This week’s Gospel message for Sunday, December 10th is from Mark 1:1-8.
John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. . .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.”
Reflection
“Perhaps our task this Advent is to prepare our hearts for the Lord by removing those obstacles that can lead us to doubt. Perhaps making a straight path is as simple as opening our hearts to the possibility that God has an answer to all our doubts. Perhaps God’s power, comfort, and forgiveness, are just searching for a clear path into us.” SOURCE: Pastoral Patterns, Winter 2023-2024
DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday Isaiah 35:1-10; Luke 5:17-26
Tuesday Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Luke 1:39-47
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Feast) – Today’s feast commemorates the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in 1531 at Guadalupe to Juan Diego. She left her image on a cloak that is preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Wednesday Isaiah 40:25-31; Matthew 11:28-30
Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr (Memorial) – Lucy was martyred in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. During the Middle Ages, people suffering from eye trouble began invoking Lucy’s aid because her name is derived from the Latin word for ‘light’ (lux).
Thursday Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:11-15
Saint John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)/Carmelite Feast Day – Born into poverty, John entered the Carmelites and was ordained. With St. Teresa of Avila, he helped reform his order and create the reformed (Discalced) Carmelites. But his reforms were opposed, and he was imprisoned for almost a year. His writings are both classics of spirituality and of Spanish literature. John pictured the spiritual life as a journey of the soul to divine union.
Friday Isaiah 48:17-19; Matthew 11:16-19
Saturday Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11; Matthew 17:9a, 10-13
SOURCE: Living With Christ, December 2023