Saturday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”

In the Gospel for today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Francis Xavier. On this last day of the first week of Advent, Matthew describes Jesus’ entry into towns and villages as he proclaimed the Kingdom of heaven and cured every disease and illness. “At the sight of the crowds,” Matthew tells us, “his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Who is this whose heart is moved with pity? It is the same God in the Responsorial Psalm who tells the number of the stars and calls each of us by name. It is the same God in the first reading who guides us from behind and whose voice we hear say: “‘This is the way; walk in it,’ when you would turn to the right or to the left.” Then, Jesus asks of me what he asks of the Twelve: cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons.

God, help me understand you are not some ideology or philosophy to comprehend and apply to daily life. You are the creator of the universe; you are Christ the Son; you are the Holy Spirit. And you are asking me, whose name you know, to proclaim that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. How is it possible that I am able to do all you ask of me, especially the impossible? When I think of curing the sick and driving out demons, I bring it down to size. Be loving, help give healing to brokenness, welcome the ones who feel alienated, and go to Confession and invite others. But there is more to that. You really did give Peter and the Twelve the authority to raise the dead and cure the sick. Let me not underestimate the power you entrust me with that comes through faith in you. As that other great Francis, Saint Francis of Assisi, said: “First do what is necessary. Then do what is possible. And before you know it you are doing the impossible.”

Lord, let me quietly take in the love you have for me. The authority you first gave to the Twelve by your authority as Lord of all you also give to me. It’s humbling to hold in my being that you love me as a laborer sent out to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of heaven. Stay with me today, stay behind me, guiding which way to go to accomplish your will.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Friday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

The two blind men who approached Jesus first cried out to him and then followed him. The passage doesn’t say that the blind men asked Jesus anything. Jesus simply knows their needs: “Do you believe that I can do this?” Just as God spoke creation into existence, Jesus says “let it be done” and it is done. He tells the blind men that it is done according to their faith. Countless times every day, I make plans in my head as if I could speak them into fulfillment, as if by my own interior light I see ahead in the dark. How far am I willing to say of each plan “let it be done” according to God’s will?

God, let me stop and consider the power behind the words of your Son: “Let it be done.” In coming to Jesus, the blind men poured out their hearts to him, saying, “Son of David, have pity on us!” The extent of what I might accomplish today, Lord, can be summed up in two words: God willing. What can I hope to accomplish today without believing that you work with me and through me to do your will? Lord, touch my eyes today with your presence and give me the grace to remember to come to you in trust, and let me hear you say: “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”

Jesus, open my eyes of faith today to your presence in the Blessed Sacrament and in the Masses said throughout the world at every minute of the day. I know you delight in me and love me. Help me realize that when I fall short. Take pity on me when I fail to love you and all those I encounter today as I should. Advent is here, and you are coming. Open my eyes to that joyful expectation. I know you are near!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

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.”

The words of Jesus from today’s Gospel strike the ear with his repetition of “Lord” and the warning of utter ruin that follows from building on a foundation of anything other than doing the will of the Father. When I hear Jesus saying, “Lord, Lord,” I feel accused. Lord, shouldn’t I call out to you at all times? The Gospel acclamation says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call him while he is near.” Jesus issues a kind of challenge in his words by directing us to the will of the Father.

God, help me understand the will of the Father, as I hear Jesus inviting me to remain authentic in my relationship with him: “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.” Lord, you are, as Isaiah says, the eternal Rock. Thank you for the life, death, and resurrection of your Son, for his words that encourage me to lay down my own will and know and do yours instead.

Father in heaven, when I am restless and distracted today, quiet my soul. Teach me your will, and let me not be discouraged by failure to accomplish it but resolved all the more to trust in your mercy and grace. Let me have childlike hope in you, in your guidance. When I call out to you, let it be from a longing that only your love for me can fulfill. Prepare me through your gift of this day to enter your kingdom.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites two pairs of brothers to follow him. He first finds Peter and Andrew, in the midst of their daily work, casting their net into the sea. Next he sees James and John and calls them as they are mending their nets. Only God knows why Jesus chose these first apostles over others. What is clear is that he chose them from their very livelihood—at work in the world—inviting them to work anew with their nets to draw people from the world into the kingdom of God. It’s hard for me to imagine what God sees in me that makes me suited to witness to his truth. What does he see in me as he looks at me as he did Peter, Andrew, James, and John? Why is it that Jesus calls two at a time, brothers at that? The way of faith—is it meant to be done in solitude or in fellowship?

God, help me comprehend what it means to say yes when Jesus says to me in the unfolding of the day: “Come after me.” It raises fears that I am not all you believe me to be. You know how the day and its responsibilities overtake me to the point that I sometimes forget you. The lyrics from the song “Lord, When You Came to the Seashore” remind me that God is not looking for the smartest or most powerful; he’s looking for me, whom he loved first: “Lord, when you came to the seashore / You weren’t seeking the wise or the wealthy, / But only asking that I might follow.” Let me have the grace, God, to hear your Son throughout the day and respond to his call.

Lord, I want to hear your voice today. This is your day. As in the Our Father, we pray that your will be done, I pray that you take my desire and longing to see you and make it suitable to accomplish your Divine Will. As the Morning Offering calls us to do, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day. Give me the grace to hear your voice and follow.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

https://youtu.be/y1uTNd4zbmg