WELCOME TO OUR LITURGY:  On this last Sunday before Christmas and the Mass readings speak about the preparations that God made for his Son to be born among us and as one of us.  We wait for his coming into the world and into our lives. There is one thing God promised to each man and woman of his personal presence when he called them into his service. He never asked them to do anything for him without making this promise. It was to be their greatest source of strength and encouragement and confidence and he would never fail them.

First Reading:
2  Samuel 7: 1-5, 8-12,14, 16.      

1  Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about, 
2  the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” 
3  And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart; for the LORD is with you.” 
4  But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, 
5  “Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 
8  Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel; 
9  and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 
10  And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 
11  from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. 
12  When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 
14  I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; 
16  And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.’” 

Read the rest of this entry

WELCOME TO OUR LITURGY:  Today is called, in Latin, Gaudete Sunday and in English, Rejoice Sunday. The theme of joy is everywhere in the readings and prayers of our Advent Mass.  The degree of our joy is directly related to our closeness to Jesus and to his closeness to us. There is a common saying which emphasises this truth – ‘Joy is an infallible sign of the presence of God.’

First Reading:
Isaiah 61: 1-2, 10-11.   

1  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 
2  to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 
10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 
11  For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. 

Read the rest of this entry

WELCOME TO OUR LITURGY:  Mary, Today I see you as the highway through which holiness goes;  As he passes, streams of healing flows;  lame dance; blind see; deaf hear; mute sing; their joy reflects on everything as deserts bloom and shout for joy to herald coming of your boy.

First Reading:
Isaiah 40: 1-5, 9-11.   

1  Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 
2  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. 
3  A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 
4  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 
5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 
9  Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 
10  Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 
11  He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.  Read the rest of this entry

WELCOME TO OUR LITURGY: The story of the sheep and the goats can sometimes perplex those who regularly review their behaviour in light of the gospel imperative to love. If we do, how can we expect to be genuinely surprised that we have encountered Jesus in those among whom we live and whom we seek to serve? We need to beware of serving the poor, the homeless, the lonely and the prisoner simply because serving somebody who embodies Jesus will bring us a reward. When we serve, is our focus firmly on the other person or on our own need to feel virtuous?

First Reading:
Ezekiel 34: 11 – 12, 15 – 17

11 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.
16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice.
17 “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, rams and he-goats.

Read the rest of this entry