WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT - 2020

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Look, the Lord will come to save his people.
Blessed those who are ready to meet him.

ISAIAH 25:6-10

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Long before You entered the world as one like us in all things save sin, Isaiah foretells the founding of the Church on the mountain of the Lord and the Banquet of the Eucharist to which all God's people will be invited.  He speaks of the veil of sorrow and mourning being stripped away when the One who is to come will wipe away the tear from every eye.

Death shall be no more for You will destroy it by accepting it and vanquishing it on the Cross. Every sin ever committed will be atoned for along with the shame and the punishment attached to sin.   

Thank You, Father, for sending Your Son to become the Lamb of Sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world. Thank You, Jesus, for providing us with supernatural food for the journey from this life to the next. Without the strength and grace of the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, we would perish by the wayside. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for abiding in us and sealing us in Your love. 

Saved by Your Blood, we the people of God and the sheep of His flock, ascend the mountain of the Lord with exultation to worship and praise You in the place where You choose to dwell, Your Church.

PSALM 23

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Today's Liturgy celebrates the Eucharist, the Bread of Angels which You provide to all who believe. This psalm, in particular, describes Your providence in caring for, guiding, and feeding Your flock. The sheep who belong to Your pasture are content, they fear nothing, they are confident that nothing will harm them for the enemy dare not approach for You are watchful, alert, and You never sleep.

The sheep know that You are at hand. Should they stray they hear Your voice calling them by name and they return to the fold, to safety and stay close to You.

Through the desert, through difficult terrain, through narrow paths, You lead them to green pasture, to streams of cool water where they can eat, drink, be refreshed, and rest, peacefully without fear. 

The Holy Eucharist renews, strengthens, and refreshes us. Your Word illumines the Way in which we are directed to walk and Your Church administers the Sacraments You instituted, ensuring no one perishes by the wayside. The fragrant oil of absolution in the Sacrament of Penance takes away the burden of sin and gives us new life to continue our journey to the Promised Land with renewed confidence and vigor. 

You never leave us for Your Holy Spirit who makes His dwelling place in us ensures that Your goodness and kindness accompanies us all the days of our lives until we reach the place that God has prepared for us and where we will dwell for all eternity. 

MATTHEW 15:29-37

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Today's Gospel narrates the second miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fishes in order to feed the multitude who had followed You and had stayed with  You for three days. 

The first verses tell us that You reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee and went up into the hills. You sat down and large crowds came to You bringing with them the sick, the infirm, the disabled, and all these were laid down at Your feet and You healed each one of them. The crowds, we are told were astonished, for they saw the dumb speak, cripples made whole, the lame walk and the blind receive their sight, and they all praised the God of Israel. What we read here is the prelude to every celebration of the Holy Eucharist where we begin by first asking for healing and forgiveness for all our ills physical and spiritual.  

By the end of the third day, all the food that the crowd had carried with them had been consumed. You were aware that by now they would begin to feel the pangs of hunger and You said to Your disciples that You did not want to send them away hungry. This is our own experience, Beloved. No one who comes to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist goes away hungry. Despite the fact that the disciples had witnessed a similar miracle earlier they said, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a crowd?’ 

You asked how many loaves they had and they said, seven as well as a few small fish. You instructed the crowd to sit down, took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks to Your Father, broke them, gave the broken pieces to Your disciples to give to the crowd. At every celebration of the Holy Eucharist the priest performs the same actions with the bread - he gives thanks, breaks it, and gives it to the faithful.  

After everyone in the crowd had eaten as much as they wanted the disciples collected seven baskets full of the scraps leftover.

The Church never runs out of the spiritual nourishment that her children need - there will always be a super-abundance of graces that wells up to eternal life for every one of God's children who believe in You.