S ai nt Aug u sti ne Fi ft h c e n t ur y

Transcription

1 ADV ENT WE EK T HRE E Be glad and rejoice with all you r h eart, Never again will you fear any h arm. T h e Lord you r God is with you, He will quiet you with His love. Zephani ah 3 Rejoice Always Some people think that religion mu st always be very seriou s and even somber. It's n ot su pposed to be fu n! T oday's readings are a reminder that true religion sh ould be joyfu l. In the New American Bible the single word "joy" appears 219 times; while the words "sad", "sadden ", "saddens", "sadly" and "sadn ess" occur on ly a total of 24 times. T h e Catholic Chu rch celebrates two "Joy" Su n days: the third Su n day of Advent (Gau dete, Latin for "Rejoice") an d the fou rth Su n day of Lent (Laetare, another Latin word for "Rejoice".) + We pause and remember that ou r God is always with u s. Let u s live in h oliness and love as we patiently await ou r blessed h ope, the coming of ou r Savior Wh o will come with power and might. ISAIAH 12 :2-6 Su rely God is my salvation ; I will tru st and n ot be afraid. T h e LORD, the L ORD, i s my strength and my son g; He h as become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. In that day you will say: Give thanks to the LORD, call on His n ame; make known amon g the n ation s what He h as don e, and proclaim that His n ame is exalted.

2 Sing to the LORD, for He h as don e gloriou s things; let this be known to all the world. Sh ou t alou d and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy On e of Israel amon g you. FIRST REA DING: Ph ilippian s 4:4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let you r gentlen ess be evident to all. T h e Lord is n ear. Do n ot be anxiou s abou t anything, bu t in everything, by prayer an d petition, with th anksgivin g, present you r requests to God. An d the peace of God, which tran scends all u n derstandin g, will gu ard you r h earts and you r minds in Ch rist Jesu s. GOSPE L: LU KE 3: 7-18 Joh n said to the crowds coming ou t to be baptized by h im, You brood of vipers! Wh o warn ed you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fru it in keepin g with repen tan ce. An d do n ot begin to say to you rselves, We h ave Abraham as ou r father. For I tell you that ou t of these ston es God can raise u p children for Abraham. T h e ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does n ot produce good fru it will be cut down and th rown into the fire. Wh at sh ou ld we do then? the crowd asked. Joh n answered, Th e man with two tunics sh ou ld sh are with h im who h as n on e, an d the on e who h as food sh ou ld do the same. T ax collectors also came to be baptized. T eacher, they asked, wh at sh ou ld we do? Don t collect any more than you are required to, he told them. T h en some soldiers asked h im, An d what sh ou ld we do? He replied, Don t extort mon ey an d don t accu se people falsely be con tent with you r pay. T h e people were waitin g expectantly and were all won dering in their h earts if Joh n might possibly be the Ch rist. Joh n answered them all, I baptize you with water. Bu t on e more powerfu l than I will come, the th on gs of whose sandals I am n ot worthy to u n tie. He will baptize you with th e Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowin g fork is in h is h and to clear h is thresh ing floor and to gather the wheat into h is barn, bu t h e will bu rn u p the chaff with u n qu enchable fire. An d with many other words Joh n exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

3 REFLECTION Father Ronald Raab, CSC John is baptizing and proclaiming that the Messiah is coming. There is more to come for those who believe. The message is difficult to hear but the news will be good because we are waiting for the Messiah, the person of Jesus. We are to make some very concrete decisions about our lives; reform, do not accuse, and be content with wages. The Scriptures are again the continuing call for conversion and new life as we prepare a place in our harts for the Lord. Decide in your life during this Advent season how you will receive the God Who s salvation. Create in your heart the path toward a new freedom of life. Be open to the message to recognize your priorities in order to live the life God has planned for you. QUESTIONS for CONSIDERATION God, give me the courage to change Jesus, I need to accept The Advent message of hope speaks to me of. John the Baptist is challenging me to God, I long for The thing that brings most joy in my life is A ST ORY Rebbe s grandson, Bennie, came ru nn ing into h is study in tears. Bennie, Bennie, wh y are you crying? My friend cheats! It s u n fair; h e s left me all by myself, that s why I m crying. Wou ld you like to tell me abou t it? Certainly, Grandfather. We played hide-and-seek, and it was my turn to h ide and h is turn to look for me. So h e gave u p; h e stopped looking. An d that s u n fair. Rebbe h eld Bennie s face and tears began to well u p in h is eyes. God too, Bennie, h e wh ispered softly. God too is u n h appy; He is h iding and man is n ot looking for Him. Do you u n derstand, Bennie? God is h iding and man is n ot even search ing for Him. E lie Wie se l

4 Late h ave I loved you, O Beauty, so ancient and so n ew; Late h ave I loved you. For behold, you were within me, and I ou tside An d I sou ght you ou tside An d in my u n loveliness fell u pon those lovely things that you h ave made. You were with me and I was n ot with you. I was kept from you by those things, Yet h ad they n ot been in you, T h ey would n ot h ave been at all. You called and cried to me to break open my deafness An d you sent forth you r beams An d you sh on e u pon me and chased away my blindness. You breathed fragran ce upon me, and I drew in my breath An d do n ow pant for you. I tasted you and n ow h un ger an d thirst for you. You tou ched me an d I h ave bu rned for you r peace. S ai nt Aug u sti ne Fi ft h c e n t ur y PRAYER Jesus, I wait for You to offer me love. You re the center of my desire. Help me to bring my life before You. Give m the insight to sort wheat and chaff. Set in me new priorities. I wait for news that sets me free. Help me to find You for everything is changed. Teach me, accuse me not, and baptize me in love. You are the message. Good News is Your presence. Provide hope in me. Amen.

5 HYMN AN D T HE FAT HER WI LL DA NCE An d the Father will dan ce as on the day of joy He will exult over you and ren ew you by His love. Sh ou t for joy all you, His people. Sing alou d and exult with all you r h eart For Yahweh you r God is in you r midst. You h ave n o more evil to fear. Do n ot let you r h ands fall limp For Yahweh you r God is in you r midst. An d when th e time comes I will rescue the lame, Wh en the time comes I will gather the strays, An d when th e time comes I will be you r guide. I will gather you in An d give you renown among all peoples. An d the Father will dan ce as on the day of joy. Care y L a n dr y, 197 7, No rt h A me ric a n Lit u rg y Re so urc e s Let u s live by ju stice and mercy An d wait with bright h ope For the Lord to come! Mo n a stic Li t ur g y Saint Joh n Baptist de La Salle and all you h oly Brothers who have gon e before u s, h elp u s to rejoice always in the Lord and to know th at He is n ear. Live Jesu s in ou r h earts. Forever! Special thanks to Father Ronald Raab, CSC of the Downtown Chapel in Portland, OR for his Reflection, Questions and Prayer from his At Home Retreat-Advent 2006.