Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-20-05

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 12-20-05 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

December 20, 2005
Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Advent

Psalm: Tuesday 2

Reading I
Is 7:10-14

The LORD spoke to Ahaz:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary men,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

R. (see 7c and 10b) Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.

Gospel
Lk 1:26-38

In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.

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The Season of Advent -- 2005 -- Praying Each Day

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Advent 2005 – He Comes! The King of Glory

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The Christmas Novena

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What are the “O Antiphons”?

The Great Advent Antiphons

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A blessed Christmas to all!

 

Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,

with the harp and melodious song.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn,

sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.

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[Salvation]

From: Isaiah 7:10-14


The Sign of Immanu-el (Continuation)

---

[10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, [11] ”Ask a sign of the Lord your
God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” [12] But Ahaz said,
“I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” [13] And he
said, “Hear then, 0 house of David! Is it too little for you to weary
men, that you weary my God also? [14] Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bean a son,
and shall call his name Immanu-el."

---

Commentary:


7:10-17. Even though the king did not listen, the Lord offers him a
sign that he has no reason to fear the threats made by the kings of
Israel and Syria: a maiden will conceive and bear a son, who will be
called Immanuel; within a few years, before the boy reaches the age of
reason, the two kingdoms that Ahaz fears will be laid low, and Judah
will enjoy even greater prosperity than it had prior to the Assyrian threat.

The prophet’s words, which at the time and taken literally would have
been easy enough for the protagonists to understand, can have further
significance: and as Revelation develops this becomes clearer. Verse
14 has three elements in it which, taken separately and together, can
be read as a sign of peace and salvation--the mother, the child, and
his name; “Immanuel”. The mother is a maiden, that is, a young woman
who has had no children previously. This could refer to the young wife
of Ahaz or to some other young woman. In any event, by setting her
pregnancy in the context of a sign given to the king, the point is
that something quite important is involved. It is not surprising,
therefore, that, to stress this, later interpreters, particularly
those who translated the text into Greek in the second century BC,
translated the Hebrew word for “young woman” into the Greek word for
“virgin”. Later, the evangelists St Matthew (Mt 1:23) and St Luke (Lk
1:26-31) indicated that the virginity of Mary was the sign that her
son was the Messiah, the true God with us, who brings salvation.


The child, the son, is the most significant part of the sign. If the
prophecy refers to the son of Ahaz, the future King Hezekiah, it would
be indicating that his birth will be a sign of divine protection,
because it will mean that the dynasty will continue. If it refers to
another child, not yet known, the prophet’s words would mean that the
child’s birth could manifest hope that “God was going to be with us”, and his
reaching the age of discretion (v. 16) would indicate the advent of
peace; the child’s birth would, then, be the sign that “God is with
us”. In the New Testament, the deeper meaning of these words find
fulfillment: Mary is Virgin and Mother, and her Son is not a symbol of
God’s protection but God himself who dwells among us.


The word “Immanuel" is a prophetic indication of the revelation that
the child’s birth implies, just as the names of Isaiah’s sons also
contain revelation--Shear-jashub, which means “a remnant shall return”
(7:3), and Mahershalal-hash-baz, meaning “the spoil speeds, the prey
hastens” (8:1-3). In the New Testament, the name conveys the joyful
news that Jesus is truly “God
with us”.


Christian tradition has treated this lsaian oracle with great
reverence: “Learn from the prophet himself how all this could come to
pass. Does it, perhaps, follow the laws of nature? Absolutely not,
replies the prophet: 'Behold, a virgin.... What a miracle! A virgin
will become a mother and remain a virgin! [...] It is fitting that he
who enters into human life to save all mankind [...] should be born of
a woman of perfect integrity who has given herself wholly to Him” (St
Gregory of Nyssa, "In Diem Natalem Christi", 1136).


