Reflection for TUESDAY, 3rd Week of Advent.

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Today's Word of God 

Matthew 21:28-32     

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Today's Reflection 

When life is peaceful and prosperous, when the going is smooth and comfortable, we may think those are the conditions that will encourage growth

It is true that when the survival and security needs are taken care of, then we can look at intellectual enrichment and human development.

But on the other hand, it is when there are threats to survival and security that there will be exponential growth or spikes in growth.

In the 1st reading, God's people was having it too good that they became complacent to the extent of being rebellious, defiled and tyrannical.

So instead of taking advantage of the good and peaceful times to grow and strengthen their faith and give thanks to God, the people took things for granted and were unfaithful to the Lord.

So the Lord had to bring them to their knees and to cleanse them so that they will learn how to obey the Lord and be a humble and lowly people.

In the gospel, it was the sinners and the tax collectors who believed in the Good News.

They had sinned and knew the consequences and now they want to repent and live a good life.

May we not be complacent and to take life and faith for granted, but to strive to deepen our faith so that we will always give thanks and praise the Lord for His abundant blessings.

December 14  Saint John of the Cross 

John is a saint because his life was a heroic effort to live up to his name: “of the Cross.” The folly of the cross came to full realization in time. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34b) is the story of John’s life. The Paschal Mystery—through death to life—strongly marks John as reformer, mystic-poet, and theologian-priest.

Ordained a Carmelite priest in 1567 at age 25, John met Teresa of Avila and like her, vowed himself to the primitive Rule of the Carmelites. As partner with Teresa and in his own right, John engaged in the work of reform, and came to experience the price of reform: increasing opposition, misunderstanding, persecution, imprisonment. He came to know the cross acutely—to experience the dying of Jesus—as he sat month after month in his dark, damp, narrow cell with only his God.

Yet, the paradox! In this dying of imprisonment John came to life, uttering poetry. In the darkness of the dungeon, John’s spirit came into the Light. There are many mystics, many poets; John is unique as mystic-poet, expressing in his prison-cross the ecstasy of mystical union with God in the Spiritual Canticle.

But as agony leads to ecstasy, so John had his Ascent to Mt. Carmel, as he named it in his prose masterpiece. As man-Christian-Carmelite, he experienced in himself this purifying ascent; as spiritual director, he sensed it in others; as psychologist-theologian, he described and analyzed it in his prose writings. His prose works are outstanding in underscoring the cost of discipleship, the path of union with God: rigorous discipline, abandonment, purification. Uniquely and strongly John underlines the gospel paradox: The cross leads to resurrection, agony to ecstasy, darkness to light, abandonment to possession, denial to self to union with God. If you want to save your life, you must lose it. John is truly “of the Cross.” He died at 49—a life short, but full.

Saint John of the Cross, pray for us.

GOD BLESS YOU 

Good morning. Have a nice safe day

Happy feast of St John of the Cross