Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 67 Those Who Are Sent on a Journey
Vigil Mass: Is 62:1-5; Resp Ps 89; Acts 1:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25
Mass During the Night: Is 9:1-6; Resp Ps 96; Titus 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14
Mass at Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Resp Ps 97; Titus 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20
Mass During the Day: Is 52:7-10; Resp Ps 98; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18
A child is born for us, and a son is given to us; his scepter of power rests upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Messenger of great counsel.
FOR A CHILD IS BORN TO US, A SON GIVEN TO US; UPON HIS SHOULDER DOMINION RESTS. THEY NAME HIM WONDER-COUNSELOR, GOD-HERO, FATHER-FOREVER, PRINCE OF PEACE.
(Is 9:5)
Two prayers for today follow. The first, from St Bernard of Clairvaux, was sent in a Christmas card I received. The second from Pope Francis, from his annual Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) address at Saint Peter's Square.
Let your goodness, Lord, appear to us, that we, made in your image, conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength we cannot imitate your majesty, power and wonder; nor is it fitting for us to try.
But your mercy reaches from the heavens, through the clouds, to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child, but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts, the gift of eternal love.
Caress us with your tiny hands, embrace us with your tiny arms, and pierce our hearts with your soft, sweet cries.
(Nativity Prayer, St Bernard of Clairvaux)
May Emmanuel bring light to all the suffering members of our human family. May he soften our stony and self-centered hearts, and make them channels of his love. May he bring his smile, through our poor faces, to all the children of the world: to those who are abandoned and those who suffer violence.
(Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi, Christmas Day 2019)
Now we might ask ourselves questions posed by the Holy Father in his Christmas Night homily: "Do I allow myself to be loved by God? Do I abandon myself to his love that comes to save me?"
© Gertrude Feick 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment