Theme for the month: Our Missionary intentionality: incarnating the Word in us Objective for the month: To say “Yes” as Mary did to the project of God. A project for us and for generations. To help the family enter in the transcendence of the project of God for us. Objective of the week:
IntroductionWe were invited last week to prepare a place for the Lord in the hearts of others and to value more our missionary identity in announcing for His coming. In this season of Advent we are invited to allow God to make His Word flesh in our lives again in a complete, new and transcendent way. The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will give us new time for hope and redemption, a new era of knowing God’s love, a new era of transformation and living a new era of a transcendent meaning of our existence in this world. No part of God’s creation is left untouched by the presence of God in the incarnation. Let us be joyful and hopeful of the coming of our redeemer and savior which will free us from all that binds us. MondayThe call and the need to prepare for the New Era in Christ 1This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2It began as the prophet Isaiah had written: “God said, “I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.” 3Someone is shouting in the desert, “Get the road ready for the Lord, make a straight path for him to travel!” 4So John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching. “Turn away from your sins and be baptized,” he told the people, “and God will forgive your sins.” 5Many people from the province of Judea and the city of Jerusalem went out to hear John. They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 7He announced to the people, “The man who will come after me is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to bend down and untie His sandals. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:1-8) The good news about the coming of Jesus Christ gives us a new hope to be redeemed from whatever challenges and difficulties we are in. All we need to do is to prepare His way so that His coming will not be delayed. This is the new time to clean our hearts and make it ready to receive the salvation He brings. Is the path of the Lord to my heart straight? What hinders me from receiving the salvation He brings? TuesdayThe New Time of Trust and Dependence on God’s Great and Infinite Mercy 15This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them, 16but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show His full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in Him and receive eternal life. (1Timothy 1: 15-16) 17For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior. (John 3:17) Christ came into this world to save sinners. To accept and believe this truth means to trust and depend solely on God’s great and infinite mercy. God has sent His Son for us in order to redeem us and bring us to His kingdom. Do you recognize God’s great mercy for you? WednesdayThe Good News of Having Greater Love to Rely On for Our Salvation8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) 15We who were born Jews and not gentile sinners 16have nevertheless learnt that someone is reckoned as upright not by practicing the Law but by faith in Jesus Christ; and we too came to believe in Christ Jesus so as to be reckoned as upright by faith in Christ and not by practicing the Law: since no human being can be found upright by keeping the Law. (Galatians 2:15-16) Sometimes we rely so much on our own capacity to control everything in our lives. We become self-sufficient and we forget that all we have is a gift from God out of His great love for us. In this season of advent, let us be reminded of the Good News of having greater love to rely on our salvation. To what and to whom do I rely for my salvation? Do I consider God as the only source of great love and salvation? ThursdayThe Very Name of Jesus Pronounces the Tender Mercy of God’s Love 8The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 9He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:8-14) 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) The very name of Jesus pronounces the tender mercy of God’s love in the way He comes to save His creatures. This is how dear we are to our Father. In what way I can make God’s love visible in my life? How can I be more compassionate to my brothers and sisters as a pronouncement of God’s abounding love and mercy for me? FridayFinding Our Dignity in Our Confident Submission to God’s Ways and Plan for Us63 'It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63) Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. 3Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this. (Psalm 37:1-5) Sometimes we see people who are living in success, comfort and luxury even though their ways are not according to God’s will. Let us not be envious to the power of those who rely on human strength, but to find our dignity in our confident submission to God’s ways and plan for us. God does not stop working in us. He is not yet finished with His dreams for us. Are you willing to submit to God’s plan for you? In what concrete way are you submissive to His dreams and plan for you? Are you willing to say “yes” to His project in your life and for generations to come? SaturdayThe Great Projection of God For Our Lives9 However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9) 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13) 7 'Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? 10 Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? 11 If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11) God has a great projection for our lives that is beyond anything we ever thought or imagine and it will come to pass as we welcome and receive His incarnation in our lives. Are you submissive enough to God’s projection in your life? In what way can you collaborate in His project? Sunday2nd Sunday of Advent1st Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85 2nd Reading: 2 Peter 3:8-14 Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 Comments are closed.
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