by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“‘… If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray? And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the [other] ninety-nine …. In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.'”
‘… some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed … not finding a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘As for you, your sins are forgiven.’ … ‘… that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ – He said to the one who was paralyzed, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.’ He stood up immediately before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. …”
“… the Word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as … in the book of … Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. … winding roads shall be made straight … rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the Salvation of God.'”
“The Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph … and the virgin’s name was Mary. … he said, ‘Hail, full of Grace! The Lord is with you. … Do not be afraid, Mary … you have found favor with God. … you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. … of His Kingdom there will be no end. … ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the Power of the Most High will overshadow you. … the Child … will be called Holy, the Son of God. …’ Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the Handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’ …”
“As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, ‘Son of David, have pity on us!’ … He touched their eyes and said, ‘Let it be done for you according to your faith.’ …”
“Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I give You praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been Your Gracious Will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.’ …”
“Francis Xavier had planned to devote himself to the intellectual life, but at a strategic moment he surrendered to God, who had long and patiently pursued him. That surrender changed the course of his life—and the course of history as well. Even Ignatius of Loyola, the leader of the new Jesuit community, had planned to deploy Francis as a scholar. But India beckoned, and Ignatius reluctantly sent Francis to preach the gospel there. Thus, the man who had planned on a leisurely intellectual life became a missionary apostle, perhaps second only to St. Paul. …”
“On Dec. 3, the Roman Catholic Church honors St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits who went on to evangelize vast portions of Asia. …”
“… St. Xavier ranks among the greatest missionaries in Christian history. Historians place the number of baptisms at roughly 30,000 people; lore cites numbers up to 100,000. Today, such missionary accomplishments may be challenging to appreciate in light of present day plurality, cultural relativism, and global engagement, yet a great deal can be learned from Xavier in the way he conducted his life and work with meaning and purpose. Three qualities of Xavier are highlighted which are noteworthy in today’s modern world. … Xavier was known to have conducted his life’s work with great vitality and zeal. For instance, when Loyola asked Xavier to join an expedition to the Far East he was ‘overjoyed.’ Even descriptions of how he moved capture his gusto – “he walked with a joyful, calm face” and ‘everywhere he went he went with laughter in his mouth.’ …”
“For those of you who will be lighting an Advent ‘wreath’ this weekend, especially with tapers… remember to start with the purple candle ‘opposite’ the pink one in order for the progression to the pink one for the third week to look accurate. This also makes the candles burn down in successive order, which makes the visual impact of the wreath (which is the point of it) better match the progression of weeks in Advent, and therefore aid in better contemplation of the sense of time advancing. Hope that makes sense! …”