“Give
us this day our daily bread…”
M
Daily reflections for the week of December 1 - 5
MONDAY (Dec 1)
TUESDAY (Dec 2)
We now begin a new month, and for all of
us who are
G Christian it is indeed a special
one as we prepare for the birth of our Lord
Jesus Christ during this four-week season of
Advent. And for many of us the preparations
will be extensive in a physical, material way.
But as we begin this often intense yet
beautiful season may we always keep
foremost in mind the true grounding for our
celebration—Christ our Lord, and his coming
to us as a newborn child whose destiny was
to bring us salvation! So certainly with this
joyous cause and event to look forward to,
decorating our homes and getting ready to
share gifts and togetherness with family and
friends makes perfect sense as we now
joyfully pray: “Jesus, you are the light of the
world. Help each of us to leave the darkness
behind and to live in your light. As we
prepare for the celebration of your birth may
we recall your wondrous ways. Make us
thoughtful and generous so that we can
celebrate your birth in the light of true joy
and gladness.” AMEN. (Filomena and Peter
Each week of Advent carries with it a
special theme, and for the first week of
Advent it happens to be identical to the
new virtue we focus on for December—
hope! And what a perfect fit it is for us
this month because I am sure “hope” is
something that many of us carry within our
hearts and spirits as we find ourselves
surrounded by the trappings of the season. But it is good to assess just where
the root of our hope lies, and may it be
found in the deepest longings of our heart
as we look beyond what is material to that
which is eternal as we now pray: “Dear
God, when you faced your suffering and
death on the cross you asked your Father
for strength to do his will. You never gave
up, and you knew he would help you
through your suffering. Help us to never
give up. When we are tired, discouraged,
or sad, hold us up so we can trust in you.
We ask this through you, our greatest
source of hope.” AMEN. (Betty Manion)
Tassi)
WEDNESDAY (Dec 3)
St. Francis Xavier, whose feast day we
celebrate today, was a contemporary of St.
Ignatius of Loyola. Together, with four other
aspirants. they started the Society of Jesus
(Jesuits) in 1540, of which our current pope
is a member! St. Francis Xavier subsequently went forward to serve Christ, and as
a Jesuit he spent ten years in India, then
later went to Japan, bringing the Christian
faith to the people there. Wherever he went
he lived with the poorest people, sharing
their food and rough accommodations. He
spent countless hours among the sick and
the poor, particularly those with leprosy. He
had little time to sleep and even to pray, but
he was filled with God’s presence and joy.
May his example of faith, hope, and love be
an inspiration to us in our lives as we now
pray: “God of the poor, through St. Francis
Xavier you have taught us that it is through
service to the poor. ministering to those who
suffer, and healing the sick, that we find true
joy. Help us, O God, to be people of love.”
AMEN. (Filomena and Peter Tassi)
THURSDAY (Dec 4)
Mt 7:21, 24-27
Today’s gospel reading is one that
creates an important question for us to
ponder as we face the routine and challenges of life—what type of foundation is my
“house” built upon? We must remember—
when we refer to the words and images
found in scripture we aren’t always talking
in a literal sense. In this gospel excerpt,
“house” refers to our bodies, but more
importantly, our spiritual “house” that
determines how our bodies act in times of
conflict. Do our actions reflect moral
certitude? Do we stand tall and strong
during “storms” in life that may shake
those who have little grounding in the
deeper mysteries of our existence? May
we always seek to deepen our relationship
with God, the ground-zero of life (now and
in an eternal sense) as we pray: “Lord
Jesus, may our lives and the actions and
choices we make with them always reflect
the strong foundation of your teachings.
May we always have the strength and courage to stand up for what is right.” AMEN.
FRIDAY (Dec 5)
When people are hurting and/or in need,
any time of year can be difficult to navigate
through. But this seasonal, holiday, time
of year can be especially hard. Families
who are struggling can find it to be
particularly challenging to provide “joy” to
those they love, especially if a parent or
parents are unemployed and lack the
financial security to celebrate Christmas
as they see others celebrating it. So let us
all be sure, as we look to be generous with
those close to us in life, that we don’t
forget those who are in true need. The
Christmas spirit has always been a
“giving” one. And quite often the result of
our sacrifices yield us the greatest joy of
the season as we now give thanks and
pray: “Interesting life, this life… We are
put in places for reasons we can never
know—we are called to be for others rather
than for ourselves. It is not our pain that is
the purpose, but the pain of others—it is
not our comfort, but the comfort of others
to whom we are directed. Lord, let my pain
teach me to comfort others.” AMEN. (Bob
Sylvester, C.S.C.)