Inspiration for your journey to God!

Category: Advent (Page 6 of 20)

The countdown begins, excitement is building!

The countdown begins, excitement is building
Journey toward Christmas!

The countdown begins, excitement is building! Prayer with the O Antiphons begins today. Christmas is just one week away. Praying the O Antiphons the week before Christmas really does help build excitement for me. Click here for old posts on the subject.

On to today’s Gospel. Today we hear the list of names – some we can pronounce and other’s we cannot pronounce. LAUGH OUT LOUD! It’s quite long, so I’ll just share the part I want to focus on.

Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, The son of David, the son of Abraham.

……..Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian, exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

perfection

FOURTEEN! That’s what caught my attention this time around. It’s mentioned so much here that I had to research it’s significance. Here is what I found.

“Everything that happened was part of God’s plan…….double measure of spiritual perfection for his people.” Sit with that for a bit! Let it sink in as you think about what is going on in THE world and in YOUR world.

Take comfort in these words which I pulled from my Advent calendar: God does not give up (He who began a good work in you will carry it to completion – Philippians 1:6); God loves you (how priceless is your unfailing love. Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings – Psalm 36:7) and God hears you (the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord accepts my prayer – Psalm 6:9)!

The countdown begins today. Will you allow the excitement to build? Will the excitement remain after Christmas Day? After all, the season of Christmas is only just beginning then!

God bless you!

The authority of Jesus questioned and revealed

The authority of Jesus questioned and revealed
Think before you speak!

The authority of Jesus questioned and revealed! How Jesus reveals His authority should be a lesson for all of us.

matthew 21:23-27

When he had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one questions, and if you answer if for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?”

They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know,” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

A Man of few words

One thing struck me the instant I finished reading this passage today: The authority of Jesus questioned AND revealed. His response, or should I say lack thereof, revealed His authority!

Jesus always used few words to respond to those who often confronted Him. Many times He responds with a question. The questions serve to fluster those who are trying to “trip him up.” There’s power and authority in how Jesus chooses his words.

Considering how Jesus responded reminded me of the Rule of St. Benedict. Specifically Chapter 6 – Restraint of Speech. You can read it here. The commentary to the Rule follows in italics.

Restraint of speech

This Chapter of the Rule is most important today when so much of culture thinks that everything must be put into words and shared. One of the great “Wisdom lessons” of the early monks was that sometimes even good and holy thoughts should be left unsaid. Today, they can be published and everyone can read them!

One of the practices that all of us should undertake from time to time is actual physical silence. We need to practice NOT saying even the good thoughts that we have, NOT communicating them to anyone. Part of this practice will show us the places and the people that stimulate us to communicate. Another part of this practice will show the strength of our desire to communicate and the strength of our own will to resist that desire.

power of words

We need to become persons who are aware of the power of words. Words shape us and form us. Words direct our attention and our energies. Words can build up and they can tear down. Even a word of truth can be destructive when it is not uttered in charity and true love.

Saint Benedict is terribly strong in condeming gossip and murmuring in the monastery. We need to be deeply aware of the why he condemns gossip and murmuring: they kill and destroy. Not only do they kill and destroy another person, they attack the very heart of community: charity for one another.

on laughter

We need to be aware that there are two strains of thought about laughter in the Rule. Benedict is never very favorable to laughter or jest, but the Chapter on Lent indicates that he was aware that laughter and jesting were part of normal life. Laughter and jest are realities that also can build up or destroy. When a person destroys with laughter and jest, perhaps there is worse blame because that which should be joyful is being used for destruction.

Let us resolve to use our words to build up one another. May our silence be a joyful communion with the Lord so that we may love others more faithfully.

And that’s all I have to say about that! God bless you!

You can click here to read an older post on the Rule of St. Benedict.

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