|
|
God's divinity is understood as the power of the future making our present appear in a new light. The future is God's: which means that, wherever the individual being goes, in life or death, God is there.
- Hans Kung
("God is there." Always. Take some time to let this conviction sink in more deeply.)
|
|
|
IS 29:17-24; PS 27:1, 4, 13-14
MT 9:27-31
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
"Son of David, have pity on us!"
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
"Do you believe that I can do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
"Let it be done for you according to your faith."
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
"See that no one knows about this."
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
USCCB lectionary
|
Reflection on the Scripture |
Feast of St. Ambrose
He touched their eyes and said, 'Because of your faith it shall be done to you'; and they recovered their sight." —Matthew 9:29-30
In today's Scripture readings, the Church is proclaiming God's promise that "the eyes of the blind shall see" (Is 29:18). She implies that Jesus will heal blind people this Christmas season. This is great news for the physically blind, those who love the blind, and those who realize their spiritual blindness.
Spiritual blindness is epidemic, so an eye-opening Christmas would change and free the world. Ask for a first miracle of seeing your blindness. Then, through God's Word (Rm 10:17), receive a second miracle of deeper faith (see Mt 9:29). Next, ask Jesus for a third miracle of healing from spiritual blindness. The Christ of Christmas will open your eyes.
Prayer: Father, in Your love do three miracles in my life to begin the Christmas season.
Promise: "On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book; and out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see." —Is 29:18
Praise: St. Ambrose realized how poorly equipped and ignorant of his faith he was at the time he received the calling to serve God. He diligently studied the Scriptures the rest of his life and became such an anointed teacher that he even helped convert intellectuals such as St. Augustine.
Presentation Ministries
|
|
|
Abandonment to Divine Providence
- by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
CHAPTER II. THE DIVINE ACTION WORKS UNCEASINGLY FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF SOULS.
SECTION I.The Divine Action.
The divine action, although only visible to the eye of faith, is everywhere, and always present.
Mary, when the apostles fled, remained steadfast at the foot of the Cross. She owned Jesus as her Son when He was disfigured with wounds, and covered with mud and spittle. The wounds that disfigured Him made Him only more lovable and adorable in the eyes of this tender Mother. The more awful were the blasphemies uttered against Him, so much the deeper became her veneration and respect.
The life of faith is nothing less than the continued pursuit of God through all that disguises, disfigures, destroys and, so to say, annihilates Him. It is in very truth a reproduction of the life of Mary who, from the Stable to the Cross, remained unalterably united to that God whom all the world misunderstood, abandoned, and persecuted. In like manner faithful souls endure a constant succession of trials. God hides beneath
veils of darkness and illusive appearances which make His will difficult to recognize; but in spite of every obstacle these souls follow Him and love Him even to the death of the Cross. They know that, leaving the darkness they must run after the light of this divine Sun which, from its rising to its setting, however dark and thick may be the clouds that obscure it, enlightens, warms, and inflames the faithful hearts that bless, praise and contemplate it during the whole circle of its mysterious
course.
|
|
Paperback, Hardback, Kindle
|
|
Please support this outreach with a tax-deductible donation.
|
|
|