Therefore, expounding the Church’s interpretation, the Second Vatican
Council has this to say: “The Holy Scriptures of both the Old and the
New Testament, as well as ancient Tradition, show the role of the
Mother of the Savior in the economy of salvation in an ever clearer
light and draw attention to it. The books of the Old Testament
describe the history of salvation, by which the coming of Christ into
the world was slowly prepared. These earliest documents, as they are
read in the Church and are understood in the light of a further and
full revelation, bring the figure of the woman, Mother of the
Redeemer, into a gradually clearer light. When it is looked at in this
way, she is already prophetically foreshadowed in the promise of
victory over the serpent which was given to our first parents after
their fall into sin (cf.Gen 3:15). Likewise she is the Virgin who
shall conceive and bear a son, whose name will be called Immanuel (Is
7:14; Mic 5:2-3; Mt 1:22-23). She stands out among the poor and humble
of the Lord, who confidently hope for and receive salvation from Him.
With her the exalted Daughter of Sion, and after a long expectation of
the promise, the times are fulfilled and the new economy established,
when the Son of God took a human nature from her, that He might in the
mysteries of His flesh free man from sin” ("Lumen Gentium", 55).


The fact that the oracle was spoken in a specific historical context
does not mean that it does not have a more transcendental that is,
messiahnic meaning; in the light of salvation history, past events
should be read as part of God’s plan of salvation and of its climax, the
advent of Jesus Christ. Only by adopting this viewpoint can we see
that what happened in the Old Testament, taken as a whole and many of
the stages in it, are a prophecy of New Testament events, a
“preparation for the Gospel”. Therefore, a Christian reading of the
text, Which in a way enjoys “hindsight" and gives a messianic
interpretation to the Immanuel Oracle, is perfectly compatible with
its literal meaning.


The Words of the prophet, which find fulfillment in Christ, have been
given many lovely spiritual interpretations: “This Immanuel, born of the
Virgin, eats curds and honey, and asks each of us to provide him with
the curds that he eats [...]. Our good deeds, our sweet and noble
words, are the honey eaten by the Immanuel born of the Virgin [...].
For truly he consumes our good words and intentions and actions, and
feeds us, in turn, with a spiritual food that is greater and divine.
As soon as we realize that to welcome the Savior is a blessing, and open
wide the doors of our hearts, we will prepare for him the ‘honey’ and
all his feast, and he will bring us to the great feast of the Father
in the kingdom of heaven, that is in Christ Jesus" (Origen, "Homilae
In Isaiam", 2, 2).

---

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.

[Salvation]

From: Luke 1:26-38


The Annunciation and Incarnation of the Son of God

---

[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city
of Galilee named Nazareth, [27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
[28] And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is
with you!" [29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and
considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. [30] And
the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God. [31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus. [32] He will be great,
and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give
to Him the throne of His father David, [33] and He will reign over the
house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there will be no end."
[34] And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no
husband?" [35] And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come
upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore
the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [36] And
behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a
son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37]
For with God nothing will be impossible." [38] And Mary said, "Behold,
I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your
word." And the angel departed from her.

---

Commentary:


26-38. Here we contemplate our Lady who was "enriched from the first
instant of her conception with the splendor of an entirely unique
holiness; [...] the virgin of Nazareth is hailed by the heralding
angel, by divine command, as `full of grace' (cf. Luke 1:28), and to
the heavenly messenger she replies, `Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
be it done unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38). Thus the
daughter of Adam, Mary, consenting to the word of God, became the
Mother of Jesus. Committing herself wholeheartedly to God's saving
will and impeded by no sin, she devoted herself totally, as a handmaid
of the Lord, to the person and work of her Son, under and with Him,
serving the mystery of Redemption, by the grace of Almighty God.
Rightly, therefore, the Fathers (of the Church) see Mary not merely as
passively engaged by God, but as freely cooperating in the work of
man's salvation through faith and obedience" (Vatican II, "Lumen
Gentium", 56).


The annunciation to Mary and incarnation of the Word constitute the
deepest mystery of the relationship between God and men and the most
important event in the history of mankind: God becomes man, and will
remain so forever, such is the extent of His goodness and mercy and
love for all of us. And yet on the day when the Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity assumed frail human nature in the pure womb of the
Blessed Virgin, it all happened quietly, without fanfare of any kind.


