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10th
of December 2018
Readings
of the Day:
Reading 1, Isaiah 35:1-10
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Gospel, Luke 5:17-26
First
Reading, Isaiah 35:1-10
Let the desert and the dry
lands be glad, let the wasteland rejoice and bloom; like the asphodel, let it
burst into flower, let it rejoice and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is
bestowed on it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; then they will see the
glory of Yahweh, the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees and say to the faint-hearted, 'Be strong! Do not be
afraid. Here is your God, vengeance is coming, divine retribution; he is coming
to save you.'
Then the eyes of the blind
will be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame will leap like a
deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy; for water will gush in the desert
and streams in the wastelands, the parched ground will become a marsh and the
thirsty land springs of water; the lairs where the jackals used to live will
become plots of reed and papyrus.
And through it will run a road
for them and a highway which will be called the Sacred Way; the unclean will
not be allowed to use it; He will be the one to use this road, the fool will
not stray along it.
No lion will be there, no
ferocious beast set foot on it, nothing of the sort be found; it will be used
by the redeemed.
For those whom Yahweh has
ransomed will return, they will come to Zion shouting for joy, their heads
crowned with joy unending; rejoicing and gladness will escort them and sorrow
and sighing will take flight.
Responsorial
Psalm, Psalms 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
His saving help is near for
those who fear him, his glory will dwell in our land.
Faithful Love and Loyalty join
together, Saving Justice and Peace embrace.
Loyalty will spring up from
the earth, and Justice will lean down from heaven.
Yahweh will himself give
prosperity, and our soil will yield its harvest.
Justice will walk before him,
treading out a path.
Gospel,
Luke 5:17-26
Now it happened that he was
teaching one day, and Pharisees and teachers of the Law, who had come from
every village in Galilee, from Judaea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there.
And the power of the Lord was there so that he should heal. And now some men
appeared, bringing on a bed a paralysed man whom they were trying to bring in
and lay down in front of him. But as they could find no way of getting the man
through the crowd, they went up onto the top of the house and lowered him and
his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle of the gathering, in front
of Jesus.
Seeing their faith he said, 'My friend, your sins are forgiven you.'
The scribes and the Pharisees
began to think this over. 'Who is this
man, talking blasphemy? Who but God alone can forgive sins?'
But Jesus, aware of their
thoughts, made them this reply,
'What are these thoughts you have in your
hearts? Which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven
you," or to say, "Get up and walk"? But to prove to you that the
Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- he
said to the paralysed man-'I order you:
get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.'
And immediately before their
very eyes he got up, picked up what he had been lying on and went home praising
God. They were all astounded and praised God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen strange things today.'
Writer’s
reflection
Are
you the man lying on the stretcher?
I feel like sometimes I am. In
this world it is too easy to get side-tracked, and at times to feel hopeless. Drugs,
alcohol, anxiety, stress, depression, suicide, a secular culture conflicting
with the truth – these are all problems existing in our generation today.
Whatever we may face, we can get bogged down suffering with the wages of our
own sins that we turn our eyes away from God; and away from the truth that only
He can help us.
In these moments of
helplessness and emotional paralysis – truly, my remedy is to ask for an
increase in faith. Jesus calls us out of that life to a new one. He calls us
today to RISE and WALK. He came so that we may live life to the full. And that
fullness lies in HIM! We must not give into the world around us with all its worries
and woes; instead we must continually live in His light! He has prepared a more perfect way, one that is beyond what we can
dream or know, one that will fulfil all our deepest desires, for it was He who
placed them in our hearts. He knows us; He knows what we need, just like He
knew what the paralysed man needed.
Having moved home a few months
ago after living in different places for several years, at times I’ve found I
really had to grasp the truth to keep sustaining this outlook on life. The
confusion, the questions of why things happen the way they do, not knowing what
the future holds and the challenges of everyday life can lead to obscuring the
One who guides and sustains all things in being. It is only when I have trusted in God and leaned on Him in prayer that
the answer comes, and never as I expect it, but always in abundantly greater and
more diverse ways.
The battle of this life is
real and hard, but Jesus’ Love is infinitely greater and has already won the
battle in the plan of eternity. This should give us confidence to live for Him,
to rise each day as his own child should and face every challenge and
uncertainty with strength and joy. His promises are real; they are there in the
first reading; ‘Then the eyes of the
blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame will leap
like a deer and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy’. The miracles that
were promised and the miracles that were performed during Jesus time on earth
are still miracles that can happen in our own lives today- we just need to
believe. We have nothing to fear, and every reason to trust. So let’s RISE and
WALK in the light of our Lord, who will lead us and protect us with the
greatest love.
Prayer
Reflection:
Lord Jesus, thank you for
everything you have given to me.
I ask that You increase my
faith and trust so I can surrender all my difficulties to you and live in
complete freedom, as you made me to live.
Let nothing weigh me down or
overwhelm me, rather let me surrender everything to You who knows best, and
keep my eyes on You who are the most important.
All glory to the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be
forever. Amen.
Writer's Bio: Luca McQuillan
Hey :) My name is Luca and I am half Scottish/Hungarian. I study Catholic theology and my aim is to work for the salvation of souls in whatever way God asks of me. I love adventures in any shape or form, travelling, people, art, rollerblading, climbing, swimming and even studying among many other things. Most recently I spent the past year in the St Andrew’s community in Aberdeen, Scotland.
My message to any readers would be, to live life to the full! By this you glorify God! “The glory of God is man fully alive” (CCC 294). God gave you this precious gift and there’s so much you can do if you abandon everything to Him. There is great truth in Jesus words “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
Your life is full when it is lived for God, and this pleases him greatly – so don’t let anything hold you back!! :D
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