posted Feb 13, 2012 1:32 PM by Shawn Carey
Thus says the LORD:
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
The people I formed for myself,
that they might announce my praise.
Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob,
for you grew weary of me, O Israel.
You burdened me with your sins,
and wearied me with your crimes.
It is I, I, who wipe out,
for my own sake, your offenses;
your sins I remember no more.
R. (5b) Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
Blessed is the one who has regard for the lowly and the poor;
in the day of misfortune the LORD will deliver him.
The LORD will keep and preserve him;
and make him blessed on earth,
and not give him over to the will of his enemies.
R. Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
The LORD will help him on his sickbed,
he will take away all his ailment when he is ill.
Once I said, "O LORD, have pity on me;
heal me, though I have sinned against you."
R. Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.
But because of my integrity you sustain me
and let me stand before you forever.
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from all eternity. Amen. Amen.
R. Lord, heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. Brothers and sisters:
As God is faithful,
our word to you is not "yes" and "no."
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me,
was not "yes" and "no, " but "yes" has been in him.
For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him;
therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.
But the one who gives us security with you in Christ
and who anointed us is God;
he has also put his seal upon us
and given the Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Child, your sins are forgiven."
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
"Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?"
Jesus immediately knew in his mind
what they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk?'
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"
-he said to the paralytic,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."
Homily
Last weekend, parishes across the Archdiocese of Boston were shown a video of a homily given by Cardinal Sean O’Malley. The homily addressed the moral issue of “Death with Dignity” an initiative currently being considered by the Massachusetts Legislature which deals with physician-assisted suicide. This initiative, whether or not physician-assisted suicide should be legal or not, may be voted upon this coming November by the citizens of Massachusetts. This is an important issue for us to be proactive in addressing as we, Catholics, respect and support the dignity and value of human life as a natural gift from our Creator, the Father. Do we want to waste this awesome and precious gift? Think about this; are our lives worth living even if we experience suffering? What would our lives be like if there was no suffering in the world? What would we learn from living in a world without suffering? Now, let us look at Jesus, the Son of Man, for he experienced more suffering than we can even imagine. He endured trials of doubt, flogging, insults, mockery, ridicule, and torture. He persevered through His suffering by trusting in the Father, giving himself entirely to Him for our sake and depending solely upon Him. We must look to Jesus as a model for how to endure our own suffering in this world.
In the Gospel today, after the paralyzed man and his bearers struggle through the crowds and ultimately climb onto the roof in order to reach Jesus, Jesus recognizes their strong faith. Jesus’ primary concern at that point is the heart of the paralyzed man. For his heart is the core of his life, a life which Jesus has come to save. As for the bearers, Jesus sees their hearts’ as a model for care and compassion the very kind they are showing to their paralyzed brother. Jesus knows that they would never abandon or isolate him, or even waste his precious life. The reality of the paralyzed man’s life can appear challenging and difficult to many people. Those people would unfortunately be overlooking the deeper reality of that life as a precious gift from God, a life that contributes greatly to our society. To dismiss the paralyzed man’s life would be to lose out on the gift of his life experience of living through both good and bad times. I am reminded of a meeting I once had with a family in order to plan a loved-one’s funeral. A family member shared a comment her grandmother had once said, that witnessing the suffering her 3-year-old grandson had endured, had taught her how to endure suffering herself. We may wonder why this woman’s grandson was not healed, like the paralyzed man in the Gospel. We must remember that healing is not limited to the miraculous, but can be experienced in various ways. Healing can come from our comfort and care we give to our brothers and sisters who are disabled or ill. That comfort and care we express are signs of God’s goodness and love and His very manifestation in our midst.
As for physician-assisted suicide, I ask you to consider the following; are we really showing God’s goodness and love by helping others to take their own lives? Are we really protecting them or are we allowing them to deny themselves the experience of suffering, an experience that teaches us the real meaning of perseverance which helps us to understand more deeply how to live through good and bad times in our lives? If we continue down this road in the direction of a life without suffering, we are in for a regrettable outcome, a superficial existence. And who would want to live in a cold, empty, feelingless world like that? |
posted Feb 10, 2012 4:39 PM by Shawn Carey
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updated Feb 10, 2012 4:40 PM
]
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
"If someone has on his skin a scab or pustule or blotch
which appears to be the sore of leprosy,
he shall be brought to Aaron, the priest,
or to one of the priests among his descendants.
