Gospel: December 11, 2023

(Monday)

2nd Week of Advent

Psalter: Week 2 / (Violet/White)

St. Damasus I, pope

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 85: 9ab & 10, 11-12, 13-14

Our God will come to save us.

1st Reading: Isaiah 35: 1-10Let the wilderness and the arid land rejoice, the desert be glad and blossom.

Covered with flowers, it sings and shouts with joy, adorned with the splendor of Lebanon, the magnificence of Carmel and Sharon. They, my people, see the glory of Yahweh, the majesty of our God.

Give vigor to weary hands and strength to enfeebled knees.

Say to those who are afraid: “Have courage, do not fear. See, your God comes, demanding justice. He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you.”

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed.

Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout. For water will break out in the wilderness and streams gush forth from the desert.

The thirsty ground will become a pool, the arid land springs of water. In the haunts where once reptiles lay, grass will grow with reeds and rushes.

There will be a highway which will be called The Way of Holiness; no one unclean will pass over it nor any wicked fool stray there.

No lion will be found there nor any beast of prey. Only the redeemed will walk there.

For the ransomed of Yahweh will return: with everlasting joy upon their heads, they will come to Zion singing, gladness and joy marching with them, while sorrow and sighing flee away.

Gospel: Luke 5: 17-26One day, Jesus was teaching, and many Pharisees and teachers of the law had come from every part of Galilee and Judea, and even from Jerusalem. They were sitting there, while the power of the Lord was at work to heal the sick. Then some men brought a paralyzed man who lay on his mat. They tried to enter the house to place him before Jesus, but they couldn’t find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof, and, removing the tiles, they lowered him on his mat into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven.” At once the teachers of the law and the Pharisees began to wonder, “This man insults God! Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus knew their thoughts and asked them, “Why are you reacting like this? Which is easier to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Get up and walk’? Now you shall know, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” And Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” At once, the man stood before them. He took up the mat he had been lying on, and went home praising God. Amazement seized the people and they praised God. They were filled with a holy fear, and said, “What wonderful things we have seen today!”

Reflection:“God will come to bring healing to our lives.”

The beginning of this decade focused almost entirely on the global pandemic which reshaped life around the world. In light of that experience, it is much easier for us to understand the need for healing. This need goes beyond the healing of those with the coronavirus or other illnesses. The pressures of contemporary life have highlighted the importance of healing our minds. The division we experience in all aspects of life shows the need to heal relationships. The increase in extreme weather and natural disasters demonstrate the need to heal the planet.

In today’s first reading, Isaiah prophesies the day when God will come to bring that healing to our lives and to our planet. In the Gospel, Jesus brings physical and spiritual healing to a man who was paralyzed. We look forward to the day when Isaiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled. While we wait, we do what we can to bring healing to our hearts, our relationships, and our planet. Small acts of sacrifice and forgiveness can make all the difference.