'Tis the Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent: Advent-link & Wikipedia-link.
Commentary: Wayback Machine.
Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent
The Book of Isaiah, chapter forty-five, verses six(c), seven, eight, eighteen, & twenty-one(c) thru twenty-five;
Psalm Eighty-five (R/. the Book of Isaiah, chapter forty-five, verse eight), verses nine(a/b) & ten, eleven & twelve, & thirteen & fourteen;
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter seven, verses eighteen(b) thru twenty-three.
Friends, in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist summons two of his disciples to ask if Jesus is “the one… or are we to look for another?” When this inquiry is conveyed to Jesus, the Lord does not respond theoretically, but rather by pointing to things that are happening. “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them.”“Ephphatha!” (Be opened!) (Mark 7:34). We hear of Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow of Naim.
Was Jesus doing all of this in the literal sense? Yes! That he was a miracle worker and a healer was one of the most fundamental perceptions regarding Jesus. When God came among us in Christ, he effected the work of repairing his broken and hurting creation. He is not interested simply in souls but in bodies as well.
And so we hear indeed of the man born blind, of Bartimaeus, of the paralyzed man lowered down through the roof to Jesus, of the woman with the flow of blood, of the man who is deaf and dumb to whom Jesus says
Reflect: How are good works an integral part of claiming to believe in Jesus Christ?Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Advent Reflection.
Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Advent Reflection.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"The peace of Christ can establish itself only where people are prepared to rid themselves of sin. Those who do not live in peace with God can hardly live in peace with each other."Saint Quote o' the Day
—Pope Saint John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast:22 October)
"It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without Holy Mass."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, O.F.M. Cap. (1887-1968, feast: 23 September)
"Saint Joseph knew, when Mary became pregnant, that this Child was not his child. He saw that she was pregnant but didn't know how. If he had gone to the high priest, she would have been stoned to death. Do you see the charity & thoughtfulness of Saint Joseph? If we have the same kind of charity & thoughtfulness toward each other, our families will become the abode of the Most High. How beautiful our families will become where there is total thoughtfulness for others."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—Saint Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"If the bringing of children into the world today is an economic burden, it is because the social system is inadequate; & not because God's law is wrong. Therefor the State should remove the causes of that burden. The human must not be limited & controlled to fit the economic, but the economic must be expanded to fit the human."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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