Tuesday 11
December 2012
First reading
Isaiah
40:1-11
‘Console my people, console them’
says your God.
‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem
and call to her
that her time of service is ended,
that her sin is atoned for,
that she has received from the hand of
the Lord
double punishment for all her crimes.’
A voice cries, ‘Prepare in the
wilderness
a way for the Lord.
Make a straight highway for our God
across the desert.
Let every valley be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low.
Let every cliff become a plain,
and the ridges a valley;
then the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed
and all mankind shall see it;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
A voice commands, ‘Cry!’
and I answered, ‘What shall I cry?’”
– ‘All flesh is grass
and its beauty like the wild flower’s.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on
them.
(The grass is without doubt the people.)
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God remains for
ever.’
Go up on a high mountain,
joyful messenger to Zion.
Shout with a loud voice,
joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Shout without fear,
say to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God.’
Here is the Lord coming with power,
his arm subduing all things to him.
The prize of his victory is with him,
his trophies all go before him.
He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering lambs in his arms,
holding them against his breast
and leading to their rest the mother
ewes.
God is a God of love. He does not
punish out of anger. He purifies out of love, so that we become fit to live
with him in a union of love. In our rebellion and ignorance, we consider God’s
loving action his ‘anger’. A child may do the same in the face of his/her parent’s
correction. The exile in Babylonia was as time of
purification for the unfaithful Israel. God through his prophet expresses how
he loves them and will save them. At the time of this prophecy, the Jews were
suffering persecution in Babylon. God did bring them back to Judah after some
years through the emperor Cyrus who conquered Babylon. It is even more
fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us. We should pray that
God purifies us so that we can receive Jesus with love.
Psalm
Psalm
95:1-3,10-13
Here is our God coming with power.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim his help day by day.
Here is our God coming with power.
Tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
He will judge the peoples in fairness.
Here is our God coming with power.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be
glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder
praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he
comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
Here is our God coming with power.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with his
truth.
Here is our God coming with power.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Lord! Do not delay.
Forgive the sins of your people.
Alleluia!
Or
Alleluia, alleluia!
The day of the Lord is near;
Look, he comes to save us.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
18:12-14
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Tell me.
Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the
ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly,
if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not
stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one
of these little ones should be lost.’
God’s Love for You
Visible on the Cross
The key to understanding creation, to understanding Jesus
and yourself too is “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). God conceived you in
his heart before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4). He longs for you like a
father who has lost his son (Luke 15:20). However, he does not just stay at
home longing; he himself comes in search of you (Ezekiel 36:11-16). You are
precious to him and you are his child (Is 43:4). We must understand that we are
all ‘little ones’. Yet not one ‘little one’ should be lost. We are nothing
before God. However, we are so precious to him that he sent his own Son to
search and save us. He is the Good Shepherd who will give his life for you.
Look at the Cross and see how God loves you. This Advent do you welcome the
Good Shepherd into your life?
Tuesday 11
December 2012
First reading
Isaiah
40:1-11
‘Console my people, console them’
says your God.
‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem
and call to her
that her time of service is ended,
that her sin is atoned for,
that she has received from the hand of
the Lord
double punishment for all her crimes.’
A voice cries, ‘Prepare in the
wilderness
a way for the Lord.
Make a straight highway for our God
across the desert.
Let every valley be filled in,
every mountain and hill be laid low.
Let every cliff become a plain,
and the ridges a valley;
then the glory of the Lord shall be
revealed
and all mankind shall see it;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
A voice commands, ‘Cry!’
and I answered, ‘What shall I cry?’”
– ‘All flesh is grass
and its beauty like the wild flower’s.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on
them.
(The grass is without doubt the people.)
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God remains for
ever.’
Go up on a high mountain,
joyful messenger to Zion.
Shout with a loud voice,
joyful messenger to Jerusalem.
Shout without fear,
say to the towns of Judah,
‘Here is your God.’
Here is the Lord coming with power,
his arm subduing all things to him.
The prize of his victory is with him,
his trophies all go before him.
He is like a shepherd feeding his flock,
gathering lambs in his arms,
holding them against his breast
and leading to their rest the mother
ewes.
