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5. "Holiness befits your house!" (Psalm 93: 5). With these words we addressed God in the responsorial psalm. Holiness continues to be the greatest challenge for believers. We must be grateful to the Second Vatican Council, which recalled how all Christians are called to the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity.
You face tasks and goals which may seem to exceed human forces. Do not lose heart! "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (Philippians 1: 6) Always keep your gaze fixed on Jesus. Make him the heart of the world.
And you, Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, his first and most perfect disciple, help us to be his witnesses in the new millennium. Let your Son, King of the world and King of history, reign over our lives, our communities and the whole world!
"Praise and honour to you, O Christ!". By your Cross you have redeemed the world. At the beginning of the millennium, we entrust to you our efforts to serve this world which you love and which we love too. Support us with the power of your grace! Amen.
Acknowledgment: We thank the Vatican Publisher for allowing us to publish the homily of Blessed Pope John Paul II, so that it could be accessed by more people all over the world; as a source of God’s encouragements to all of us. 1 December 2012 |
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8 December 2012
Extracted from the prophet Jeremiah 33:14-16:
See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I am going to fulfill the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:
‘In those days and at that time, I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David, who shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.
In those days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell in confidence.
And this is the name the city will be called: The-Lord-our-integrity.’
Extracted from Psalm 25:1,4-5,8-9,10,14:
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me: for you are God my saviour.
The Lord is good and upright. He shows the path to those who stray, He guides the humble in the right path, He teaches his way to the poor.
His ways are faithfulness and love for those who keep his covenant and law. The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him; to them he reveals his covenant. |
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Extracted from the 1st letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2):
May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you.
And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.
Finally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live:
the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it.
You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus. |
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Extracted from the holy Gospel according to Luke 21:25-28,34-36:
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap.
For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth.
Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year C), 2 December 2012, the following were the Holy Mass Readings:
1st Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16 Responsorial: Psalm 25:1,4-5,8-9,10,14 2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 Gospel Reading: Luke 21:25-28,34-36
The aforesaid were extracted and published above.
We have extracted the Homilies of Blessed Pope John Paul II & Pope Benedict XVI, based on the aforesaid Readings to share with you:
JUBILEE OF THE DISABLED HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II Sunday, 3 December 2000
1. "Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21: 28). In the Gospel text offered for our meditation on this First Sunday of Advent, St Luke highlights the fear that terrifies human beings before the final upheaval. In contrast, however, the Evangelist presents with far greater emphasis the joyful prospect of Christian expectation: "Then", he says, "they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21: 27). This is the message which gives hope to the believer's heart: the Lord will come "with power and great glory". This is why the disciples are asked not to be afraid, but to look up and raise their heads, "because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21: 28).
Every year at the beginning of Advent the liturgy has us listen once again to this "good news" which rings out in the Church with extraordinary eloquence. It is the news of our salvation: it is the announcement that the Lord is near. Indeed, that he is already with us. |
