I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD.
This gate is the LORD’s;
the just shall enter it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
R. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
R. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 7:21, 24-27

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

From: Isaiah 26:1-6

Songs of Salvation (Continuation)

[1] In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have
a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. [2] Open
the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in.
[3] Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee. [4] Trust in the Lord for ever, for the
Lord God is an everlasting rock. [5] For he has brought low the
inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low
to the ground, casts it to the dust. [6] The foot tramples it, the
feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.”

Commentary:

25:9-26:6. After the celebration of the banquet prepared by God, two
hymns are intoned that will be sung “on that day The first praises the
Lord he is faithful those who put their hope of salvation in him will
never be disappointed, whereas Moab will be laid low on account of its
pride (25:9-12). The second hymn returns (cf. 25:1-5) to the theme of
praise of the Lord for giving refuge to the poor and needy (26:1-6).

26:7-19. Now comes a personal dialogue with God in the form of a
prayer or sapiential psalm (vv. 7-10). Here the greatness of the Lord
is not being described to third parties nor are his works being
praised: the prophet is addressing him directly, to tell him that he
trusts in Him (vv. 7-8), to express his innermost feelings (v. 9a; cf.
Ps 42), to ask him to reveal his righteousness (vv. 9b-10) and
intervene (v. 11) and bring peace (v. 12), and to celebrate enduring
fidelity to the Lord (vv. 13-19). Verse 19 is a ray of hope in
personal resurrection, although here, as in 25:8, it refers to the
resurgence of the nation, as in the vision of the bones restored to
life in the book of Ezekiel (cf. Ezek 37:1-14). Daniel 12:1-3 clearly
predicts the resurrection of people from the dead. Commenting on v.
10, St Bernard addresses God, saying: “Father of mercies, may your
anger be roused against me--the anger that chastens a soul who has
lost his way, not the wrath by which you seal off the path of
righteousness” ("In Cantica Canticorum", 42, 4).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Doing the Will of God

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [21] "Not every one who says to Me,
`Lord, Lord,' shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the
will of My Father who is in Heaven.

Building on Rock

[24] "Every one then who hears these words of Mine and does them will
be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; [25] and the
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that
house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
[26]And every one who hears these words of Mine and does not do them
will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; [27] and
the rain fell, and the floods came, and winds blew and beat against
that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

Commentary:

21-23. To be genuine, prayer must be accompanied by a persevering
effort to do God's will. Similarly, in order to do His will it is not
enough to speak about the things of God: there must be consistency
between what one preaches--what one says--and what one does: "The
Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power" (1 Corinthians
4:20); "Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves"
(James 1:22).

Christians, "holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources,
and joining forces with all who love and practise justice, have
shouldered a weighty task on earth and they must render an account of
it to Him who will judge all men on the last day. Not every one who
says `Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do
the will of the Father, and who manfully put their hands to the work"
(Vatican II, "Gaudium Et Spes", 93).

To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, to be holy, it is not enough, then, to
speak eloquently about holiness. One has to practise what one
preaches, to produce fruit which accords with one's words. Fray Luis
de Leon puts it very graphically: "Notice that to be a good Christian
it is not enough just to pray and fast and hear Mass; God must find you
faithful, like another Job or Abraham, in times of tribulation" ("Guide
for Sinners", Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 21).

Even if a person exercises an ecclesiastical ministry that does not
assure his holiness; he needs to practice the virtues he preaches.
Besides, we know from experience that any Christian (clerical,
religious or lay) who does not strive to act in accordance with the
demands of the faith he professes, begins to weaken in his faith and
eventually parts company also with the teaching of the Church. Anyone
who does not live in accordance with what he says, ends up saying
things which are contrary to faith.

The authority with which Jesus speaks in these verses reveals Him as
sovereign Judge of the living and the dead. No Old Testament prophet
ever spoke with this authority.

22. "That day": a technical formula in biblical language meaning the
day of the Judgment of the Lord or the Last Judgment.

23. This passage refers to the Judgment where Jesus will be the Judge.
The sacred text uses a verb which means the public proclamation of a
truth. Since in this case Jesus Christ is the Judge who makes the
declaration, it takes the form of a judicial sentence.

24-27. These verses constitute the positive side of the previous
passage. A person who tries to put Christ's teaching into practice,
even if he experiences personal difficulties or lives during times of
upheaval in the life of the Church or is surrounded by error, will stay
firm in the faith, like the wise man who builds his house on rock.

