The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time, I will raise up for David a just shoot ; he shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure; this is what they shall call her: "The LORD our justice."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25 4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day. R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his way. R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him, and his covenant, for their instruction. R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Reading 2 1 Thes 3:12-4:2
Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. Finally, brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you should conduct yourselves to please God and as you are conducting yourselves you do so even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
Gospel Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Jesus said to his disciples: "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man."
The Gospel of today’s liturgy, the First Sunday of Advent, speaks to us about the Lord’s coming at the end of time. Jesus announces bleak and distressing events, but precisely at this point He invites us not to be afraid. Why? Because everything will be okay? No, but because He will come. Jesus will return as He promised. This is what he says: “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Lk 21:28). It is nice to hear this encouraging Word: stand up straight and raise our heads because right during those moments when everything seems to be coming to an end, the Lord comes to save us. We await Him with joy, even in the midst of tribulations, during life’s crises and the dramatic events of history. We await Him.
But how do we raise our heads and not become absorbed with difficulties, suffering and defeat? Jesus points the way with a strong reminder: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy… Be vigilant at all times and pray” (Lk 21:34, 36).
“Be vigilant”: vigilance. Let us focus on this important aspect of the Christian life. From the words of Christ, we see that vigilance is tied to alertness: be alert, do not get distracted, that is, stay awake! Vigilance means this: not to allow our hearts to become lazy or our spiritual life to soften into mediocrity. Be careful because we can become “sleepy Christians” – and we know there are many Christians who are asleep, who are anesthetized by spiritual worldliness - Christians without spiritual fervor, without intensity in prayer, without enthusiasm for mission, without passion for the Gospel; Christians who always look inwards, incapable of looking to the horizon. And this leads to “dozing off”: to move things along by inertia, to fall into apathy, indifferent to everything except what is comfortable for us. This is a sad life going forward this way since there is no happiness.
We need to be vigilant so that our daily life does not become routine, and, as Jesus says, so we are not burdened by life’s anxieties (cf. v. 34). So today is a good moment to ask ourselves: what weighs on my heart? What weighs on my spirit? What makes me go to sit in the lazy chair? It is sad to see Christians “in the armchair”! What are the mediocrities that paralyze me, the vices that crush me to the ground and prevent me from raising my head? And regarding the burdens that weigh on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters, am I aware of them or indifferent to them? These are good questions to ask ourselves, because they help guard our hearts against apathy. What then is apathy? It is a great enemy of the spiritual life and also of Christian life. Apathy is a type of laziness that makes us slide into sadness, it takes away zest for life and the will to do things. It is a negative spirit that traps the soul in apathy, robbing it of its joy. It starts with sadness sliding downwards so that there is no joy. The Book of Proverbs says: “With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life” (Prov 4:23). Guard your heart: that means to be vigilant! Stay awake and guard your heart.
--->And let us add an essential ingredient: the secret to being vigilant is prayer. In fact, Jesus says: “Be vigilant at all times and pray” (Lk 21:36). Prayer is what keeps the lamp of the heart lit. This is especially true when we feel that our enthusiasm has cooled down. Prayer re-lights it, because it brings us back to God, to the center of things. Prayer reawakens the soul from sleep and focuses it on what matters, on the purpose of existence. Even during our busiest days, we must not neglect prayer. The prayer of the heart can be helpful for us, repeating often brief invocations. For example, during Advent, we could make a habit of saying, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Only these words, but repeating them: “Come, Lord Jesus”. This time of preparation leading to Christmas is beautiful: we think of the nativity scene and Christmas, so let us say from the heart: “Come, Lord Jesus”. Let us repeat this prayer all throughout the day: the soul will remain vigilant! “Come, Lord Jesus”, is a prayer we can all say together three times. “Come, Lord Jesus”, “Come, Lord Jesus”, “Come, Lord Jesus”.
And now we pray to the Madonna: may she who awaited the Lord with a vigilant heart accompany us during our Advent journey.
FAUSTI - The sign of the Cross illuminates the whole of history. It is a journey that has as its end the full manifestation of the Mercy of God that comes to meet us. It is very important to know what is the aim of human existence. Because man doesn't consist of what he is, but of what he becomes. And he becomes that towards which he goes, and he goes towards that which he loves. Of "eccentric" nature, he is the "viator", he has his center outside himself and necessarily tends towards it. For this reason, dissatisfied of everything, he is always in searching and waiting for new something. . In the end he will be what he waits for, because he waits for what he loves. The anguish of those who do not expect anything, so widespread today, is the void place of God. No idol can occupy it. It shatters like Dagon before the presence (1 Sam 5:1). The Advent of God corresponds to man's expectation. God fills our desire with the gift of His Reality. The human history is a restless tending to Him, our natural space, it is appeased only in the encounter with Him. We are made for Him because He came for us. But when and how does He come to us? The Gospel reveals it to us: there are three of His comings: the past one, which is accomplished on the path of death and resurrection; the present one, which is realized in our being associated with His mystery; the future one anticipated for each one in death and extended to all at the end of the world. His first coming is the "module" of every personal and collective history, present and future. In Him the time has already been fulfilled: His destiny as Son of man is that of every man and of all humanity, which is synthesized in Him. His Advent, therefore, is not to be limited to the final time: instead, it confers to each time its definitive significance, associating it to the mystery of the Son of Man. His Death and Resurrection, the heart of the present and the future, gives us the key of reading of history. His past coming determines our faith; that future one our hope; that present one our charity. The past and the future stand to the present as the memory and the project for the action. The present, just as it is moved by the past towards its future, so it is drawn by it in accordance with a beloved memory that has become desired project. For intelligence, the past is more important, but for will, the future. But both have their reality in the present, in which they are united and give meaning and sense to human action. This piece is built on a contraposition. On the one hand, the great cosmic upheavals and men who die of their fear of dying, on the other hand the Word of the Lord that gives confidence and guarantees that precisely here our liberation happens. The coming of the Son of Man is not something terrible. It is the fulfillment of every desire: the meeting with the Lord. Our life is now hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ, He who is our Life, appears, we too will be manifested with Him in Glory (Col 3:3).He who loves the Lord cries out: "Marana - tha. Come, O Lord" And the Bridegroom says His yes: "Yes, I am indeed coming soon" (Rev 22:17-20).
