You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the most High!

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the most High!

“You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.  In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”  Luke 1:76-79

Refection:

This song of praise from Zechariah is spoken once his tongue is 
loosed after manifesting faith in the birth of his son John.  And 
in this particular song of praise, Zechariah gives glory to God 
as he manifests not only his faith but also the fruit of his faith: 
deep, clear, articulate and insightful knowledge of the workings
 of the Father in Heaven.

Zechariah speaks truths that could only be known by him through
 the gift of faith.  There is little doubt that his long exile of silence,
 after being struck mute by the Angel Gabriel, resulted in him 
seeking, hearing and understanding the mystery that was before him.
  He came to realize that his little child was the one who would
 prepare the immediate way for the Lord.  He came to
 understand this baby’s singular prophetic role in the salvation
 of the world.  He saw his son as the “dawn” which was to announce
 the rising Sun.

Remembering +Father Bob, OFM

So much happened to Zechariah in these months of suffering. 
 The Lord worked on him and enabled him to offer this prayer
 of praise that is sung daily by priests and religious throughout 
the world.  Zechariah truly fulfilled his mission by getting back 
up on his feet after his fall.

The same must happen with each one of us.  It would have 
been easy for Zechariah to turn to anger and despair.  He could
 have easily lost hope and felt abandoned by God.  But he didn’t. 
 He waited on the fidelity of God and when his time came, he 
spoke this beautiful and faith-filled song of praise.

Reflect, today, upon how God wants you to imitate the faith 
and perseverance of Zechariah.  It would be easy to look down
 on him for doubting.  But God did not do this.  Instead, He gave
 him a chance to honor Him through the ages with this song.  Seek
 the ways that God also wants to work through your failures of the
 past.  Offer them to Him and trust that He will manifest His almighty 
power through you as you seek to imitate the example of this holy man.

Remembering Sister Ann, SSND and Sister Marcy, OSF

Lord, I offer You my past and all the ways that I have failed to trust 
in You.  I give You my weakness, my pride, and my frustration.  I surrender
 all sin to You and give myself to You completely so that You may do
 with me as You will.  May Your grace be at work in me and may I, like
 Zechariah, sing forever the glory of Your holy name.  Jesus, I trust in You.

SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT

The Great Bell located in the tower of St. John the Baptist. The name of the Bell is Mary Queen of Heaven. SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT

MATTHEW 18:12-14

Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus, asks:  "If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave  the ninety-nine in the hills and go in  search of the stray?" Well, of course  not! No self-respecting shepherd would  ever think of doing that. If you were a  shepherd, you’d cut your losses. That  sheep is probably dead anyway if it  wandered far enough away. But we are to understand that God is like  that foolish shepherd. God’s love throws  caution to the wind to seek out the lost  sheep. We might expect God to be good  to those who are good, and kind to those  who follow his commandments. Those who  don’t, who wander away, are simply lost. God might give them a few minutes, but  then they’re on their own. No; God is like this kooky shepherd. God  loves irrationally, exuberantly risking it  all in order to find the one who wandered  away. What good news: God does not love  according to a strict justice on our  terms, but loves in his own extravagant way. Reflect: Meditate on a time when you were the one lost sheep and received the extravagant, irrational love of God.

St. Ambrose Day

MEMORIAL OF SAINT AMBROSE

MATTHEW 9:35 - 10:1, 5A, 6-8

Friends, today Jesus instructs us to pray for laborers for the harvest, for disciples to do the work of evangelization. We need to  organize our lives around evangelization.  Everything we do ought to be related  somehow to it. This doesn’t mean that  we all have to become professional  evangelizers. Remember, you can evangelize  by the moral quality of your life. But it does  mean that nothing in our lives ought  to be more important than announcing  the victory of Jesus. We should think of others not as objects  to be used, or annoying people in the way  of realizing our projects, but rather as those  whom we are called to serve. Instead of  saying, “Why is this annoying person in  my way?” we should ask, “What opportunity  for evangelization has presented itself?”  Has God put this person in your life precisely  for this purpose? Reflect: Think of an annoying person in  your life and reflect on what opportunity  God might be putting in your way for  evangelization, which begins with love.