St. Luke tells the story in a very simple way. We should treasure
these words of the Gospel and use them often, for example, practising
the Christian custom of saying the Angelus every day and reflecting on
the five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.


27. God chose to be born of a virgin; centuries earlier He disclosed
this through the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-23). God,
"before all ages made choice of, and set in her proper place, a mother
for His only-begotten Son from whom He, after being made flesh, should
be born in the blessed fullness of time: and He continued His
persevering regard for her in preference to all other creatures, to
such a degree that for her alone He had singular regard" (Pius IX,
"Ineffabilis Deus," 2). This privilege granted to our Lady of being a
virgin and a mother at the same time is a unique gift of God. This was
the work of the Holy Spirit "who at the conception and the birth of
the Son so favored the Virgin Mother as to impart fruitfulness to her
while preserving inviolate her perpetual virginity" ("St. Pius V
Catechism," I, 4, 8). Paul VI reminds us of this truth of faith: "We
believe that the Blessed Mary, who ever enjoys the dignity of
virginity, was the Mother of the incarnate Word, of our God and Savior
Jesus Christ" ("Creed of the People of God", 14).


Although many suggestions have been made as to what the name Mary
means, most of the best scholars seem to agree that Mary means "lady".
However, no single meaning fully conveys the richness of the name.


28. "Hail, full of grace": literally the Greek text reads "Rejoice!",
obviously referring to the unique joy over the news which the angel is
about to communicate.


"Full of grace": by this unusual form of greeting the archangel reveals
Mary's special dignity and honor. The Fathers and Doctors of the
Church "taught that this singular, solemn and unheard-of-greeting
showed that all the divine graces reposed in the Mother of God and that
she was adorned with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit", which meant
that she "was never subject to the curse", that is, was preserved from
all sin. These words of the archangel in this text constitute one of
the sources which reveal the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception (cf.
Pius IX, "Ineffabilis Deus"; Paul VI, "Creed of the People of God").


"The Lord is with you!": these words are not simply a greeting ("the
Lord be with you") but an affirmation ("the Lord is with you"), and
they are closely connected with the Incarnation. St. Augustine
comments by putting these words on the archangel's lips: "He is more
with you than He is with me: He is in your heart, He takes shape within
you, He fills your soul, He is in your womb" ("Sermo De Nativitate
Domini", 4).


Some important Greek manuscripts and early translations add at the end
of the verse: "Blessed are you among women!", meaning that God will
exalt Mary over all women. She is more excellent than Sarah, Hannah,
Deborah, Rachel, Judith, etc., for only she has the supreme honor of
being chosen to be the Mother of God.


29-30. Our Lady is troubled by the presence of the archangel and by the
confusion truly humble people experience when they receive praise.


30. The Annunciation is the moment when our Lady is given to know the
vocation which God planned for her from eternity. When the archangel
sets her mind at ease by saying, "Do not be afraid, Mary," he is
helping her to overcome that initial fear which a person normally
experiences when God gives him or her a special calling. The fact that
Mary felt this fear does not imply the least trace of imperfection in
her: hers is a perfectly natural reaction in the face of the
supernatural. Imperfection would arise if one did not overcome this
fear or rejected the advice of those in a position to help--as St.
Gabriel helped Mary.


31-33. The archangel Gabriel tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is
to be the Mother of God by reminding her of the words of Isaiah which
announced that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, a prophecy which
will find its fulfillment in Mary (cf. Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 7:14).


He reveals that the Child will be "great": His greatness comes from His
being God, a greatness He does not lose when He takes on the lowliness
of human nature. He also reveals that Jesus will be the king of the
Davidic dynasty sent by God in keeping with His promise of salvation;
that His Kingdom will last forever, for His humanity will remain
forever joined to His divinity; that "He will be called Son of the Most
High", that is that He really will be the Son of the Most High and will
be publicly recognized as such, that is, the Child will be the Son of
God.


The archangel's announcement evokes the ancient prophecies which
foretold these prerogatives. Mary, who was well-versed in Sacred
Scripture, clearly realized that she was to be the Mother of God.


