1ST READING
The
first week of Advent is always a meditation on the abundant promises of
the Lord to those who embrace His will. His promises motivate us to
make the difficult decisions of discipleship that constitute the daily
Christian life. Yet, there has to be more than simply the promise of
reward for righteous living; there has to be embracing of the good,
right and beautiful as well. In other words, a righteous life is at
least, in part, its own reward for our choices.
Isaiah 25:6-10
6 On
this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of
rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; 8 he
will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from
all faces; the reproach of his people he will remove from the whole
earth; for the Lord has spoken. 9 On
that day it will be said: “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save
us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that
he has saved us!” 10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
P S A L M
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
(R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus
hardly ever expresses concern that is focused on Himself. His heart is
always looking out for others. This gels with what we hear in the
Gospels when He says that He comes to serve and not to be served. We
should all have a similar attitude in the way we follow Jesus. We may
fall into the sin of selfishness from time to time but let us not be
resigned to this. Let us always look for ways to open our hearts to
others and see the multitude of possibilities for serving them.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people; blessed are those prepared to meet him.
Matthew 15:29-37
29 At that time, Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 Great
crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed,
the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured
them. 31 The
crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made
whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified
the God of Israel. 32 Jesus
summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the
crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to
eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse
on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.” 35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36 Then
he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over — seven baskets full.
think: Let us always look for ways to open our hearts to others and see the multitude of possiblities for serving them.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ezekiel 29-32
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