If the man is leprous and unclean,
the priest shall declare him unclean
by reason of the sore on his head.
"The one who bears the sore of leprosy
shall keep his garments rent and his head bare,
and shall muffle his beard;
he shall cry out, 'Unclean, unclean!'
As long as the sore is on him he shall declare himself unclean,
since he is in fact unclean.
He shall dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp."
R. (7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Brothers and sisters,
Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do everything for the glory of God.
Avoid giving offense, whether to the Jews or Greeks or
the church of God,
just as I try to please everyone in every way,
not seeking my own benefit but that of the many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched him, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning the him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
He said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
Homily
For certain, there are times when we ask ourselves a question, “How can we be holy?” and ponder on it. Perhaps, we may easily scoff at the question and say that holiness does not apply to our lives today and we do not even need to be holy. We can also say that life is short and we need to make the most of it so there is no need to be holy. Perhaps being holy is too hard for our lives, we can claim. There is definitely something wrong with these thoughts of ours about living in holiness. But we are correct with one thought, “life is short and we need to make the most of it.” Indeed, our lives here on earth are brief, but what is our goal while living a short life here? Think about it.
In the first reading, as a way to maintain holiness, the Levitical Law required a leper to go through a lengthy ritual of cleansing procedure which include animal sacrifices and bringing oneself to to be declared as cleaned and cured by a priest. Through this law of purity, a leper may have thought that he or she can be cured into holiness. This sounds like a “Levitical Bureaucracy” when a law tells us directly how to be holy.
How can we make the most of our lives today on earth? We need to look at Jesus’ holy actions in today’s Gospel as he was showing love and instant compassion to the leper. Often we can see a leper anywhere outside of their isolated camp and we can be scared of them as we do not want to obtain their diseases. We certainly can see them as unclean compared with ourselves being clean. Are we really that pure clean in our lives? Think again. What kind of person was that man with leprosy who came up and kneel before Jesus and say, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”? He was indeed a man of faith seeking hope of salvation. We, of all people, can be like that man as we really are seeking hope of salvation from God because we desire to join in a heavenly banquet with Jesus, all the saints and, depending on the mercy of God, our loved ones. That is our goal for living in holiness here on earth.
What happened next is The Good News as Jesus said to the leper, “I do will be made clean.” This is the moment of his showing compassion and forgiving by touching the leper against the Levitical Law (Jewish law). It is the holiness of Christ that healed and liberated the leper. Imagine how do we feel when we are relieved from any burden or difficulty; such as from the experience of being discriminated and isolation to the joy of freedom?. It is through Christ’s compassion and forgiving spirit, we are called to be his followers as we reach out to others by caring, forgiving and bearing our infirmities. This is the way to living holy. Let us not forget that Jesus has the power and the will of God to turn things in our lives. He can turn our weaknesses to strengths. If we want to turn our weaknesses to strengths, we can live holy by following Christ’s examples and teachings. That will take us to, our goal, that is heaven. Remember, to make our lives here on earth worthwhile for heaven! |
posted Feb 4, 2012 1:11 PM by Shawn Carey
Job spoke, saying:
Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?
Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
I shall not see happiness again.
R. (cf. 3a) Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach,
I offer the gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
HOMILY
In today’s gospel, it is morning the day after a very full day of ministry for Jesus and he gets up early to escape the crowds and goes to a deserted place to pray. Does anyone ever feel the need to escape from a stressful world to go someplace more perfect and more satisfying? All of us would respond “Yes!” and do it without even thinking twice. Like us, Jesus, as fully human, had every reason to be exhausted and overwhelmed. But, what does he do when he needs time for himself? Pray and be with God.
Our stressful world would tell us that prayer is not the answer to heal our tired souls and that we would need to find an utopian place where everything is perfect and fulfilling. But Mark lets us know that escape does not mean that we are free from danger and that even Jesus’ quiet time was not quiet as we might like to think. At that time of prayer, Jesus struggles with a temptation that because of his God-given powers, his fame has spread and everyone is looking for him to perform more amazing miracles. The danger lies within that temptation should Jesus choose to stay and heal more people and continue to impress them. What good would be if Jesus stays longer? Our vocation is to follow Jesus as we need to move forward into new adventure filled with new challenges. How can we face these new challenges? Faith, indeed. It is because of faith, we will learn to grow in grace and holiness. That is why, from praying to God, Jesus responds in faith to God to preach the Good News and drive out demons in other places.