34-38. Commenting on this passage John Paul II said: "`Virgo fidelis',
the faithful Virgin. What does this faithfulness of Mary mean? What
are the dimensions of this faithfulness? The first dimension is called
search. Mary was faithful first of all when she began, lovingly, to
seek the deep sense of God's plan in her and for the world. `Quomodo
fiet?' How shall this be?, she asked the Angel of the Annunciation
[...]."


"The second dimension of faithfulness is called reception, acceptance.
The `quomodo fiet?' is changed, on Mary's lips, to a `fiat': Let it be
done, I am ready, I accept. This is the crucial moment of
faithfulness, the moment in which man perceives that he will never
completely understand the `how': that there are in God's plan more
areas of mystery than of clarity; that is, however he may try, he will
never succeed in understanding it completely[...]."


"The third dimension of faithfulness is consistency to live in
accordance with what one believes; to adapt one's own life to the
object of one's adherence. To accept misunderstanding, persecutions,
rather than a break between what one practises and what one believes:
this is consistency[...]."


"But all faithfulness must pass the most exacting test, that of
duration. Therefore, the fourth dimension of faithfulness is
constancy. It is easy to be consistent for a day or two. It is
difficult and important to be consistent for one's whole life. It is
easy to be consistent in the hour of enthusiasm, it is difficult to be
so in the hour of tribulation. And only a consistency that lasts
throughout the whole life can be called faithfulness. Mary's `fiat' in
the Annunciation finds its fullness in the silent `fiat' that she
repeats at the foot of the Cross" ("Homily in Mexico City Cathedral",
26 January 1979).


34. Mary believed in the archangel's words absolutely; she did not
doubt as Zechariah had done (cf. 1:18). Her question, "How can this
be?", expresses her readiness to obey the will of God even though at
first sight it implied a contradiction: on the one hand, she was
convinced that God wished her to remain a virgin; on the other, here
was God also announcing that she would become a mother. The archangel
announces God's mysterious design, and what had seemed impossible,
according to the laws of nature, is explained by a unique intervention
on the part of God.


Mary's resolution to remain a virgin was certainly something very
unusual, not in line with the practice of righteous people under the
Old Covenant, for, as St. Augustine explains, "particularly attentive
to the propagation and growth of the people of God, through whom the
Prince and Savior of the world might be prophesied and be born, the
saints were obliged to make use of the good of matrimony" ("De Bono
Matrimonii", 9, 9). However, in the Old Testament, there were some who,
in keeping with God's plan, did remain celibate--for example, Jeremiah,
Elijah, Eliseus and John the Baptist. The Blessed Virgin, who received
a very special inspiration of the Holy Spirit to practise virginity, is
a first-fruit of the New Testament, which will establish the excellence
of virginity over marriage while not taking from the holiness of the
married state, which it raises to the level of a sacrament (cf.
"Gaudium Et Spes", 48).


35. The "shadow" is a symbol of the presence of God. When Israel was
journeying through the wilderness, the glory of God filled the
Tabernacle and a cloud covered the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus
40:34-36). And when God gave Moses the tablets of the Law, a cloud
covered Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:15-16); and also, at the Transfiguration
of Jesus the voice of God the Father was heard coming out of a cloud
(Luke 9:35).


At the moment of the Incarnation the power of God envelops our Lady--an
_expression of God's omnipotence. The Spirit of God--which, according
to the account in Genesis (1:2), moved over the face of the waters,
bringing things to life--now comes down on Mary. And the fruit of her
womb will be the work of the Holy Spirit. The Virgin Mary, who herself
was conceived without any stain of sin (cf. Pius IX, "Ineffabilis
Deus") becomes, after the Incarnation, a new tabernacle of God. This
is the mystery we recall every day when saying the Angelus.


38. Once she learns of God's plan, our Lady yields to God's will with
prompt obedience, unreservedly. She realizes the disproportion between
what she is going to become--the Mother of God--and what she is--a
woman. However, this is what God wants to happen and for Him nothing
is impossible; therefore no one should stand in His way. So Mary,
combining humility and obedience, responds perfectly to God's call:
"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done according to
your word."


