MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Key of David, who open the gates of the eternal kingdom,
come to liberate from prison
the captive who lives in darkness.

ISAIAH 7:10-14 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

This is the eternal sign for all people of goodwill from age to age and in every generation, whether we ask for it or not, whether we believe or not, this is God's sign to a sin-weary world, it is a sign prophesied by Isaiah to Ahaz even though he refused to ask for one:-

'the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us.'

The incarnation is God's response to our rebellion. We severed relations with God, He sought to breach it with You, His Son, whom He sent into the world to become the means by which we are saved.

No more will anyone find themselves alone, forsaken, depressed, lonely, afraid, sick, lost, dejected, rejected, and dying because God has become one of us to take us by the hand and to lead us to the Father, to take us home, one step at a time and You will never leave us or forsake us for You are Emmanuel, God with us.

PSALM 24:1-6 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

By the Eternal Word that issued forth from the mouth of God
and the power of the Holy Spirit, the world and all in it was created, this is why it is right and fitting that people of every language, nation, and culture must praise and worship God. You alone are God and worthy of our love for You, O Triune God is our Creator, our Savior, and our Sustainer. Anchored in God we will never be shaken.

You, Beloved, are our eternal High Priest, You ascend the holy mountain of God, You enter the holy of holies, and there You offer to God the only pleasing and worthy Sacrifice, which is Yourself for the salvation of the world. You O Lord, are the sinless one - the only human being with clean hands and a pure heart, for You are without sin. 

Upon You the Father has bestowed power, might, glory, and majesty - He has raised high above all the angels to sit at His right hand and to rule and to judge. All who seek You, who cling to You, who are called by Your Name will one day behold You face to face. Until then we will seek You in the Church You founded and where You are hidden in our tabernacles and in Bread so we can eat You, consume You and become more and more like You until that glorious day when we will never be separated from You.

LUKE 1:26-38 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

After the fall of Adam and Eve, God did not bewail man's treachery but conceived and put into motion His plan of salvation to breach the chasm that sin created between the Creator and His creatures. And that awesome plan that was conceived in God's heart and mind commenced the long, arduous, painful, frustrating journey to bring that plan to completion God created us and desires our salvation only if we desire it as well. It took millennia for this perfect moment in time and history to occur God created the second Eve, she was conceived immaculately in her mother's womb, and from the moment of her conception until God prepared her to become the Ark of the New Covenant Eithin her God would become the man, she would carry within her peerless immaculate body the Word the priestly staff of Aaron the and the heavenly Manna.

When the Angel Gabriel greeted her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favored! The Lord is with you,’ she trembled in fear not only at the sight of the Angel but even more at the words that he uttered. Why was he addressing her with such great honor, lost in her own feelings of surprise and amazement she scarcely noticed that Gabriel himself looked at her awestruck by what God had done in this pure, peerless, young virgin chosen by God and carefully fashioned by Him to be the Mother of God. 

Gently and with great tenderness he explained to her how God had chosen her to collaborate with Him in the salvation of the world. He said:

 

‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favor. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.’ She asked only one, practical question, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ The angels responded, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary always knew that for God who set each of the stars in place and called each one by name, nothing was impossible, for she had grown in the knowledge of God and in the everlasting shadow and presence of God from the moment of her conception.

Your Mother, my Beloved, was created, fashioned, graced, and cradled in the heart of God all the days of her life and You, my Lord, the Father, and the Holy Spirit continue to honor her as God's own handmaid. She who said yes to God all her life now hears God always say yes to her. She approaches You with confidence on our behalf knowing that she who was conceived without sin in order to bring forth our Savior will always be heard. O Mary, conceived without sin pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.