God is a God of love. He does not
punish out of anger. He purifies out of love, so that we become fit to live
with him in a union of love. In our rebellion and ignorance, we consider God’s
loving action his ‘anger’. A child may do the same in the face of his/her
parent’s correction. The exile in
Babylonia was as time of purification for the unfaithful Israel. God through
his prophet expresses how he loves them and will save them. At the time of this
prophecy, the Jews were suffering persecution in Babylon. God did bring them
back to Judah after some years through the emperor Cyrus who conquered Babylon.
It is even more fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us. We
should pray that God purifies us so that we can receive Jesus with love.
Psalm
Psalm
95:1-3,10-13
Here is our God coming with power.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim his help day by day.
Here is our God coming with power.
Tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
He will judge the peoples in fairness.
Here is our God coming with power.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be
glad,
let the sea and all within it thunder
praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice,
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he
comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
Here is our God coming with power.
With justice he will rule the world,
he will judge the peoples with his
truth.
Here is our God coming with power.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Lord! Do not delay.
Forgive the sins of your people.
Alleluia!
Or
Alleluia, alleluia!
The day of the Lord is near;
Look, he comes to save us.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
18:12-14
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Tell me.
Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the
ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray? I tell you solemnly,
if he finds it, it gives him more joy than do the ninety-nine that did not
stray at all. Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one
of these little ones should be lost.’
God’s Love for You
Visible on the Cross
The key to understanding creation, to understanding Jesus
and yourself too is “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). God conceived you in
his heart before the creation of the world (Eph 1:4). He longs for you like a
father who has lost his son (Luke 15:20). However, he does not just stay at
home longing; he himself comes in search of you (Ezekiel 36:11-16). You are
precious to him and you are his child (Is 43:4). We must understand that we are
all ‘little ones’. Yet not one ‘little one’ should be lost. We are nothing
before God. However, we are so precious to him that he sent his own Son to
search and save us. He is the Good Shepherd who will give his life for you.
Look at the Cross and see how God loves you. This Advent do you welcome the
Good Shepherd into your life?
Wednesday 12 December
2012
Readings at Mass
__
First reading
Isaiah
40:25-31
‘To whom could you liken me
and who could be my equal?’ says the
Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look.
Who made these stars
if not he who drills them like an army,
calling each one by name?
So mighty is his power, so great his
strength,
that not one fails to answer.
How can you say, Jacob,
how can you insist, Israel,
‘My destiny is hidden from the Lord,
my rights are ignored by my God’?
Did you not know?
Had you not heard?
The Lord is an everlasting God,
he created the boundaries of the earth.
He does not grow tired or weary,
his understanding is beyond fathoming.
He gives strength to the wearied,
he strengthens the powerless.
Young men may grow tired and weary,
youths may stumble,
but those who hope in the Lord renew
their strength,
they put out wings like eagles.
They run and do not grow weary,
walk and never tire.
Exiled in
Babylon, the Jews were in a humbled state. Their captors were proud and put
their ‘success’ down to their superior gods. Many Jews wavered. Where was
Yahweh in their humiliation? The prophets writes this to encourage them to
persevere. There are many strange gods today too. People worship them:
political power, military might, wealth and money power, worldly prestige etc.
what kind of position do those who believe have in this world? They are often
despised and mocked as the Jews in Babylon. This word is for us too. We should
not succumb to the attractions of this world. God is supreme and will vindicate
those who trust in him.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm
102:1-4,8,10
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our
sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Behold, our Lord will come with power
and will enlighten the eyes of his
servants.
Alleluia!
Or
Alleluia, alleluia!
Look, the Lord will come to save his
people.
Blessed those who are ready to meet him.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
11:28-30
Jesus exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you
who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and
learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
The Rest that Only
Jesus Can Give
In the Old Testament God constantly invited his people to
come to him but they would not (Is 65:1,2). We belong to God. This is our
nature. We will have no peace or rest until we look on the face of God. God
made us for this and our heart will ache until we reach him. Jesus is the God
of compassion. He tells us to come to him. It is in faith, but it is real. In
faith we can share in his communion with God, however imperfect (1 Cor 13:12).
The yoke of the Israelites were the 613 Laws of Moses and the rabbinic law. The
law of Jesus is the Law of love. As the fish swims in the sea, so we swim in
the love of God. It is everywhere. Are you ready to accept the invitation to
come to Jesus with love and receive peace?