When we pray, we need to recognize and realize that we are facing temptations leading us to believe in restoring our false selves in all our vainglory. In prayer, we are entering a “wilderness zone” where forces of evil and forces of God compete. May we not fall prey into these forces of evil that can be very tempting to make us think “this is the best way”. Following Christ, we can defeat the evil forces and win the battle even if we suffer, like Job in today’s First Reading. When we face suffering, we shall not permit the forces of evil luring us to look for a better way to live in our lives. Indeed, Job suffers miserably, but he perseveres. Why not us? Remember suffering can help us grow in humility and holiness. That is the grace of God we need to look for.
In Christ,
Fr. Shawn Carey |
posted Dec 23, 2011 10:37 AM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Dec 31, 2011 8:53 AM
]
 Mystical Nativity Sandro Botticelli, c.1500 to continue last Wees Anunciation. Notice the coming together of Heaven and Earth all centered around the birth of Christ; Emanuel; God with us.
The Shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem because they received the message of the Angels. I have received the message of the successors of the evangelists, through our Bishop, to go and become a shepherd to the good people of Ashby and Townsend. This does not mean I am leaving you for, with Christ, love never ends it only expands. Although we will be separated for a while and this will painful, with Christ it will only serve to help our hope for heaven increase. It is only in Christ that we can ever really be together and have any hope of being together at all. Through faith in the Eucharist, we will always be united. Through the Eucharist we will be united forever in heaven.
You can see the efects of the Christ in the manger in the painting printed on the Bulletin cover this week. The shepherds are embracing the angels. Heaven and earth have come together. I will go to the next assignment in the same way I came to serve you all these past years. It is by a message and a sending. God is good so we are not afraid. Even in our parting we know it is only for a time and a season and Christ's power to unite is our hope.
In Christ,
Fr. St. Martin
The Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Lectionary: 18
The LORD said to Moses:
"Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them."
R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, "Abba, Father!"
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
|
posted Dec 19, 2011 7:45 AM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Dec 19, 2011 9:48 AM
]
December 25, 2011 | Vigil Mass
Jesus is born from a long line of ordinary people. He is born from an ordinary family, He is born in an ordinary place. He is born at an ordinary time. The long list of people that are his ancestors were ordinary people with ordinary problems and lives. One was an ordianry King chosen because he was ordinary and he had the ordinary successes and failures of an ordinary king. The list has a variety of kinds of names, long and short, and the shape of the names change with a diversity that marks the ordinary history of us all. Jesus comes into the world like all of us, he comes like a grand surprise. It is the most ordinary thing in the world to be born into it. In fact there is no other way not even in science fiction. Even there there must be a womb even if it is an artificial one there must be one. There must be a coming forth. As strange as science fiction writers might imagine some artificial way of coming into the world there is nothing that could ever trump the reality of motherhood. The fact of this most ordinary miracle is unbeatable and never loses its power. Mary as we know gives a human body to the King of Kings in her womb in an uncomon way. God is the Father of this little one.
This is the reason why we are transformed. It is the reason why the world can't help but be transformed. The reality of this birth can't but compel the world to goodness. We have to be good by the very power of love flowing from this child. We have to be generous, be our best, love our family, our neighbors, the poor, everyone. We have to sing to the little king. We have to pray and become holy. We have to put away bitterness and evil. We have to love all that is wholesome and beautiful. We can't help it. Even the most devolved agnostics have to put a sock in it for a minute and hang a sock up with some goodies.
We have all been transformed now. We have found that our ordinary world is noble. That ordinary things are heavenly now. Our normal is really noble. God is good and we are good because He is. We are born again in Him as He is born again into our world as we all were, as babies.
In Christ,
Fr. St. Martin
Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
At the Vigil Mass
Lectionary: 13
For Zion's sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her victory like a burning torch.
Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
you shall be called by a new name
pronounced by the mouth of the LORD.
You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem held by your God.
No more shall people call you "Forsaken,"
or your land "Desolate,"
but you shall be called "My Delight,"
and your land "Espoused."
For the LORD delights in you
and makes your land his spouse.
As a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
R. (2a)For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
He shall say of me, "You are my father,
my God, the rock, my savior."
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
When Paul reached Antioch in Pisidia and entered the synagogue,
he stood up, motioned with his hand, and said,
"Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the
land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out of it.
