READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/december.asp?version=63&startmmdd=0101
December 2, 2010(Luk 2:13-16) And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will. And it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath shewed to us. And they came with haste: and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
THOUGHTFUL: Anticipation…the Story of Advent! by Hugh McNichol
BLOG REFLECTION: Christmas Without Jesus
There have been many Christmas' in my life without Jesus. My parents didn't attend any services. My mother was a non-practicing Catholic and my dad had abandoned his Lutheran faith as well.
I was baptized a Catholic in December of 1981. A friend of mine gave me a Nativity set as a gift. It consisted of a straw manger and the Holy Family. Every year I would get another piece to add to the set and that Nativity has been under our tree every Christmas since. Until last year.
Last year we couldn't find it. I had no idea what I did with it. The remote to our lights was missing as well. We replaced that, but I couldn't bring myself to get another Nativity. I would stare at the spot under the tree where I carefully put it each year and I felt hollow. It just wasn't the same.
Over the summer we went through some boxes. I found a very pretty Christmas-looking box. When I opened it, carefully wrapped, was my Nativity! Laying next to it was the missing remote.
Today's second reading is from Romans 13:11-14 (New American Bible):
"Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkeness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh."
Those are powerful words in this day and age of gadgets and selfishness. I am guilty of "all of the above." But that little Nativity reminds me of my beginning in faith. It was under the tree two weeks after I was baptized and it was there until it went missing last year. This year it will be back and it is a gentle reminder that I am to give up the very things I covet this year.
Lord, I wait in anticipation of your arrival. Not only will I prepare the gifts, but I will prepare my soul as well. I promise!
O' Come, O' Come Emmanuel!
FROM THE MAILBAG
VIA Michael J. Coppi: Survival demands a Mother
When Mary’s children pray their Hail Mary’s well and gaze upon the Sacred Mysteries, her Immaculate Heart leaps with joy. We do not have to worry about winning the love of Mary, because she first loved us!
Her love for us is a love without conditions, because we are her sons and daughters: "Woman, behold thy son! Son, behold thy Mother!"
When we finally grasp Mary’s love for us, it will bring joy to our hearts amidst the times of greatest misery in our lives. The most inhuman and sorrowful thing in our world today is the cruelty of mothers who kill the infants in their womb. The heart of a mother LOVES! God made it so! In spite of the ingratitude, hate and total failure of the life of a child, a mother never stops loving that child. Hers is an unconditional love placed there by the Hand of God.
The fawn and calf depend entirely upon their mother’s care and milk. They remain at their mother’s side at all times depending on her for everything!
The mother robin prepares the nest, sits on the eggs, brings the chicks into the world, feeds them, protects them and teaches them how to fly. If the chick falls out of the nest, it will die.
Like the baby chick, if we are totally dependent on Mary, we will one day spread our wings and fly to the heights of Heaven. Nothing is so precious and necessary as a mother.
The male grizzly bear stalks the female when she is with cub and waits for the moment she is not near, so that he might devour her offspring. If the cub stays close to his mother, he has nothing to fear.
We have only to look at nature to see that survival demands a Mother!!!
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "Brief Summary on Discernment"
52. As a ship which has a good helmsman comes safely into harbour with God's help, so the soul which has a good shepherd, even though it has done much evil, easily ascends to Heaven.Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com
This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.
