[Salvation]

Week 1: Wednesday    Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. (Matthew 14: 19-20) Reflection During Advent we always consider the past, present, and future dimensions of Jesus’ coming. Jesus came to us at Bethlehem; He is risen and present in the world today; we look forward to His second coming. In the miracle of the loaves and fishes, all these dimensions of time are also present. Jesus fed the people on the hillside that day, but He also prefigured the Eucharistic banquet, as well as the eternal banquet to which we are all invited. How are we to make this miracle real in the present? Just as Jesus asked the disciples that day in Galilee to distribute the food, it is our duty to act as the hands of Jesus today, bringing His gifts and presence to others. Advent Action Multiply your own resources (however great or small) to help the poor. Make a gift of your time or money to a charitable organization that helps the poor. Prayer Lord, may I be generous with others from the richness You have shared with me through Your goodness.

[Salvation]

Tuesday, December 5

First Monday of Advent

Fulfillment of Longing

Jesus’ words in Luke’s tenth chapter can be read as a rich commentary on the Eucharist “ . . . although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.” Our faith makes us long to see the God who became man in Jesus Christ. Yet already prior to the beatific vision in heaven, he offers us in the Eucharist a very real fulfillment of our spiritual longing. Whenever we pray before the Blessed Sacrament, whenever we receive his body in Holy Communion, a quite personal encounter with Jesus is possible. Grace invites us to adore God in the host held by a monstrance or within a tabernacle, and to be humbly overwhelmed in knowing that Our Lord enters and reaches our soul after receiving communion. Our eyes are still blind, our tongue tastes no miracle, and we may be empty of feeling. Yet by faith we can know with certainty that we are being drawn into contact with God himself. It is a childlike awareness that fosters this recognition. As Jesus says in the same Gospel passage, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” And blessed are we when he deigns to come to us in the Eucharist. Let us make a special effort to rejoice with childlike awe at this great gift during these weeks of Advent.

Reflection based on Luke 10:21-24
Father Donald Haggerty

Loving Father, make me childlike so that I will rejoice in the presence of your Son in all the ways that he reveals himself to me.