06 Dec 2010, December 6, 2010 Monday of the Second Week of Advent

Reading 1
Is 35:1-10

The desert and the parched land will exult;
the steppe will rejoice and bloom.
They will bloom with abundant flowers,
and rejoice with joyful song.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to them,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
They will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendor of our God.
Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
Say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
With divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
Then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.

Streams will burst forth in the desert,
and rivers in the steppe.
The burning sands will become pools,
and the thirsty ground, springs of water;
The abode where jackals lurk
will be a marsh for the reed and papyrus.
A highway will be there,
called the holy way;
No one unclean may pass over it,
nor fools go astray on it.
No lion will be there,
nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it.
It is for those with a journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will walk.
Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.

Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14 Responsorial Psalm
R. (Isaiah 35:4f)

Our God will come to save us!
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD –for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Our God will come to save us!
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Our God will come to save us!
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. Our God will come to save us!

Gospel
Lk 5:17-26

One day as Jesus was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there,
and the power of the Lord was with him for healing.
And some men brought on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed;
they were trying to bring him in and set him in his presence.
But 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.”

Then the scribes and Pharisees began to ask themselves,
“Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them in reply,
“What are you thinking in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But 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.
Then astonishment seized them all and they glorified God,
and, struck with awe, they said,
“We have seen incredible things today.”


Meditation: Isaiah 35:1-10


“Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak.” (Isaiah 35:3)

Jerusalem was under threat of foreign invasion; national morale was at a low point; and it even felt to some that God had abandoned them. But Isaiah countered the glum environment by promising that it would not always be like that. “Hold on to your faith!” he cried. A time will come when “the parched land will exult.” It may feel like you’re in a harsh, dry desert, but “the burning sands will become pools” (Isaiah 35:1,7).

We all know what it is like to experience a season of dryness in prayer. It’s hard to motivate ourselves. We feel as if we are talking to a wall, not to the Lord. We don’t feel any consolation or affirmation as we try to connect with the Spirit. We may wonder what God is doing, or whether he is listening to us at all. These are the times when we need to take Isaiah’s invaluable advice: “Don’t give up!”

Times of dryness in prayer are wonderful opportunities to build our foundation of faith. And as any builder knows, you want your foundation to be solid and unshakable. Uncomfortable though they are, these dry periods give us the chance to build our prayer life on the solid truths of our faith and not just on our emotions, which come and go. They urge us to spend our prayer time recalling the awesome attributes of God and not just looking for good feelings.

One good strategy for building our prayer this way is to spend the time contemplating the creed that we say at Mass. Tell the Lord that you believe in everything stated there. Don’t just look for God’s comfort. Look for his truth. Look at how he has fulfilled so many promises. Believe that he is still at work, even in hidden ways. Look at the cross and place your faith in Jesus’ resurrection, even if you don’t feel like a new creation at that moment.

So don’t give up! Strengthen your weak knees. Persevere. Know that God always rewards those who persist in chasing after him!

“Jesus, thank you for showing me your love. Thank you, too, for those times of dryness, when you call me to seek you more deeply. I know that you are making me strong in your spirit, and I trust in your wisdom.”

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