Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr
Biographical Information about St. Lucy
Readings for Wednesday
Commentary:
Reading 1 Is 40:25-31
In this passage from Isaiah, the Prophet is chastising the faithful for loosing hope (“Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’?”) He follows this with a statement of faith indicating the strength gained in faith in God and the futility of effort without that faith.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
This hymn of praise focuses on God’s power and will to heal all ills and to support us in times of trouble. It is through his own will that he does this.
Gospel Mt 11:28-30
The heart piercing tenderness of Jesus invitation is best expressed in these two verses from Matthew’s Gospel. The Lord invites us to be placed under the authority of his word (Take my yoke…) and there we will find rest.
Reflection:
Today I would like to move away from my serial posts on the preparation for Advent for a bit to think out loud about the wonders of God’s love for us and how he acts in our lives. This morning I received word that my brother in Christ, Bill Cavnar, for whom we have been praying these many months as he has been fighting against multiple myeloma (bone cancer), that he is in what doctors call a very good partial remission (VGPR). Without going into detail that basically means while he is not completely out to the woods, he at least can see the edge of the tree line.
On top of his great news comes the scripture we have today. In Isaiah and the Psalm we are enjoined to remember that God has the power to give strength to the weak and restore health to those who suffer. In the Gospel we are once more invited to place ourselves under Jesus’ yoke and find peace.
In our charismatic heart we can rejoice at Bill’s great news and say, as the Lord has said many times; “your faith has healed you.” And we of faith would be right to say so for indeed the Lord is the ultimate power and he seeks those who seek him.
On a very pragmatic level, our analytical heart says Bill is in this state of remission because he had some of the very best medical people working on him. He calls them out by name as the Bone Marrow Transplant Team and the Multiple Myeloma Team who have applied all the arts that modern medicine has to offer to his situation. We rejoice in their skill because what they have done is truly remarkable.
Reconciling these two feelings brings us to the heart of our faith and our Church’s teaching. We are justified through faith and actions. This dogmatic truth was beautify summarized by St. Ignatius who said; we must pray as if it is all up to God and work as if it is all up to us.
Today we thank God for his gift of the saints, especially St. Lucy whose strength of faith would not allow the Romans to defile her in life. We give special thanks for the healing hands of those God has placed in Bill’s life and pledge our continued prayers for his ongoing recovery (probably another acronym). May we always remember that while our faith in God will sustain us, we must also work diligently to help him with our own effort. As Bill says – we are under His mercy.
Pax
Biographical Information about St. Lucy
Readings for Wednesday
Commentary:
Reading 1 Is 40:25-31
In this passage from Isaiah, the Prophet is chastising the faithful for loosing hope (“Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’?”) He follows this with a statement of faith indicating the strength gained in faith in God and the futility of effort without that faith.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
This hymn of praise focuses on God’s power and will to heal all ills and to support us in times of trouble. It is through his own will that he does this.
Gospel Mt 11:28-30
The heart piercing tenderness of Jesus invitation is best expressed in these two verses from Matthew’s Gospel. The Lord invites us to be placed under the authority of his word (Take my yoke…) and there we will find rest.
Reflection:
Today I would like to move away from my serial posts on the preparation for Advent for a bit to think out loud about the wonders of God’s love for us and how he acts in our lives. This morning I received word that my brother in Christ, Bill Cavnar, for whom we have been praying these many months as he has been fighting against multiple myeloma (bone cancer), that he is in what doctors call a very good partial remission (VGPR). Without going into detail that basically means while he is not completely out to the woods, he at least can see the edge of the tree line.
On top of his great news comes the scripture we have today. In Isaiah and the Psalm we are enjoined to remember that God has the power to give strength to the weak and restore health to those who suffer. In the Gospel we are once more invited to place ourselves under Jesus’ yoke and find peace.
In our charismatic heart we can rejoice at Bill’s great news and say, as the Lord has said many times; “your faith has healed you.” And we of faith would be right to say so for indeed the Lord is the ultimate power and he seeks those who seek him.
On a very pragmatic level, our analytical heart says Bill is in this state of remission because he had some of the very best medical people working on him. He calls them out by name as the Bone Marrow Transplant Team and the Multiple Myeloma Team who have applied all the arts that modern medicine has to offer to his situation. We rejoice in their skill because what they have done is truly remarkable.
Reconciling these two feelings brings us to the heart of our faith and our Church’s teaching. We are justified through faith and actions. This dogmatic truth was beautify summarized by St. Ignatius who said; we must pray as if it is all up to God and work as if it is all up to us.
Today we thank God for his gift of the saints, especially St. Lucy whose strength of faith would not allow the Romans to defile her in life. We give special thanks for the healing hands of those God has placed in Bill’s life and pledge our continued prayers for his ongoing recovery (probably another acronym). May we always remember that while our faith in God will sustain us, we must also work diligently to help him with our own effort. As Bill says – we are under His mercy.
Pax
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