Cosmic upheavals - and our own death - are natural events. Their tragic character is caused by our sin, which makes us read them with the glasses of our fear and makes us act accordingly. In reality, we go to meet the One who comes to give us the Kingdom, and He is the "End" itself of creation. Then history will have reached its fulfillment. We await the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will confirm us to the end, irreproachable in the day of Our Lord Jesus Christ: faithful is God, Who has called us to the communion of His Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord (1 Cor 1:7-9). The last day, both personal and collective, is always a sudden one. So God wants, because we live every present in a sensible way, as preparation for the encounter with Him: "Watch, at all times, praying". In fact, every moment is pregnant of future. No moment is neutral: it is the opportunity in which fidelity and witness are played. To pray (in Greek = to need) is necessary because man is need of God, he is precarious, he lives by His grace. If vigilance is the opposite of the heavy heart, prayer is the food, drink and joy that nourishes the awake heart. It is, in fact, the communion of a son with the Father. Vigilance and prayer make us stand upright: it is indeed our raising head before the One who comes, not as a judge, but as a brother.
First Sunday of Advent Reading 1 Jer 33:14-16
RispondiEliminaThe days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will fulfill the promise
I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
In those days, in that time,
I will raise up for David a just shoot ;
he shall do what is right and just in the land.
In those days Judah shall be safe
and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;
this is what they shall call her:
"The LORD our justice."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 25
4-5, 8-9, 10, 14
R. (1b) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Reading 2 1 Thes 3:12-4:2
Brothers and sisters:
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love
for one another and for all,
just as we have for you,
so as to strengthen your hearts,
to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that,
as you received from us
how you should conduct yourselves to please God
and as you are conducting yourselves
you do so even more.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
Gospel
Lk 21:25-28, 34-36
Jesus said to his disciples:
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man."
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 28 November 2021
Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!
The Gospel of today’s liturgy, the First Sunday of Advent, speaks to us about the Lord’s coming at the end of time. Jesus announces bleak and distressing events, but precisely at this point He invites us not to be afraid. Why? Because everything will be okay? No, but because He will come. Jesus will return as He promised. This is what he says: “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Lk 21:28). It is nice to hear this encouraging Word: stand up straight and raise our heads because right during those moments when everything seems to be coming to an end, the Lord comes to save us. We await Him with joy, even in the midst of tribulations, during life’s crises and the dramatic events of history. We await Him.
But how do we raise our heads and not become absorbed with difficulties, suffering and defeat? Jesus points the way with a strong reminder: “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy… Be vigilant at all times and pray” (Lk 21:34, 36).
“Be vigilant”: vigilance. Let us focus on this important aspect of the Christian life. From the words of Christ, we see that vigilance is tied to alertness: be alert, do not get distracted, that is, stay awake! Vigilance means this: not to allow our hearts to become lazy or our spiritual life to soften into mediocrity. Be careful because we can become “sleepy Christians” – and we know there are many Christians who are asleep, who are anesthetized by spiritual worldliness - Christians without spiritual fervor, without intensity in prayer, without enthusiasm for mission, without passion for the Gospel; Christians who always look inwards, incapable of looking to the horizon. And this leads to “dozing off”: to move things along by inertia, to fall into apathy, indifferent to everything except what is comfortable for us. This is a sad life going forward this way since there is no happiness.
We need to be vigilant so that our daily life does not become routine, and, as Jesus says, so we are not burdened by life’s anxieties (cf. v. 34). So today is a good moment to ask ourselves: what weighs on my heart? What weighs on my spirit? What makes me go to sit in the lazy chair? It is sad to see Christians “in the armchair”! What are the mediocrities that paralyze me, the vices that crush me to the ground and prevent me from raising my head? And regarding the burdens that weigh on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters, am I aware of them or indifferent to them? These are good questions to ask ourselves, because they help guard our hearts against apathy. What then is apathy? It is a great enemy of the spiritual life and also of Christian life. Apathy is a type of laziness that makes us slide into sadness, it takes away zest for life and the will to do things. It is a negative spirit that traps the soul in apathy, robbing it of its joy. It starts with sadness sliding downwards so that there is no joy. The Book of Proverbs says: “With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life” (Prov 4:23). Guard your heart: that means to be vigilant! Stay awake and guard your heart.