"At the enchantment of this virginal phrase, the Word became flesh"
([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", first joyful mystery). From the
pure body of Mary, God shaped a new body, He created a soul out of
nothing, and the Son of God united Himself with this body and soul:
prior to this He was only God; now He is still God but also man. Mary
is now the Mother of God. This truth is a dogma of faith, first
defined by the Council of Ephesus (431). At this point she also begins
to be the spiritual Mother of all mankind. What Christ says when He is
dying--`Behold, your son..., behold, your mother" (John
19:26-27)--simply promulgates what came about silently at Nazareth.
"With her generous `fiat' (Mary) became, through the working of the
Spirit, the Mother of God, but also the Mother of the living, and, by
receiving into her womb the one Mediator, she became the true Ark of
the Covenant and true Temple of God" (Paul VI, "Marialis Cultus", 6).


The Annunciation shows us the Blessed Virgin as perfect model of
"purity" (the RSV "I have no husband" is a euphemism); of "humility"
("Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord"); of "candor" and "simplicity"
("How can this be?"); of "obedience" and "lively faith" ("Let it be done
to me according to your word"). "Following her example of obedience to
God, we can learn to serve delicately without being slavish. In Mary,
we don't find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish
virgins, who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to
what God wants, ponders what she doesn't fully understand and asks about
what she doesn't know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the
divine will: `Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to
me according to your word'. Isn't that marvellous? The Blessed
Virgin, our teacher in all we do, shows us here that obedience to God
is not servile, does not bypass our conscience. We should be inwardly
moved to discover the `freedom of the children of God' (cf. Romans
8:21)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 173).

---

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.

[Salvation]

Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Advent Weekday

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Isaiah 7:10-14 Psalm 24:1-6 Luke 1:26-38 The Church. . . believes that the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of man's history is to be found in its Lord and Master. -- Gaudium et Spes, 10

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

 

Collect:
God of love and mercy, help us to follow the example of Mary, always ready to do your will. At the message of an angel she welcomed your eternal Son and, filled with the light of your Spirit, she became the temple of your Word, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Activities:

• » Advent House
• » Christmas Plays, Los Pastores and Las Posadas
• » Las Posadas II
• » O Antiphon Days

more

• » O Antiphon Tree Decorations
• » O Antiphons - December 17 - 24
• » Religion in the Home for Elementary School: December
• » Religion in the Home for Preschool: December
• » Veni, Veni, Emmanuel or O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

less

Prayers:

• » Advent Tower
• » Advent Wreath Prayers I
• » Christmas Novena
• » Advent Wreath Prayers II

more

• » Novena to the Infant Jesus
• » Roman Ritual Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (2nd Plan)
• » December Devotion: The Immaculate Conception
• » Christmas Anticipation Prayer

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December 20, 2005

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today is the fourth of the O Antiphons. O sublime majesty of the coming Redeemer! To Him has been delivered the key, the government of the house of David (Is 22:22). Boundless is His power over the graces and privileges of the Church, over the souls and hearts and the wills of men. He holds the destiny of the Church in the palm of His hand. He is Master of the storms that arise to destroy the Church and the souls committed to her. He is capable of dealing with the false principles and the errors that threaten her doctrines. He has overcome the devil and his associates, the world, the flesh and its tribulations. To Him all power is given (Matt. 28:18). "He shall open and none shall shut" (Is 22:22). Against the power that is His all other forces are powerless. The destiny of souls and the government of the Church are placed in His hand. He is the Lord of all. O Key of David, I believe in Thy power; and in the many difficult situations that confront the Church and my own soul, I place my trust in Thee.

O Antiphons ~ Key of David

4th O Antiphon: And scepter of the house of Israel, Thou openest and no man dare shut, Thou shuttest and no man dare open, COME Lead from prison, the fettered one, The dweller in darkness and the shadow of death.

