Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Families Schools Adults Posted on 12/04/2002 6:29:39 AM PST by Salvation
Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Families Schools Adults Reading I
Is 25:6-10a
On this mountain the Lord of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord God will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the Lord for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
R (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for years to come.
R I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Gospel
Mt 15:29-37
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over – seven baskets full.
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You should do no harm to anybody whatsoever, and as much as it is possible, do good to all.
-- St Peter Fourier
| Wednesday, December 04, 2002 Meditation Matthew 15:29-37 The throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)
Just imagine if you followed a chaplain as he walked through your local hospital blessing the sick—and patients began coming out of their rooms, dancing in the halls, and proclaiming that they were healed! Certainly you would be astonished—and thank God for his kindness in working through this minister of the gospel. Well, that’s exactly what happened wherever Jesus went. People weren’t just in awe of Jesus’ power; the miracles they witnessed pointed them to God!
Every one of Jesus’ miracles was a sign that pointed beyond the miracle itself to the kingdom of God that Jesus had come to establish. Every miracle showed that he was the Messiah about whom Isaiah prophesied: the one who will swallow up death and wipe away every tear from the eyes of his people (Isaiah 25:8). By multiplying the loaves and fishes, Jesus showed himself to be the one who satisfies the hungry with a feast of rich food (25:6). This is why, when the people recognized these signs, they were moved to glorify the God of Israel (Matthew 15:31).
Jesus wasn’t a wonder-worker or sorcerer who performed extraordinary feats to show off or to gain acclaim. Rather, his miracles revealed his Father’s compassion for everyone in need or distress (Matthew 15:32). He healed the sick and fed the hungry because he loved them and was moved by their situation. In turn, those who experienced his love were moved to turn to God.
Jesus still works miracles on our behalf because he loves us. The Father’s desire to draw us to himself, and the power of the Holy Spirit, continually flow through Jesus as he touches our lives in wondrous ways. As we open our hearts to God’s love and to his Spirit, we too can do the miraculous. In whatever we do, we too can point people to the Father, who alone can fill them with the love and healing they are longing for.
“Jesus, thank you for the miracles I have experienced in my life. Make me a sign of your love to others. Pour your Spirit into my heart so that, through me, many may know your healing power and compassion.” |
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(Read Life of Saint John in German, in Romanian)
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Memory Celebrated December 4
RIGHTEOUS JOHN OF DAMASCUS.He was raised in Damascus, Syria, the capital of the Moslem world. When he was ten years of age, his father found a learned monk in the secular studies as well as music and theology. He instructed John and his adopted brother, Cosmas, and John made great progress in theology. At last, the monk departed saying to their father, Sergius, that his sons had become remarkably wise. Sergius soon died, and John was chosen for his office of counselor to the caliph.
During this time, John wrote convincingly against the iconoclasts and Leo the Armenian, as well as the Moslems. He effectively used deductive arguments, history, and parables of the saints. Against the iconoclasts, he argued that since the shadows and handkerchiefs of the apostles healed the sick, why was it not appropriate to venerate their icons. His letters were circulated to strengthen and prepare the people to answer the attacks of the heretics. Seeing this, the emperor wrote a letter in John's hand that had him condemned to the caliph for whom he worked. The caliph had his right hand cut off and hung in the market place. That night, John recovered his hand and prayed before an icon of the Theotokos, called of the three hands, promising that he would write hymns for Orthodoxy if he were healed. He slept, and she told him that he was healed and to write. The caliph freed him, and he became a humble monk. He wrote canons, troparia, idiomela, festal homilies for feast days of Jesus and the Theotokos, the saints and prophets. He established the Typikon, the order of services. He became the mouth piece of all the bishops of the east. He died peacefully at 104 years of age.
A longer Account of his Life
The renowned writer and Church poet, Saint John Damascene, served at the court of the caliph in his youth and was the ruler of the city of Damascus. A native of Syria, he lived in the middle of the 8th century, when the iconoclastic heresy was raging in the Byzantine Empire: icons were being destroyed, and their venerators were being severely persecuted. Being a highly education man and a gifted writer, John very convincingly wrote in defense of the Orthodox veneration of icons.
The Greek Emperor Leo the Isaurian, a convinced iconoclast, became enraged at John for his compositions. He ordered his scribe to learn Saint John's handwriting and to write a letter, as if in his name, addressed to the Byzantine Emperor, in which John supposedly offers his services to the Isaurian in overthrowing the caliph. The Isaurian Emperor sent this forged letter off to the caliph as proof of his friendship towards the caliph and the treason of John Damascene.
