December
7, 2015
Memorial
of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Saint
of the Day: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (c. 339-397)
Reading
1
2They
will bloom with abundant flowers, and
rejoice with joyful song. The
glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the
splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they
will see the glory of the LORD, the
splendor of our God.
3Strengthen
the hands that are feeble, make
firm the knees that are weak, 4Say
to those whose hearts are frightened: Be
strong, fear not! Here
is your God, He
comes with vindication; with
divine recompense He
comes to save you. 5Then
will the eyes of the blind be opened, the
ears of the deaf be cleared; 6Then
will the lame leap like a stag, then
the tongue of the mute will sing. Streams
will burst forth in the desert,
and
rivers in the steppe.
7The
burning sands will become pools, and
the thirsty ground, springs of water;
The
abode where jackals lurk will
be a marsh for the reed and papyrus. 8A
highway will be there, called
the holy way; No
one unclean may pass over it,
nor
fools go astray on it.
9No
lion will be there, nor
beast of prey go up to be met upon it. It
is for those with a journey to make, and
on it the redeemed will walk. 10Those
whom the LORD has ransomed will return and
enter Zion singing, crowned
with everlasting joy; They
will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow
and mourning will flee.
Responsorial Psalm
9aI
will hear what God proclaims; the
LORD –for he proclaims peace bto His people.
10Near
indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him, glory
dwelling in our land.
R.
Our God will come to save us!
11Kindness
and truth shall meet; justice
and peace shall kiss. 12Truth
shall spring out of the earth, and
justice shall look down from heaven.
R.
Our God will come to save us!
13The
LORD Himself will give His benefits; our
land shall yield its increase.
14Justice
shall walk before Him, and
salvation, along the way of His steps.
R.
Our God will come to save us!
Alleluia
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold
the King will come, the Lord of the earth, and He himself will lift the yoke of
our captivity.
R.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
17One
day as Jesus was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who
had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, were
sitting there, and the power of the Lord was with Him for healing. [2][3]
18And
some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; they were trying to
bring him in and set him in His presence. 19But not finding a way to bring him
in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the
stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus.[4] 20When
Jesus saw their faith, He said, “As for you, your sins are forgiven.”[5]
21Then
the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves, “Who is this who speaks
blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins?”[6] 22Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them
in reply, “What are you thinking in your hearts? 23Which is easier, to say,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24But that you may know that
the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– He said to the one who
was paralyzed, “I
say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”[7]
25He
stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went
home, glorifying God. 26Then astonishment
seized them all and they glorified God, and, struck with awe, they said, “We
have seen incredible things today.”
Notes on Readings:
[1] Isaiah
35:1-10 - Similar to the description of the return from the exile, as found in
Isaiah 40-55.
[2] Luke
5:17-6:11 - From his Marcan source, Luke now introduces a series of
controversies with Pharisees: controversy over Jesus' power to forgive sins (Luke 5:17-26); controversy over His eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:27-32); controversy over not fasting (Luke 5:33-36); and finally two episodes narrating controversies over observance of the
sabbath (Luke 5:1-11).
[4] Luke
5:19 - Through the tiles: Luke has adapted the story found in Mark to his
non-Palestinian audience by changing "opened up the roof" (Mark 2:4) a reference to Palestinian straw and
clay roofs) to through the tiles, a detail that reflects the Hellenistic Greco-Roman
house with tiled roof.
[5] Luke
5:20 - As for you, your sins are forgiven: literally, "O man, your sins
are forgiven you." The connection between the forgiveness of sins and the
cure of the paralytic reflects the belief of first-century Palestine (based on the Old Testament:Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 5:9) that sickness and infirmity are the
result of sin, one's own or that of one's ancestors (see also ⇒ Luke 13:2 h(see also Luke 13:2; John 5:14; 9:2).
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.