Then he removed Saul and raised up David as king;
of him he testified,
'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.'
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'"
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile,
fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. |
posted Dec 13, 2011 5:49 AM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Dec 13, 2011 7:00 AM
]
Fourth Sunday of Advent December 18, 2011
Botticelli, Alessandro (1444/45-1510)
Cestello Annunciation
Date: 1489-1490
Movement: Renaissance (Early Italian, "Quattrocento")
Theme: New Testament
Technique: Tempera
Museum: Uffizi Galleries
Location: Florence, Italy
Luke depicts the advent of Christmas with the Angel Gabriel approaching Mary. His greeting gives Mary pause. Why? The cover art today helps. Botticelli depicts Luke's angel as approaching Mary with not only the words of reverence but with the the appearance of reverence as well. Mary is shown being troubled by his greeting. This is a greeting she finds strange. An angel of God, a heavenly creature, a pure spirit, is greeting her with such reverence. It should not be. It has never been before. Why is this angel so honored to approach this human woman?The angel knows about the incarnation. He knows it is about to happen and knows that Mary is going to be the Mother of God. He knows that God is about to become human and so the angel is now seeing Mary as an even greater expression of heaven and God than he himself is and he is therefore reverencing this human woman as higher than himself. Mary has not yet heard the announcement of God's plan for her so she is trying to dissuade this angel from what seems like some kind of mistake on his part. But it is no mistake. Mary quickly learns that she is indeed highly favored by God. We too learn through her and the Church, especially at Christmas, that we are highly favored by God. God has decided to do great things for us and through us and in us. He prepares us now for Christmas where we are overcome by God's love and proclaim to all the world with all our might that God has become one of us and that the earthly world, our bodies, hearts, our art, all that is, now by God entering it and becoming one with it transforms this physical universe, starting with Mary, into a new creation, The angel recognized it. He made no mistake, naturally. God has done great things for us, and holy is His name. New Mission You are all very trusting in God's goodness and His plan in this time of transition. We don't have all the answers that we would like to have as yet. We do not yet know the details of the taking over of my job as Director of the Deaf Apostolate. We know that Fr. Shawn is the Assistant Director and will be when I am no longer Director - so that is good. We know that I will be Director until Febuary 1st. We don't know many things about the ultimate plans of how Fr. Connelly and Fr. Imbelli and the Parish here and the Church of St. Philip will be affected by all this change. We do know that we have many meetings set up to get good answers to all these things in the next days and weeks and that in January we should have some more concrete answers. Fr. Shawn is living in Hopkinton now and there is no plan as far as I know to change that but it is the case that all the men of his ordination class will be given new assisgments before long. We have some new interpreters that we have been developing who are good at doing Church signing and we are looking to get them formally involved in the Deaf ministry with Fr. Shawn as he will be taking on the responsibility of priest leader when I am no longer called to serve in that way. All of this is vague and scary. Like Mary, who didn't know the whole story when the angel of announcement approached, we are baffled but with Mary we are not undone. We await God with many reasons for hope. In Christ, Fr. St. Martin
Lectionary: 11
When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
"Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!"
Nathan answered the king,
"Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you."
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?'
"'It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever."
R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
"He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters:
To him who can strengthen you,
according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages
but now manifested through the prophetic writings and,
according to the command of the eternal God,
made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith,
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ
be glory forever and ever. Amen
The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her. |
posted Dec 5, 2011 8:46 AM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Dec 5, 2011 10:39 AM
]
This year's Gospel focus is Mark. We have the four gospels portrayed on our cover today and, as you know, the four Gospels are given a year starting on the first Sunday of Advent every year. However, there is a three year cycle. Every three years we are focusing on the first three Gospels over and over again. It seems we skip the fourth Gospel. Do we skip the Gospel of John? No.
Today in fact the reading is from John. What we are doing is focusing on John every year. We have readings from that Gospel especially on Christmas and Easter continously. The first three Gospels are similar in many ways and the Gospel of John is, like an eagle, good at seeing the events of Christ's life, his words and actions, life, death, and resurrection with great clarity and insight even though it is the last one to be written. It is a deeply theological reflection on the same content found in the first three Gospels.