"Come, lead the captives from their prison." With the key of His almighty power, the Redeemer has opened the prison in which poor, sinful man was languishing in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Key of David, come and deliver the captives from their prison. The Church wishes that by the practice of virtue we should free ourselves from sin and unfaithfulness. She asks God that He may spare us from punishment, deliver us from His wrath, from an evil death, and from hell. The Church prays that God may free us from a heart that clings to the world, from a spirit that is pleased with worldliness, from a human respect that degrades us. She urges us to return kindness and affection for scorn, love and compassion for persecution. Our Holy Mother the Church prays that we may be delivered from ourselves, from our self-love, and from all our secret sins. She prays that God may detach our hearts from all that can bind them to earth, for he who has been freed from the things of the earth is free with the freedom of Christ.

Key of David, come and deliver the captives from their prison. By Thy coming free us from all that separates us from God. Bring us freedom and redemption; incline us to surrender ourselves completely to God. So all pray for each, and each for all.

Excerpted from The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.

Today is Day Five of the Christmas Novena.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Nothing Is Impossible with God
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, PhD.
Date:	Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Isaiah 7:10-14 / Luke 1:26-38

Three men were pacing nervously outside the delivery room at a hospital when the head nurse cam out beaming. To the first she said, "Congratulations, sir, you are the father of twins."

"Terrific!" said the man, "I just signed a contract with the Minnesota Twins and this'll be great press."

To the second man the nurse said, "Congratulations to you too. You are the father of healthy triplets!"

"Fantastic!" he said. "I'm the vice-president of 3-M Company. This'll be great P.R.!"

At that point the third man turned ashen and ran for the door. "What's wrong, sir? Where are you going?" called the nurse.

As he jumped into his car, the man shouted, "I'm dashing to my office to resign. I'm the president of 7-UP!"

+ + +

Run for the hills! This can't be!

That's exactly what Mary was feeling as she listened to the angel spell out what God wanted of her: "Virgin birth?! Are you crazy? Who's going to believe that? I'll be stoned to death as soon as the neighbors see I'm pregnant! Dear God, what are you asking of me?"

We know the feeling: "Dear God, what are you asking of me? How can I make a life out of this pile of junk you've given me? How am I going to survive till the end of the year — till the end of the week? How am I ever going to make a silk purse, when I don't even have a sow's ear? It's impossible, absolutely impossible!"

We've felt that and said that often enough. But it isn't true, as Mary showed us: Her whole being was so profoundly open to the Spirit that God filled her entirely with His own life and Jesus our Savior was conceived in her womb — the impossible happened.

So it can be with us who are daunted by life's "impossibilities." The key, as Mary learned, is not trying to do it all by ourselves: Working alone is a recipe for failure. The key to doing the impossible is learning how to let God in and let God lead; learning how to listen to Him and to see the world through his eyes; learning with His help to re-imagine our lives and to sing the words of a new song; learning from Him how to grow our minds and our hearts very large.

With God as our mentor and guide, our wisdom, our courage and our strength, with God as our partner, nothing is impossible. What a tragedy it would be to languish forever in a world of small hearts and tiny visions, a world of impossibilities. The choice is ours! And God is listening for our "Yes," just as He listened for Mary's. He is ready a waiting to fill us very, very full!

 

[lightman]

The link will bring one to a very nice synthesizer rendition of the tune, a la Manheim Streamroller.

"Behold, a Branch is Growing"
by Unknown, c. 1500
Translated by Harriet R. Spaeth, 1845-1925; stanzas 1-4
Translated by John C. Mattes, 1876-1948; stanza 5

1. Behold a branch is growing
As of loveliest form and grace,
As prophets sung, foreknowing;
It springs from Jesse's race
And bears one little Flower
In midst of coldest winter,
At deepest midnight hour.

2. Isaiah hath foretold It
In words of promise sure,
And Mary' s arms enfold It,
A virgin meek and pure.
Through God's eternal will
This Child to her is given
At midnight calm and still.

3. The shepherds heard the story,
Proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of Glory,
Was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped
And in the manger found him,
As angel heralds said.

