"The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the
party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you. There's only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift, too.
- Frederick
Buechner, Wishful Thinking (Let this prayer speak to your mind and heart. Accept the gift of life and God's blessing this
day.) |
Mal 3:1-4; Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10; Heb 2:14-18 Lk 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens
the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to
perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now,
Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of
all the peoples:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
-and you yourself a sword will pierce-
so that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and
prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to
Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him. Reflection on the Scriptures
Presented to us today is Jesus, whom we ultimately seek and desire. However,
do we recognize him? It is easy to recognize Jesus when the communion host is presented and offered to us for spiritual nourishment. We receive Jesus with gladness at that moment because we had waited and longed for him before we walked into Church. It is easy to recognize Jesus on the cross because we remember he loved us enough to die for us. It is also easy to recognize Jesus in a smile we receive from another, a hug, or an act of kindness. Then suddenly, Jesus
comes to us in a different way, a way that requires us to see through God's eyes, a way that requires us to trust the Spirit. How well do we do then? How clearly can we see? by Vivian Amu
The Existence of God by Francois Fenelon SECTION XXXIV
- Of the bones and their jointing
As for the backbone, all the works of man afford nothing so artfully and curiously wrought. It would be too stiff, and too frangible or brittle, if it were made of one
single bone: and in such a case man could never bend or stoop. The author of this machine has prevented that inconvenience by forming vertebræ, which jointing one with another make up a whole, consisting of several pieces of bones, more strong than if it were of a single piece. This compound being sometimes supple and pliant, and sometimes stiff, stands either upright, or bends, in a moment, as a man pleases. All these vertebræ have in the middle a gutter or channel, that
serves to convey a continuation of the substance of the brain to the extremities of the body, and with speed to send thither spirits through that pipe.
But who can forbear admiring the nature of the bones? They
are very hard; and we see that even the corruption of all the rest of the body, after death, does not affect them. Nevertheless, they are full of numberless holes and cavities that make them lighter; and in the middle they are full of the marrow, or pith, that is to nourish them. They are bored exactly in those places through which the ligaments that knit them are to pass. Moreover, their extremities are bigger than the middle, and form, as it were, two semicircular heads, to
make one bone turn more easily with another, that so the whole may fold and bend without trouble.
|
|