Also, if we are to stay strong in times of difficulty, we need, when
things are calm and peaceful, to accept little contradictions with a
good grace, to be very refined in our relationship with God and with
others, and to perform the duties of our state in life in a spirit of
loyalty and abnegation. By acting in this way we are laying down a
good foundation, maintaining the edifice of our spiritual life and
repairing any cracks which make their appearance.

Catholic Culture

Collect:
All-powerful God, increase our strength of will for doing good that Christ may find an eager welcome at his coming and call us to his side in the kingdom of heaven where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Activities:

less

Prayers:

less

December 01, 2005

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you (Isaiah 26:1-3)."

Jesse Tree ~ Abraham

Keep Watch: He Is to Come Again
To prevent his disciples from asking the time of his coming, Christ said: About that hour no one knows, neither the angels nor the Son. It is not for you to know times or moments. He has kept those things hidden so that we may keep watch, each of us thinking that he will come in our own day. If he had revealed the time of his coming, his coming would have lost its savor: it would no longer be an object of yearning for the nations and the age in which it will be revealed. He promised that he would come but did not say when he would come, and so all generations and ages await him eagerly.

Though the Lord has established the signs of his coming, the time of their fulfillment has not been plainly revealed. These signs have come and gone with a multiplicity of change; more than that, they are still present. His final coming is like his first. As holy men and prophets waited for him, thinking that he would reveal himself in their own day, so today each of the faithful longs to welcome him in his own day, because Christ has not made plain the day of his coming.

He has not made it plain for this reason especially, that no one may think that he whose power and dominion rule all numbers and times is ruled by fate and time. He described the signs of his coming; how could what he has himself decided be hidden from him? Therefore, he used these words to increase respect for the signs of his coming, so that from that day forward all generations and ages might think that he would come again in their own day.

Keep watch; when the body is asleep nature takes control of us, and what is done is not done by our will but by force, by the impulse of nature. When deep listlessness takes possession of the soul, for example, faintheartedness or melancholy, the enemy overpowers it and makes it do what it does not will. The force of nature, the enemy of the soul, is in control.

When the Lord commanded us to be vigilant, he meant vigilance in both parts of man: in the body, against the tendency to sleep; in the soul, against lethargy and timidity. As Scripture says: Wake up, you just, and I have risen, and am still with you; and again, do not lose heart. Therefore, having this ministry, we do not lose heart.

2nd Reading from the Office of Readings of the Liturgy of the Hours for Thursday the First Week of Advent, from a commentary on the Diatessaron by Saint Ephrem, deacon

Things to Do:

Don't forget to pray "Hail and Blessed be the hour..., the Christmas Anticipatory Prayer every day until Christmas.
St. Nicholas Day is coming soon. Take time today to plan some activities, foods and little surprises for the shoes or stockings left out on St. Nicholas Eve (December 5). See the activities and recipes on St. Nicholas Day for ideas.
Think of others who aren't as privileged who will be suffering from loneliness, depression, sickness, poverty, etc. during these Advent and Christmas seasons. Make sure your Advent preparations includes some Corporal Works of Mercy for others. Perhaps make an extra batch of St. Nicholas cookies and distribute them to the homeless or the nursing home.

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	This Isn’t a Dress Rehearsal
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Thursday, December 1, 2005

Is 26, 1-6; Mt 7, 21, 24-27

What do you put your trust in? That question can have as many answers, both honest and phony, as there are people. You can imagine the cowpoke in the western movie answering, “I put my trust in this little ole six-gun here.” Or perhaps you might think of the athlete flexing his muscles in response, or the race car driver patting his car in reply, or the banker eyeing his checkbook serenely. The good thing about those responses is that they’re probably all honest. The bad thing about them is that they’re entirely inadequate.

Far too often we treat life as if it were just a dress rehearsal and not the real thing, as if there were an infinite number of days still ahead of us, and we needn’t get serious. Well, of course, that isn’t true. Our days are numbered, this is the real and only chance at a life that we’re going to get, and we’d better decide who and what we can really count on in the long term.

Isaiah gives us the right answer in today’s reading. “Trust in the Lord forever!” he says. “For the Lord is an eternal rock.” Well said: As solid and enduring as an eternal rock, and as gentle as a kindly father. What more could we ask?

Trust Him. He’ll never let you down!

The Word Among Us

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Meditation
Matthew 7:21,24-27

Jesus’ listeners had no problem understanding the seriousness of Jesus’ parable about houses built on sand and rock. Throughout Palestine, torrential rains often fell from November through April, often destroying houses that were not solidly built. As twenty-first century disciples, how can we relate this story to our lives? By asking how we can build our spiritual homes on solid ground.