4. This Flower, whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere.
True Man, yet very God;
From sin and death He saves us
And lightens every load.

5. 0 Savior, Child of Mary,
Who felt our human woe;
Savior, King of Glory.
Who dost our weakness know,
Bring us at length, we pray.
To the bright courts of heaven
And to the endless day.

The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #645
Text: Is. 11:1-2
Author: Unknown, c. 1500
Translated by: Harriet R. Spaeth, 1875; stanzas 1-4
Translated by: John C. Mattes,1914; stanza 5
Titled: "Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen"
Tune: "Es ist ein' Ros'"
1st Published in: _Alte geistliche Kirchengesaeng_
Town: Cologne, 1599

[Ciexyz]

Faith-sharing bump.

[Nihil Obstat]

Great commentaries, especially the quotes from the early church fathers. Thank you for these posts.

[fatima]

Salvation,Thank you,Mass bump.

[Salvation]

 

 

A Voice in the Desert

 

 

Tuesday December 20, 2005   Fourth Week of Advent

Reading (Isaiah 7:10-14)   Gospel (St. Luke 1:26-38)

In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord sends the prophet to this wayward king who was doing all kinds of evil things. In order to demonstrate to the king that God not only was with him but that God is the only God, he says something very unusual to Ahaz: Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God. People run around asking for signs from God all the time. It is not a real good practice because, first of all, signs can easily be misunderstood and misinterpreted, and secondly, the devil can provide them as well. It is a little bit of a tricky practice to get involved with in the first place, but it is rather astounding to think that God Himself is going to say to this man: Ask for a sign.  

You can see the depth of his unbelief that he would need something that would be the most extraordinary kind of sign. And so in the sign that God gives–because suddenly this king who is so impious becomes “Mr. Pious” when it comes to having to ask for a sign, God simply outdoes everything and He gives a sign that would be impossible for anybody to misunderstand. It would be utterly impossible on the natural level for something so extraordinary to occur; yet, at the same time, it would not necessarily be so simple to be able to figure out because it is not an external sign. A virgin will be with child. How do you know? When you look at a woman with child, how many of them have you ever seen that you would assume would be a virgin if she is with child? It is not an easy sign to be able to pick out. But, at the same time, if one knows that the woman is a virgin, it would be so obvious that you cannot miss it. As God normally does, He does not make it easy and it requires a huge amount of faith. Not only would it require great faith on the part of those who would accept that this is the truth, but, above all, it would require a huge amount of faith on the woman who would receive and be the sign that God was going to provide for the world.  

That is precisely what we see in the Gospel reading: the angel coming to Our Lady and telling her what is to happen, and Our Lady’s act of faith: I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to thy word. How grateful we have to be to her who was willing to do God’s Will especially in something that would be so impossible on the natural level. Again, just put yourself in her spot. If somebody came to you and said, “This is going to happen in your life. Naturally speaking, it’s utterly impossible, but it’s going to happen anyway because God is going to do it for you.” How many of us would say, “Okay, that sounds like a great idea”? We would say, “Yeah, right. Sure it is. There’s no way that can happen.” That is what Zechariah said in yesterday’s Gospel: “There’s no way this can happen; I’m an old man and my wife is elderly. We can’t have a baby! No way!” Is not that the way most of us would be? Yet we see the faith and we see the humility and we see the love of our Blessed Lady that she is willing to accept even when it seems utterly preposterous. She is willing to accept even when she does not understand. She is willing to accept simply because God said it will be. That is precisely the faith we need to have, and it is the lesson we need to learn from her.  

Everything that is written in Scripture is truth and it is the Word of God. And every single piece will be fulfilled completely and perfectly, even if it seems impossible to us. We simply need to believe because nothing is impossible for God, as the angel said to Our Lady. All of the promises of Christ will be fulfilled completely. All of the prophecies of the Old Testament will be fulfilled completely. There is nothing in Scripture that is frivolous. There is nothing there that is written for any reason other than the fact that there was something God wanted to say. There is no fluff. There is no filler. It is all there for a reason, and it is all the Word of God that He wants us to know. Therefore, we need to know the Scriptures well. We need to read them. We need to pray them because that is what Our Lady did. She knew the Scriptures. She knew that a virgin was to be with child and bear a son, and she knew the son that would be born was going to suffer immensely. But she also knew why he was going to suffer. It is out of love for God and out of love for the people that she was willing to say “yes.”  

