Israel is a stiff-necked people! Israel refused to be taught by the Lord.

The Jews of his own time failed to see the signs of God’s presence in their midst.

Because Israel could not be taught, Israel had to suffer so much, eventually will be exiled and Jerusalem would be destroyed.

Wisdom rests in the humble admission of one’s sinfulness on the one hand, and confessing and accepting God’s mercy on the other hand!

Wisdom is in living in the “fear of the Lord,” – awareness of unworthiness and gratefulness for God’s mercy.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 48:17-19

Thus says Yahweh,

Isaiah speaks of an end to the travails of the exiled people of God,

that God has “repented of his anger” is now about to reveal his mercy.

In the fullness of time the Savior will come.

We seek the mercy of God. truly, our God is full of compassion and mercy.

 

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11

Be comforted,

 In order to expound and describe this dark night, through which the soul passes in order to attain to the Divine light of the perfect union of the love of God, as far as is possible in this life, it would be necessary to have illumination of knowledge and experience other and far greater than mine; for this darkness and these trials, both spiritual and temporal, through which happy souls are wont to pass in order to be able to attain to this high estate of perfection, are so numerous and so profound that neither does human knowledge suffice for the understanding of them, nor experience for the description of them; for only he that passes this way can understand it, and even he cannot describe it

                                                                                                       ~~~~~ Prologue of Ascent to Mount Carmel, Saint John of the Cross   ~~~~~

 

Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on December 27, 1726

Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1926

 

St. John of the Cross, priest & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 41:13-20

For I, Yahweh,

Isaiah advises the Israelites to put their trust in Yahweh and nor on human or earthly political powers.

In the fullness of time Jerusalem will have the king above all kings.

He will be the Good Shepherd who would have compassion on the poor and the sick;

he will raise to life even the dead and reclaim from Satan the possessed.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26

O people of Zion,

Lucy was born in the year 283 AD.

Lucia, from the Latin word "lux" which means "light"

In paintings St. Lucy is frequently shown holding her eyes on a golden plate.

Lucy was represented in Gothic art holding a dish with two eyes on it.

Lucy is the patron saint of those with eye illnesses.

A Hungarian custom is to plant wheat in a small pot on St. Lucy's feast.

By Christmas green sprouts appear, signs of life coming from death.

The wheat is then carried to the manger scene as the symbol of Christ in the Eucharist.

 

 

St. Lucy, virgin & martyr

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 40: 25-31

To whom, then,

Today we celebrate the feast of the immaculate Conception.

It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated worldwide.

 

In the fullness of time, the Savior would be born of The Woman whom the Archangel Gabriel will great “Ave Maria!”

She, the sinless one, the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, would be the “cause of our joy”

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Genesis 3:9-15, 20 

Yahweh God called the man

 The primary meaning of each day of our lives is to say with her ,

"Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

The promise of God in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament with the cooperation of Mary,

The true “Ark of the Covenant!”The first Temple of God is none other than Mary!

 

 

Our Lady of Guadalupe

 ＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Zechariah 2:14-17

(or Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab) 

"Sing and rejoice,

The prophet reminds us that God is our refuge and strength. We are invited to put our trust in God who is faithful and true, through thick and thin.

It explains your actions by referencing it to your love of the Lord. but words need action to back it up.　 And action need words to explain itself.

The sensible thing to do is to root our faith in Him otherwise we are just being stupid.

if our faith is strong and rooted in Jesus we can withstand anything.

 

St. Ambrose, bishop & doctor

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Isaiah 26:1-6

On that day

Today the prophet Isaiah announces the coming of the Redeemer who will pass through the wilderness to build

“The Way of Holiness!” The Redeemer will indeed come to call sinners, not to punish them but to save them! Our God we await is a Savior!

The Way of Holiness that Isaiah prophesied is the way of mercy of Jesus revealed in today’s Gospel.

 

St. Damasus I, pope

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 35:1-10*

Let the wilderness

 Nicholas was born in the city of Patara, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire, to a wealthy family of Greek Christians.

 

Nicholas is also said to have visited the Holy Land. The ship he was on was nearly destroyed by a terrible storm but he rebuked the waves, causing the storm to subside. Thus, Nicholas became venerated as the patron saint of sailors and travelers.

 

He is said to have been imprisoned and tortured during the Great Persecution under the Emperor Diocletian, was released under the orders of the Emperor Constantine the Great.

 

In 325, Nicholas is said to have attended the First Council of Nicaea, where he is said to have been a staunch opponent of Arianism and a devoted supporter of Trinitarianism, and one of the bishops who signed the Nicene Creed.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Isaiah 25:6-10a

On this mountain