The first level of our foundation for building is Jesus himself. We can build with confidence as we embrace all of the truths of who Jesus is—all the truths contained in our creed. The second level has to do with our personal development. Are we using our gifts and talents to glorify God at home, at work, and at church? Are we spending time in prayer and Scripture, asking the Holy Spirit to mold us into the image of Christ?

For our final “rock,” we can consider how we are building our relationships in the broader world. Does our kindness build up our friends? Are we taking the right steps in caring for the poor and the unwanted? What about going out to serve and build up the church?

All of this can sound intimidating, but we should remember that building a house is not an overnight project. You construct it brick by brick, day after day, taking it one step at a time. This week, confess that you believe that Jesus is Lord. Then make a list of your gifts and talents. On one side of the paper write down how you are using them to glorify him. Ask yourself how you treat your friends, the poor, and the hurting. How are you serving the church? Then in prayer, ask the Lord if there is just one more thing you can do to help this building project progress. As you become aware of the Lord’s response, write those thoughts down on the other side of the paper. Without even realizing it, you’ll be strengthening yourself against any storms that may come your way.

“Jesus, you are the cornerstone of my life. Help me to build a solid house based on faith and trust in you. Help me to respond to your call by being your hands and feet in this world.”

Isaiah 26:1-6; Psalm 118:1,8-9,19-21,25-27

Mt 7:21-27
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
21	Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.	non omnis qui dicit mihi Domine Domine intrabit in regnum caelorum sed qui facit voluntatem Patris mei qui in caelis est ipse intrabit in regnum caelorum
22	Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?	multi dicent mihi in illa die Domine Domine nonne in nomine tuo prophetavimus et in tuo nomine daemonia eiecimus et in tuo nomine virtutes multas fecimus
23	And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.	et tunc confitebor illis quia numquam novi vos discedite a me qui operamini iniquitatem
24	Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock,	omnis ergo qui audit verba mea haec et facit ea adsimilabitur viro sapienti qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram
25	And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.	et descendit pluvia et venerunt flumina et flaverunt venti et inruerunt in domum illam et non cecidit fundata enim erat super petram
26	And every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,	et omnis qui audit verba mea haec et non facit ea similis erit viro stulto qui aedificavit domum suam supra harenam
27	And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.	et descendit pluvia et venerunt flumina et flaverunt venti et inruerunt in domum illam et cecidit et fuit ruina eius magna

One Bread, One Body

<< Thursday, December 1, 2005 >>

Isaiah 26:1-6

Psalm 118

Matthew 7:21, 24-27

View Readings

ROCK OR ROLL

"It did not collapse." —Matthew 7:25

Two houses are built, one on rock and one on sand. Perhaps the house built on sand looked better than the one built on rock. After all, some gorgeous homes are built on sand by the seashore. In good weather, both houses surely appeared attractive to passersby. In bad weather, however, the beauty of the home is useless in helping the home weather the storm. Not even the quality of the basement, slab, footers, or studs determines whether the house is destroyed or stands firm. It's only what the home rests upon that determines collapse or safety (Mt 7:24-27).

When it comes to building your life, do not "lay a foundation other than the one that has been laid, namely Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 3:11). You may appear attractive and successful to others — until that "rainy season" hits you (Mt 7:25). When tough times come, your life "lies bare and exposed" to all (Heb 4:13). Jesus makes it clear that you will collapse if you have the wrong foundation.

Use this Advent to prepare to meet Jesus anew at Christmas. He comes as a sweet Baby, but He also "is an eternal Rock" (Is 26:4; see also 1 Cor 10:4). Use every precious day of Advent to build your life on Jesus, the Rock of Ages. Put some or all of the following "into practice" (Mt 7:24) this Advent: make an Advent Confession; read the book of Isaiah; devote extra time to prayer, Mass, and eucharistic adoration. Spend extra time reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Make a novena to the Infant Jesus. Pray the rosary daily. Pray with your spouse and children daily.

Winter storms are coming. Only twenty-four rebuilding days remain until Jesus comes at Christmas. Build your life on Jesus.

Prayer: Jesus, I will spend my life doing Your word.

Promise: "A nation of firm purpose You keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in You." —Is 26:3

Praise: Olivia built her life on the sand of good works without Jesus. She found her Lord, and then rebuilt her life on good works because of Jesus.

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