So if we want to be able to do God’s Will, it is not about asking for extraordinary signs; it is about knowing His Word, it is about knowing Him, and it is about seeking to do His Will, to have the humility, the faith, and the charity, not to tell God what it is that He is supposed to do–but to accept His Will when it is made known to us–and to be like our Blessed Lady and say, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according Thy word. 

*  This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.       

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 Meditation Luke 1:26-38 Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you! Generation after generation of believers has echoed this greeting of the archangel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:28). And Mary and her son have been honored millions of times over with Elizabeth’s salutation: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (1:42). For through the willing obedience of this young Jewish girl from the obscure town of Nazareth—and through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit—the Word of God became flesh. The pivotal point of God’s plan of redemption had arrived. Mary’s response, “Let it be to me according to your word” (1:38), triggered the reverence we’ve offered her through the centuries in the Hail Mary. The greetings of Gabriel and Elizabeth—accompanied by a bow or genuflection—were used in the Eastern Church as early as the sixth century and in Rome about a hundred years later as salutations to honor Mary. Gradually, the greetings were linked, and Mary’s name was added as the words were addressed to her in prayer. The name “Jesus” was included by Pope Urban IV in 1261. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. This invocation, added before the fifteenth century, is based on Elizabeth’s words calling Mary “mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43) and on the Council of Ephesus’ affirmation (made in a.d. 431) of Mary as “Mother of God.” The petition’s present form was incorporated in the Liturgy of the Hours in 1514 and officially included by the Council of Trent in the reformed breviary of Pope Pius V in 1568. In showing reverence to Mary, even more do we revere Jesus, the “fruit” of her womb. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux noted, “Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the son by the praise we lavish on the mother; for the more Mary is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son.” When we pray for ourselves and for the intentions and needs of others, we confidently ask Mary to add her prayers to our own, for who can better intercede on our behalf than the mother of our Savior and the one Jesus himself gave to us as our mother? “Jesus, thank you for entrusting us to Mary’s loving care! Help me to imitate her faith and obedience.” Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24:1-6

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

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Isaiah 7:10-14

Psalm 24

Luke 1:26-38

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THE TIME IS FULFILLED

"Rejoice, O highly favored daughter! The Lord is with you." —Luke 1:28

Rejoice unto the Lord for the time is fulfilled, the time long awaited by King David when his throne would be established forever (2 Sm 7:16), the time awaited by Paul when God's mystery, kept for hundreds of years, would be revealed (Rm 16:25), the time awaited by God's people and fulfilled in Mary when she conceived by the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35). What joyous expectations have been fulfilled in the birth of Jesus!

So often we seek for joy and peace and comfort in unusual places — corrupt society, decadent living, material security, envious activity, or jealous possessiveness. Mary found joy in allowing God's word to be done unto her (Lk 1:38). David found joy in listening to the prophet and doing his will (2 Sm 7:17ff). Paul found joy in the wisdom of God (Rm 16:27). Can we do less than they? Joy is found in service and obedience — not primarily to humankind, but above all to God and His Son Jesus Christ. For if we serve Jesus, we must necessarily serve our fellows. If we merely serve our fellows, we may not be serving Jesus.

As Christmas fast approaches, we must have the joy of the shepherds in our hearts (Lk 2:10) for we know the time is now fulfilled — the time for Jesus to give us true joy and true peace, the time to preach His name to all people, the time to be an evangelist for His sake.

Prayer: "This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the gospel!" (Mk 1:15)

Promise: "The virgin shall be with Child, and bear a Son, and shall name Him Immanuel." —Is 7:14

Praise: "O Key of David, O royal power of Israel controlling at Your will the gate of heaven: come, break down the prison walls of death for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death; and lead Your captive people into freedom."