Shalom

16 Dec Sun	3rd Sunday of Advent (A)
	Is. 35:1-6, 10 Ps. 145:6-10 James 5:7-10 Mt. 11:2-11

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The prophet Isaiah assures us that when the Messiah comes, the desert will rejoice and bloom. Yes, we shall obtain the joy and gladness Isaiah speaks about and our sorrow and sadness shall flee away. But according to St James, we have to be patient until the coming of our Lord. He offers us some very wise words: "Be patient . . . steady your hearts . . . Do not grumble against one another . . .". It is only when each one of us really surrenders to our Lord and invites Him to come and live in us and act in us everyday, that we can be channels of His life and love to one another.

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of our Lord. And Jesus Himself asks us to prepare the way for Him just as John the Baptist did. John's whole life was one of patience and faithfulness. Let us then break down the walls of distrust, fear, hurt, anger, suspicion, selfishness and invite Jesus into our hearts. In this way, our Eucharist today will be really a celebration of hope!

Come, Lord Jesus, and help me generously to pour myself out in acts of kindness to others. Amen.

DAILY OFFERING

Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH

INTENTION
That Christians may free themselves from the subtle forms of cultural conditioning which prevent them from recognising the dignity and rights of others
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H

INTENTION :	That Christians may free themselves from the subtle forms of cultural conditioning which prevent them from recognising the dignity and rights of others
Our vocation and mission as Christians is to bring the light of Christ to the world in order to preserve the world from corruption by permeating it with the values of the Gospel. We need, ourselves, first and foremost to be enlightened by Christ. We do not generate light, we only refract, reflect and radiate. It is His light that we must cast on the world. The more transparent our lives are with the values of the Gospel, the better is the light of Christ reflected and the less we are seen. The world in which we live is mixed with wheat and weeds. There is good and evil. Consumerism is but the logical sequence of a materialistic way of life. Spiritual values are forgotten. Our wants are made to appear as our needs and we are forced to get so immersed in the joys of this world as to forget the joys of the world to come. We are admonished to be aware lest we be trapped by these and other forms of cultural conditioning that mark this world. Awareness is the first step to change. We pray that this awareness may help us to be delivered from the cultural conditioning that hinders and hampers our vision and prevents us from recognising the dignity and the rights of others.
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