Thursday 13
December 2012
First reading
Isaiah
41:13-20
I, the Lord, your God,
I am holding you by the right hand;
I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,
I will help you.’
Do not be afraid, Jacob, poor worm,
Israel, puny mite.’
I will help you – it is the Lord
who speaks –
the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer.
See, I turn you into a threshing-sled,
new, with doubled teeth;
you shall thresh and crush the
mountains,
and turn the hills to chaff.
You shall winnow them and the wind will
blow them away,
the gale will scatter them.
But you yourself will rejoice in the
Lord,
and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
The poor and needy ask for water, and
there is none,
their tongue is parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them,
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon
them.
I will make rivers well up on barren
heights,
and fountains in the midst of valleys;
turn the wilderness into a lake,
and dry ground into waterspring.
In the wilderness I will put cedar
trees,
acacias, myrtles, olives.
In the desert I will plant juniper,
plane tree and cypress side by side;
so that men may see and know,
may all observe and understand
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created
it.
God is a God of mercy and compassion. He
will save his people from their exile. We must understand the bible not in a
literal sense, but look for the inner meaning. What is the message? God will
save us too, even though we are in exile here. We need to have faith and trust
in him.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm
144:1,9-13
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
I will give you glory, O God my king,
I will bless your name for ever.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
All your creatures shall thank you, O
Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their
blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your
reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your
reign.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come, Lord, with your peace
that we may rejoice in your presence
with sincerity of heart.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.Is45:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Send victory like a dew, you heavens,
and let the clouds rain it down.
Let the earth open and bring forth the
saviour.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
11:11-15
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘I tell you
solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist
has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he
is. Since John the Baptist came, up to this present time, the kingdom of heaven
has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it by storm. Because
it was towards John that all the prophecies of the prophets and of the Law were
leading; and he, if you will believe me, is the Elijah who was to return. If
anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!’
Commitment takes the
Kingdom by force
The Jews looked forward to Elijah as the precursor of the
Messiah. Jesus says that John is greater than Elijah. He is the greatest born
of woman because he announces Jesus, who is God’s Son. If our ears are open to
God, then we will recognise in John the prophet who prepares us for the Messiah,
Jesus sent by God to invite us to the Kingdom. In Jesus, God fulfils all his
promises. With the coming of Jesus, the Kingdom of God
Friday 14
December 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Isaiah
48:17-19
Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel:
I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is
good for you,
I lead you in the way that you must go.
If only you had been alert to my
commandments,
your happiness would have been like a
river,
your integrity like the waves of the
sea.
Your children would have been numbered
like the sand,
your descendants as many as its grains.
Never would your name have been cut off
or blotted out before me.
God is Love. Everything he does
and everything he says flows from Love. His Commandments are therefore the way
of happiness for us. To abandon them and to follow the inclinations of our
hearts is to court disaster. Let us pray for the wisdom to open ourselves to
his Word.
Psalm
Psalm
1:1-4,6
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will
have the light of life.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the
wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will
have the light of life.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will
have the light of life.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Anyone who follows you, O Lord, will
have the light of life.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Alleluia, alleluia!
See, the king, the Lord of the world,
will come.
He will free us from the yoke of our
bondage.
Alleluia!
Or
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord will come, go out to meet him.
Great is his beginning and his reign
will have no end.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Matthew
11:16-19
Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What
description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to
each other as they sit in the market place:
“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t be mourners.”
‘For John came, neither eating nor
drinking, and they say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man came, eating and
drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax
collectors and sinners.” Yet wisdom has been proved right by her actions.’
Your Response to
Jesus’ Call
John prepared the way of the Lord and made straight his
paths He called people to repent and have a change of mind and heart. Jesus
brought all the blessings in the heavenly places (Eph 1:2). He offers grace
upon grace (John1:16). He is the Bridegroom inviting us to the wedding banquet.
What is the response of ‘this generation’? They are not interested. They sit
and complain. We are free to accept God’s offer or to reject it. We may reject
it because of our sins and our love for this world, but God will never withdraw
his offer. Jesus went on revealing God’s love and inviting us to respond until
his last breath on the Cross. Even then, he managed to take a thief with him:
you will be with me today in paradise. We can only speak for ourselves, “What
is your response to Jesus this Advent?”
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