The Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, December 5, 2001
The First Week of Advent
Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalm 23:1-6
Matthew 15:29-37
Full text: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/index.htm
A Reflection on Today's Scripture:
Advent is a time for dreaming. The dream of Isaiah is quite
incredible. It pictures a banquet, full, satisfying, and rich in
content. Quite uncharacteristically of Jewish thought, it includes
not only Jews, but people of all nations and all cultures. For those
of us who live long after the Messiah has come, we still await the
liberation, unity and peace that is supposed to come with the
establishment of the Kingdom. We can be confused and disillusioned.
Our world seems to be going backward, not forward, in the embracing
of the Good News by all peoples.
Nevertheless, we must resolutely go into the desert with John the
Baptist, proclaim for ourselves a disciplined focusing on what His
coming means for us in this terror-stricken time. We beg Jesus to
feed us in our desert, to renew our hope, to stir in us faith-filled
living and ardent action. More intense prayer, more careful
meditation on the Advent readings is in order. Now is the time, or
Advent will pass unnoticed into a tinsel-deep and shallow celebration
of the Incarnation, without a true rebirth in our souls.
- Msgr. Paul E. Whitmore ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
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