Advent 3 B - Rejoice - Homilies
TK: Notes
Prepare the Way of the Lord:
1) The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey (Aesop)
A man and his son were once going with their donkey to market. As they were walking along by his side a countryman passed them and said, "You fools, what is a donkey for but to ride upon?" So the man put the boy on the donkey, and they went on their way.But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said, "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides." So the man ordered his boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other, "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along." Well, the man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his boy up before him on the donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passersby began to jeer and point at them. The man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours -- you and your hulking son?" The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, until at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them until they came to a bridge, when the donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the donkey fell over the bridge, and his forefeet being tied together, he was drowned.
Try to please everyone, and you will please no one.
12 Purposes for Pain in the Midst of Grief and Suffering
Time and time again he was swallowed up by sorrow … his
life experiences resulted in the full expression of this rawest of emotions.
When Ryan was a young boy, his mother died and then he was held back in school.
Later on, Ryan noticed a lump in his chest and became increasingly troubled when
it just wouldn't go away. A doctor soon delivered a devastating diagnosis:
lymphoma.
Ryan's weekly routine
included two trips to the hospital for chemotherapy, but even cancer couldn't
squelch a common teenage thrill – driving. Late one evening, Ryan had gotten
permission from his dad to move the family SUV off the street and into the
driveway of their home. No sooner had Ryan slid behind the wheel … when the
deafening sound of gunfire riddled the nighttime air.
Ryan's older brother
bolted outside and discovered Ryan on the ground with a bullet wound to the
back, shouting, "They were trying to steal the truck. They were trying to steal
the truck!" The criminals sped off in their compact sedan, having arrived as
would-be thieves but leaving as cold-blooded killers. Ryan Lara died a few
moments later on the front porch of his home.
In the most grievous of
ironies, Ryan was expected to fully recover from cancer. Everyone anticipated
Ryan turning 16, getting that prized driver's license, going on dates and
driving himself to football practice. No one could have imagined that he'd
experience a fatal bullet wound in his very own front yard.
Advent Daily Reflections
First Monday of Advent
December 1, 2014
December 1, 2014
Isaiah 2: 1-5,
Matthew 8: 5-11
Carol Gaeke, OP – Director of Personnel
“Lord, my
servant is paralyzed.” The centurion’s words often parallel our feelings in the
face of the world’s ills. We experience the paralysis of fear and hopelessness
in the inability to stop war in Iraq
or in the horrendous growth of trafficking of women and children. But Isaiah
gives us hope. He says: “stream towards God’s mountain.” Climb that mountain
and see as God sees. From the mountaintop a hazy veil is often cast over the
vista beyond and one only sees indistinctly the view below. But God sees
through that haze to what can be. Isaiah proclaims it loudly: “they shall beat
their swords into plowshares.” Weapons of war will become tools of peaceful,
living. There shall be no more training for war. Military academics shall
become schools of peace. This is what God sees that we cannot.
Advent 1 B - Reflections
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
Readings
First Reading: Isaiah 63: 16-17, 19; 64: 2-7
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9Gospel: Mark 13: 33-37
Introduction
The common theme of today’s readings is that vigilant service prepares us for the coming of Christ as our savior during Christmas and as our judge and Lord at the end of the world. The reason why the liturgical year ends and begins with the same theme is clear: if we have already embraced Jesus in his first coming, we will have no fear of his second coming. Advent is the season of special preparation and expectation for the coming of Christ. It encourages us to examine our lives, to reflect on our need for God to enter our lives and to prepare earnestly for, and eagerly await the coming of Christ. He will come to us in the celebration of the Incarnation, in His continual coming in our daily living and in His final coming as our Lord to judge us all and to renew the Father’s creation. Using apocalyptic images, the gospel urges the elect to be alert for the return of Christ because no one except the Father knows the day or the hour of the Lord’s return. Jesus summarizes the complexities of Christian living in two imperatives: "Take heed!" (Be on guard) and "Watch!" (Be alert, stay awake, and don’t grow careless). Our life on earth is to be one of productive service uninfluenced by a supervisor's presence or seeming absence.
To Find Lost Mobile
Simple to find
Lost Mobile After reading this mail please preserve the IMEI number in a notepad and send to your Email so that it will be permanetly with u An IMEI number-The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number is an international identity number used to uniquely identify a mobile phone. The 15-digit IMEI number is an electronic fingerprint transmitted every time a phone is used, which reveals the identity of the mobile handset. |
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