December 13, 2012

Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

Read more about Saint Lucy.

Lectionary: 184

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Isaiah
Is 41:13-20

I am the LORD, your God,
who grasp your right hand;
It is I who say to you, "Fear not,
I will help you."
Fear not, O worm Jacob,
O maggot Israel;
I will help you, says the LORD;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Our Lord is comforting Israel, but at the same time shows His displeasure, calling the Jews both worms and maggots.  However, although displeased, He assures them of His protection.

I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and double-edged,
To thresh the mountains and crush them,
to make the hills like chaff.
When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off
and the storm shall scatter them.

A sledge is a big hammer.  A threshing tool slices through vegetation.  God is going to make the Jews somehow, powerful, in order that they change the world.  That is what the threshing of mountains and crushing of hills represents.  They will somehow cause a powerful change to sweep through the gentile world and the gentiles will be swept away by a wind.

Now the Spirit of God is frequently portrayed as a wind.  Therefore I think this is a reference to the coming of Christ and the Church which have swept throughout the gentile world.

But you shall rejoice in the LORD,and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

And the Jews who remained, the remnant which entered the Church, rejoiced in the Lord.  But this is a literal statement.  Since, becoming one in Christ is to be "in the Lord".

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

There is only one real affliction.  That is sin.  And sin can only be resolved by repentance and turning to God.  As Scripture says:


Psalm 42:1
King James Version (KJV)
42 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.


We do not rest until we rest in God (St. Augustine of Hippo).

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the broad valleys;
I will turn the desert into a marshland,
and the dry ground into springs of water.
I will plant in the desert the cedar,
acacia, myrtle, and olive;
I will set in the wasteland the cypress,
together with the plane tree and the pine,
That all may see and know,
observe and understand,
That the hand of the LORD has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.

In my opinion, these various landscapes and types of vegetation represent our souls and the graces which God will give us when we come to know our Lord Jesus Christ.  I don't, however, know what they specifically represent, except that in general, they are all good.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 145:1 And 9, 10-11, 12-13ab

R. (8) The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Let them make known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

Note that here, we are represented as "works".  God is working in us in order that we might do His works.  This is why works are so important and why faith alone is dead.  Because, unless we do the works of God, God is not in us.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
Mt 11:11-15

Jesus said to the crowds:
"Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

This is isn't a literal teaching, since Jesus Himself was born of woman and so was the Virgin Mary.  So, we have to use spiritual discernment.

1.  Those who are baptized are born of water and spirit.

Born of water means born of women.
Born of spirit means born from above or born again in the Spirit of God.

2.  Both Jesus and Mary were born of the Spirit from their conception.  Jesus because He is God and Mary because of a special favor from God which we call the Immaculate Conception.

3.  Those who are baptized are the least of the Kingdom of heaven.  When we are baptized, we come into Mt. Sion with the Spirits which are made perfect (Heb 12:22-23).

4.  St. John was still alive when Christ said this.

So, to put all this together.

St. John, while he is alive, is greater than all the unbaptized.
But St. John, while he is alive, was lesser than all the Baptized.

However, since St. John is one of our Saints recognized by the Catholic Church, he is one of the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.

Interesting passage.  I don't know what it means.  I suspect that the violent who are intent on taking the Kingdom of heaven are Satan and his minions.  Throughout history, those who believe in God have been persecuted by those who don't.

All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.And if you are willing to accept it,he is Elijah, the one who is to come.Whoever has ears ought to hear."

 St. John is here praised by Christ as the archetype of Elijah, one of the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament.

Sincerely,

De Maria