1st Week of Advent
05th December 2023 (Tuesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10
On that day: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples–of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting–place shall be glorious.
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 (R. see 7)
R/. In his days shall justice flourish, and great peace forever.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Behold, our Lord shall come with power; he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 10:21-24
At that hour: Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Highlight: Blessed are you!
Guidlines: We are blessed because we can see what many others cannot see, hear what many others cannot hear, and enjoy what many others cannot enjoy{alertSuccess}
1. The sad thing in the life of many is that life appears a curse. They feel cursed and they transmit the same sense of curse to others also. The reason is, the difficulties, fears and failures take away the beauty and charm of life.
2. It is in this context, that the words of Jesus in today’s gospel can be very comforting and encouraging. He affirms, “Blessed are you!” This is our joy and grace that we are blessed in the sight of God.
3. In fact, this is the very purpose of the coming of the Messiah. It is to bring into our cursed life the bliss, the abundance and harmony of messianic times. This, in the first place, invites us to be conscious of our blessedness.
4. We are noble, we are of great dignity. Many forget this, they take it for granted and thus tend to live against nobility, in a cheap way. In the second place, we are invited to be deeply grateful, because what we have received is not something small, but of immense value.
5. Many have desired it but have not received it. In the third place, we are invited to realize what this blessedness is. It does not consist in something physical or material or intellectual or social – nothing of the external appearances, possessions, riches, positions, powers, intelligence, status, social level et cetera.
6. This is very clear as Jesus says in the gospel that God hides the godly things from the so-called intelligent and the learned, but reveals them to little ones. Therefore, the real blessedness consists in seeing, hearing and grasping with heart the Son of God, our Lord. To the extent we can see, hear and receive the Lord, to that extent, we are blessed.
7. This then places upon us a great responsibility to live as blessed people, and to spread around an ambience of blessedness. This is very urgent and relevant in our times, where life seems more and more accursed, because of a culture of shallowness, selfishness, indifference and violence.
Practice: You are blessed! Why do you then curse yourself and your life, and live a cursed life and bring curses all around?{alertSuccess}