Today's reading is a prime example. The Gospel of John the Evangelist is a reflection on the meaning of the person of John the Baptist. His Baptism is not the Baptism we receive. Christ's Baptism is one with the Holy Spirit. John is in many ways a prefigurement of Christ but the point is that Christ is utterly new, as is His Baptism, and, by the way, we who are receives of it. Christ is not just a prophet. He is not a kind of super prophet. He is altogether beyond that. Christ is all in all. He is who is. He is a prophet in the sense that (or to speak more clearly in the oposite sense) prophets are something like Jesus. John tells us this when he says he can't help Jesus with his footwear. John's famous words about that, which we saw in Mark's Gospel last week, refer to the fact that in slave laws at the time and place of these writings a slave would have been a low grade slave if he had the job of attending to people's footwear when they arrived in from the dirty streets outside. A high ranking slave would not be asked to do this kind of dirty work. John the Baptist was dramatically emphasizing that he was a servant of Jesus and not the one to save the world. And he was emphasizing that Christ is not just greater in degree but rather of a different order altogether in terms of saving power and his degree was not just a step up but of a cosmic kind of step up.
We have been baptized into Christ's Baptism with the Spirit. And this is good news. We wait now for the coming celebration of this great King's birth and long to share in that great Spirit which the Lord has shared with us at our own birth into Christ's own Baptism.
December 11, 2011
Third Sunday of Advent
Lectionary: 8
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,
to announce a year of favor from the LORD
and a day of vindication by our God.
I rejoice heartily in the LORD,
in my God is the joy of my soul;
for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation
and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,
like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants,
and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise
spring up before all the nations.
R. (Is 61:10b) My soul rejoices in my God.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
R. My soul rejoices in my God.
Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.
In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances.
Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body,
be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful,
and he will also accomplish it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
And this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests
and Levites to him
to ask him, "Who are you?"
He admitted and did not deny it,
but admitted, "I am not the Christ."
So they asked him,
"What are you then? Are you Elijah?"
And he said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
So they said to him,
"Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?"
He said:
"I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
'make straight the way of the Lord,'"
as Isaiah the prophet said."
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
"Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?"
John answered them,
"I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie."
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
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posted Nov 28, 2011 1:20 PM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Nov 29, 2011 5:16 AM
]
As we beggin this advent we begin the Gospel of Mathew. The first person to tell me which living creature, as they are refered to throught the sacred scripture, depicted on the front of this bulletin is traditionally the simbol of this years Gospel will be victorous and recognized accordingly.
The Gospel of Mathew starts out with the roaring in the wilderness of John the Baptist. A man, some theologians say may indeed have been confirmed in grace, John was roaring from the time he was first stiring, or quickened, in the womb. The idea here is that from the very beginning of his life, even in the smallest orgins of his life he was proclaiming the one who is to come. He is the culmination of all the old testement prophets. His call to repent was so that his hearers would be ready for the Messiah, not in some remote five hundred years from now kind of way, as in the case of Isaih, but in the sence of something more like saying, "Get ready, repent, the Messiah is coming down the street, he is my cousin." That is who Begins the Gospel of Mathew and who begins us looking to Christ this Lent. Get ready. The Messiah is coming and he is coming on the clouds in glory and He is our brother.
Cover Art is from a book called "Gospels of Henry the Lion" from Germany from around 1180. It shows, among other things, the gospel of Mathew wich we beggin this advent. This Gospel, as the other three, lead us to the cent of this image Christ, the teacher, and the one who is to come again in blessed jusdment for the blessed.
| Artist |
Unknown Miniaturist, German (active 1175-1188 in Helmarshausen) |
| Title |
Gospels of Henry the Lion |
| Date |
between 1175(1175) and 1188(1188) |
| Medium |
illumination on parchment |
| Dimensions |
Height: 340 mm (13.39 in). Width: 255 mm (10.04 in).
| Artist |
Unknown Miniaturist, German (active 1175-1188 in Helmarshausen) |
| Title |
Gospels of Henry the Lion |
| Date |
between 1175(1175) and 1188(1188) |
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|
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| |
Also, does this character look like the Mona Lisa? Yes. It is John the Baptist painted by Leonardo pointing to heaven.
December 4, 2011
Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD--for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years
and a thousand years like one day.
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay,"
but he is patient with you,
not wishing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar
and the elements will be dissolved by fire,
and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.
Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,
what sort of persons ought you to be,
conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames
and the elements melted by fire.
But according to his promise
we await new heavens and a new earth
in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,
be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
"Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths."