--->And let us add an essential ingredient: the secret to being vigilant is prayer. In fact, Jesus says: “Be vigilant at all times and pray” (Lk 21:36). Prayer is what keeps the lamp of the heart lit. This is especially true when we feel that our enthusiasm has cooled down. Prayer re-lights it, because it brings us back to God, to the center of things. Prayer reawakens the soul from sleep and focuses it on what matters, on the purpose of existence. Even during our busiest days, we must not neglect prayer. The prayer of the heart can be helpful for us, repeating often brief invocations. For example, during Advent, we could make a habit of saying, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Only these words, but repeating them: “Come, Lord Jesus”. This time of preparation leading to Christmas is beautiful: we think of the nativity scene and Christmas, so let us say from the heart: “Come, Lord Jesus”. Let us repeat this prayer all throughout the day: the soul will remain vigilant! “Come, Lord Jesus”, is a prayer we can all say together three times. “Come, Lord Jesus”, “Come, Lord Jesus”, “Come, Lord Jesus”.
EliminaAnd now we pray to the Madonna: may she who awaited the Lord with a vigilant heart accompany us during our Advent journey.
FAUSTI - The sign of the Cross illuminates the whole of history. It is a journey that has as its end the full manifestation of the Mercy of God that comes to meet us. It is very important to know what is the aim of human existence. Because man doesn't consist of what he is, but of what he becomes.
RispondiEliminaAnd he becomes that towards which he goes, and he goes towards that which he loves. Of "eccentric" nature, he is the "viator", he has his center outside himself and necessarily tends towards it. For this reason, dissatisfied of everything, he is always in searching and waiting for new something.
. In the end he will be what he waits for, because he waits for what he loves.
The anguish of those who do not expect anything, so widespread today, is the void place of God.
No idol can occupy it. It shatters like Dagon before the presence (1 Sam 5:1).
The Advent of God corresponds to man's expectation.
God fills our desire with the gift of His Reality.
The human history is a restless tending to Him, our natural space, it is appeased only in the encounter with Him. We are made for Him because He came for us. But when and how does He come to us?
The Gospel reveals it to us: there are three of His comings: the past one, which is accomplished on the path of death and resurrection; the present one, which is realized in our being associated with His mystery;
the future one anticipated for each one in death and extended to all at the end of the world.
His first coming is the "module" of every personal and collective history, present and future.
In Him the time has already been fulfilled: His destiny as Son of man is that of every man and of all humanity, which is synthesized in Him.
His Advent, therefore, is not to be limited to the final time: instead, it confers to each time its definitive significance, associating it to the mystery of the Son of Man.
His Death and Resurrection, the heart of the present and the future, gives us the key of reading of history.
His past coming determines our faith; that future one our hope;
that present one our charity.
The past and the future stand to the present as the memory and the project for the action.
The present, just as it is moved by the past towards its future, so it is drawn by it in accordance with a beloved memory that has become desired project.
For intelligence, the past is more important, but for will, the future.
But both have their reality in the present, in which they are united and give meaning and sense to human action.
This piece is built on a contraposition.
On the one hand, the great cosmic upheavals and men who die of their fear of dying, on the other hand the Word of the Lord that gives confidence and guarantees that precisely here our liberation happens. The coming of the Son of Man is not something terrible. It is the fulfillment of every desire: the meeting with the Lord.
Our life is now hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ, He who is our Life, appears, we too will be manifested with Him in Glory (Col 3:3).He who loves the Lord cries out: "Marana - tha. Come, O Lord" And the Bridegroom says His yes: "Yes, I am indeed coming soon" (Rev 22:17-20).
Cosmic upheavals - and our own death - are natural events.
EliminaTheir tragic character is caused by our sin, which makes us read them with the glasses of our fear and makes us act accordingly.
In reality, we go to meet the One who comes to give us the Kingdom, and He is the "End" itself of creation.
Then history will have reached its fulfillment.
We await the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will confirm us to the end, irreproachable in the day of Our Lord Jesus Christ: faithful is God, Who has called us to the communion of His Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord (1 Cor 1:7-9). The last day, both personal and collective, is always a sudden one.
So God wants, because we live every present in a sensible way, as preparation for the encounter with Him: "Watch, at all times, praying".
In fact, every moment is pregnant of future. No moment is neutral: it is the opportunity in which fidelity and witness are played. To pray (in Greek = to need) is necessary because man is need of God, he is precarious, he lives by His grace. If vigilance is the opposite of the heavy heart, prayer is the food, drink and joy that nourishes the awake heart. It is, in fact, the communion of a son with the Father. Vigilance and prayer make us stand upright: it is indeed our raising head before the One who comes, not as a judge, but as a brother.
https://salmiognigiorno.blogspot.com/2024/11/psalm-88-89-b-c-d.html
RispondiElimina