The eastern despot, without investigating the matter and not accepting John's explanation, ordered that he be confined in prison and that his right hand, which had supposedly written the treasonous letter, be cut off. Having an icon of the Mother of God with him in the prison, Saint John placed his cutoff right hand before it and prayed long before the icon, pouring out his woe. The Immaculate Virgin appeared to the sufferer in his sleep, and gazing mercifully at him said: "Thy hand is now whole; sorrow no more". John awoke and with joyful astonishment saw that the cutoff hand had adhered to its place and become whole, just as before. Only a narrow scar remained that reminded of the punishment. In an excess of joy and gratitude to the merciful Intercessor, John composed in his soul the hymn: "In thee, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoiceth". This hymn is sung in Church till now at the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.
News of the miracle reached the caliph, and he, on summoning John, patiently investigated his case and became convinced of his innocence. Realizing that he was guilty before John, the caliph, in order to make amends for his unjustness, offered him a huge recompense and high honors. But John, having come to understand how fragile earthly goods and worldly glory are, refused everything. In gratitude to the Mother of God, he ordered a representation of his hand in silver and fastened it to the icon before which the miracle was performed. This icon received the name, "Threehanded".
Having distributed his possessions, he retired in the attire of the common people to the monastery of Saint Sabbas the Sanctified, which is located twentyfive kilometers southeast of Jerusalem. Since John was a very renown man, none of the monks of the Lavra of Saint Sabbas could bring himself to take him as a novice. Finally, one elder agreed to direct him on the condition that for the sake of humility John would no longer write anything. John agreed and began to live and labor in the monastery as an ordinary monk.
In a few years, the father of a monk who had become friends with John died, and he asked John to write some kind of requiem prayer for him. In a surge of inspiration, Saint John wrote the prayershymns which till now are sung in church at funerals. One of this hymns begins with the words "What sweetness in life does not partake of sadness…" In the versification of the poet, Alexei Tolstoi, it sounds thus:
What sweetness in this life
Does not partake of earthly sadness?
What expectation is not in vain,
And where amongst men is the happy man?
All is changeful, all is paltry
That with difficulty we have gained
What glory on earth
Stands firm and unchanging?
All is ashes, a phantom, shadow and smoke,
All vanishes like a whirlwind of dust,
And before death we stand
Unarmed and powerless.
The arm of the mighty man is weak,
Null are the commands of kings
Receive thy servant now fallen asleep,
O Lord, into the dwellings of the blessed.
On learning that John had violated the obedience that had been placed upon him and had written a prayer, the elder became angry at him and wanted to expel him from the monastery. Then all the brethren of the monastery began to intercede for John. The elder agreed to forgive the disobedient one on the condition that he clean out all the filthy places in the monastery with his own hands.
Saint John humbly fulfilled this severe demand of his elder. After this, the Mother of God appeared to the elder in his sleep and said: "Do not stop up my wellspring any longer. Grant it to flow unto the glory of God". On awakening, the elder understood that it was pleasing to God that John Damascene dedicate himself to the labor of writing.
From that time on, no one hindered John any longer from writing theological compositions and composing liturgical prayers. In the course of several years of uninterrupted labors, he enriched the Church with many compositions, prayers and liturgical canons, which till now adorn the Orthodox divine services. Many hymns of the Paschal, Nativity and other festal divine services belong to his pen. The Octoechos (Book of the Eight Tones), which is used at the Sunday divine services, was compiled by him. Being a penetrating theologian, Saint John wrote the renown book, "An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith", in which he summed up the basic truths of the Christian faith. Saint John Damascene died in the year 777.
Read one of the Works of Saint John of Damascus Online: An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
In a few years, the father of a monk who had become friends with John died, and he asked John to write some kind of requiem prayer for him. In a surge of inspiration, Saint John wrote the prayershymns which till now are sung in church at funerals. One of this hymns begins with the words "What sweetness in life does not partake of sadness…" In the versification of the poet, Alexei Tolstoi, it sounds thus:
What sweetness in this life
Does not partake of earthly sadness?
What expectation is not in vain,
And where amongst men is the happy man?
All is changeful, all is paltry
That with difficulty we have gained
What glory on earth
Stands firm and unchanging?
All is ashes, a phantom, shadow and smoke,
All vanishes like a whirlwind of dust,
And before death we stand
Unarmed and powerless.
The arm of the mighty man is weak,
Null are the commands of kings
Receive thy servant now fallen asleep,
O Lord, into the dwellings of the blessed.
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If you keep picking my favorite Isaiah passages, I'm gonna keep reading them, Salvation.
HE WILL DESTROY DEATH FOREVER!!
Imagine it. Thank you Lord Jesus.
I always remember Mother Angelica commenting on this story. She would remind the audience that "picking up everything" was a tedious task since the crowds were spread out over a large area. "Can you imagine the crumbs?", she would say.
Thank you JMJ333!
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