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel's hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
"One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. |
posted Nov 21, 2011 9:21 AM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Nov 21, 2011 2:37 PM
]
orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Christ orders us at the beginning of this four weeks before Christmas to "watch the gate." We are his people and we need to be ready for His coming again in glory, which could happen at any time. We know when Christmas, the remembering of his first coming into the world though already in the World in Mary for many months, will come, but the second coming in glory we know not the hour nor the day. So we need to be ready. That is why we go to Mass every Sunday without skipping so that we ready. We renew that now these next four Sundays because we know that if we are not transformed in love we will never help others to get to Mass. If we are really uniting with Christ's love at the Mass as can only happen at the Mass we will be very attractive to the world and draw others back home to Christ. So let's roll up our sleaves and for at least one more time do a good job of getting ready for a good Christmas so as to be ready when the Lord comes back at the last judgment.
We remember that Mass is something that helps us be formally thankful together. This practice crystallizes at Mass and so I would like to do a little example of thank you on behalf of the whole community. We thank God for the people involved in the Child Abuse Prevention Traning that recently took place, the Spagetti Dinner, and religious Education for the Deaf and CODA's. We thank all involved with the three recent Roman Missal Workshops, the colletion for the grotto to honor Mary Brooks, the people who set up and clean up at the coffee hour, the Monday night ASL Adult Bible Study, those in the PPC, and the Deaf Advisory Board, the Staff at Sacred Heart and in the Deaf Apostolate, and the Crozier Council of the Knights of Columbus.
There are so many to thank but it all come through God's grace by way of our Cardinal and Pastor whose instrumentality are both effective and personal.
Many of you are doing things for each other like helping driving others and visiting the aged. God bless you all. Going to Mass and practicing thankfullness means that we are being people who are "watching the gate."
In Christ,
Fr. St. Martin
November 27, 2011 First Sunday of Advent
You, LORD, are our father,
our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways,
and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
with the mountains quaking before you,
while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for,
such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you
doing such deeds for those who wait for him.
Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways!
Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful;
all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags;
we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind.
There is none who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to cling to you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have delivered us up to our guilt.
Yet, O LORD, you are our father;
we are the clay and you the potter:
we are all the work of your hands.
R. (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R. Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"
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posted Nov 14, 2011 11:47 AM by Deaf Apostolate Shared Account
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updated Nov 14, 2011 12:49 PM
]
Domine virtutumIf you notice in the beginning of today's Gospel reading our Lord paints us a little picture. It is a little picture that is quite large. It tells us about what it will look like to see his return. Glory? With the angels? On his throne? What are these words of Christ? He is coming back as a king. A king is something that is shiny. We know this because it is an increasingly common reality depicted in major motion pictures. The Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and more recently the movie called Immortals, are all examples of the shiny quality of the primordial concept of king. When a thing is shines it is as if it has light emanating from within itself. But we know that the only real source of glory is God so things that are shiny are only reflections of God himself. The earthly political reality of kingship is in the popular imagination associated with a crown. The crown is not dull it is shiny and provides the context with which other things can be understood such as the drama of a crown woven of thorns. A scepter is also shiny and is associated both in days of yesteryear i.e. the Old Testament, and in our recent times such as England's world influence of scepter- holding monarchs. The angels are the true image of what earthly kings only suggest by their armies. The powers of heaven, are mighty, vast and diverse, they are angel armies (hosts as the new translation will call them.) This is like a well equipped army which from any perspective is mighty. God has that. He is a king. He is the real king with the real powerful army. What is a throne? A throne is a kind of angel. It is a nice chair. So nice it is a person, for a person is the highest kind of thing. He comes seated on the angels who are thrones. He is the chairperson. He is the judge, seated in judgment. Jesus is God. That is what he is telling us. He is coming back to show us that. To think that he is coming back as a social worker is to misread the Gospel. He is not going to have pity on the those poor who have failed to do his will and serve him as king disguised as the lowly. He is going to do with them what a king does so as to make the Kingdom a wonderful place for his loyal subjects. He is going to cast out those poor pitiable people who in their arrogance and self deception, in their lies and in their deceit, have thought they were some kind of lord themselves and who lorded it over others. In Christ, Fr. St. Martin
November 20, 2011
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ The King
Lectionary: 160
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.
As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." |
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Mystical Nativity Sandro Botticelli, c.1500 to continue last Wees Anunciation. Notice the coming together of Heaven and Earth all centered around the birth of Christ; Emanuel; God with us.
