December 3, 2012

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

Read more about St. Francis Xavier.

Lectionary: 175

It is Advent and we are in an Apocalyptic state of mind.  Anticipating the time when God will come back to His people.

Reading 1 from the Holy Book of Isaiah
Is 2:1-5

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Isaiah saw a vision concerning the future of Jerusalem which is in the country of Judah.

In days to come,
The mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.

Heaven is frequently depicted as being on top of a mountain.

All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
"Come, let us climb the LORD's mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths."

All nations shall come to it, refers to the Gentiles which flocked to the Catholic Church:

Acts 13:45-47
King James Version (KJV)
45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.

Christ is the Word which proceeded from Jerusalem.  Jesus is the Word of God.  He was crucified in Jerusalem and the Church was born from His side when the blood and water poured out.  The Church, the body of Christ, spread from Jerusalem.

They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.

The plan has always been that men should love one another.  But, since we have not beat our swords into plowshares but metamorphosed them into atomic bombs, unless there is an explosion of grace in the world, I think this is a description of life in heaven.

O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the LORD!

And God is calling the Jews to come into the Church of God:

Jeremiah 51:45
King James Version (KJV)
45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.

R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

The Hebrew people are the people of God.  And Scripture tells us that they are the apple of God's eyes.  No good can come of wishing them ill, because anyone who does, will set themselves against God:

Romans 11:17-21
King James Version (KJV)
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
Mt 8:5-11

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."

I love this story!  The nations begin to come to the Mountain of the Lord.  The Centurion asks Jesus Christ to heal his servant.

He said to him, "I will come and cure him."

Jesus says, "Certainly, I'll come to your house and cure him."

The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

And the Centurion said, "Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof."  I hope you recognize these words, these are the words we recite before we receive Communion.

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."

And Jesus responded, "Do you see the faith of this Gentile, many like him will come from all the nations of the earth and sit at the heavenly banquet with the children of Israel.

Sincerely,

De Maria