Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Biographical Information about St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin§
Readings for Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Isaiah 40:25-31
To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
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”?
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
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Commentary on Is 40:25-31
In this passage from Isaiah, the Prophet is chastising the faithful for loosing hope; not understanding that God has not forgotten the children in exile (“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 critical challenge with a statement of the fidelity of God and hope that comes through faith, indicating the strength gained in faith in God is unbounded (“They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.”)
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
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.
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Gospel: Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 11:28-30
Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Biographical Information about St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin§
Readings for Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent[i][ii]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[iii]
Reading 1: Isaiah 40:25-31
To whom can you liken me as an equal?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high
and see who has created these things:
He leads out their army and numbers them,
calling them all by name.
By his great might and the strength of his power
not one of them is missing!
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”?
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Is 40:25-31
In this passage from Isaiah, the Prophet is chastising the faithful for loosing hope; not understanding that God has not forgotten the children in exile (“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 critical challenge with a statement of the fidelity of God and hope that comes through faith, indicating the strength gained in faith in God is unbounded (“They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10
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: Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 11:28-30
The heart piercing tenderness of Jesus invitation is best expressed in these two verses found only in 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. This saying of Jesus is addressed to all who are burdened by the requirements of the lives they live. He offers them the help of God who takes those burdens of pain, fear, and fatigue upon himself, replacing them with the yoke of God’s kingdom. Quoting Jeremiah 6:16, he calls the weary to follow his way.
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Reflection:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
What a gracious invitation from Jesus. Scripture scholars tell us that the reference in this passage is to the burden of Pharisaic Law with all its complex requirements that made it difficult even to go about one’s daily business without violating some minute requirement. This, say those who study the ancient texts, was the original purpose for the statement.
For those of us who walk in the world and hear the simple words “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” say much more, don’t they. They invite us to place all of life’s burdens at the feet of Christ. His invitation tells us he will take away the fears and sorrows, the anxiety and dread we feel and leave in their place, peace.
It is so simple an offer. We can almost feel it being made as he hung upon the cross for us. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” He takes way the intense guilt we feel, he washes us from all the ways in which we have turned from him and he leaves us light and pure.
What is the catch our skeptical inner voice may ask? The catch is that we must open our hearts and accept that invitation. We need to put the burdens down, not cling to them as we often do. We must lay our hatred, our jealousy, our greed, and our fear at his feet. If we can do that, his tender yoke is indeed no burden at all and we will have peace.
Pax
§ Alternate readings may be taken from the Common of Holy Men (not yet completed by SOW).
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture is “Christ the Savior” by Jerónimo de Bobadilla, c. 1670s
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
What a gracious invitation from Jesus. Scripture scholars tell us that the reference in this passage is to the burden of Pharisaic Law with all its complex requirements that made it difficult even to go about one’s daily business without violating some minute requirement. This, say those who study the ancient texts, was the original purpose for the statement.
For those of us who walk in the world and hear the simple words “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest” say much more, don’t they. They invite us to place all of life’s burdens at the feet of Christ. His invitation tells us he will take away the fears and sorrows, the anxiety and dread we feel and leave in their place, peace.
It is so simple an offer. We can almost feel it being made as he hung upon the cross for us. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” He takes way the intense guilt we feel, he washes us from all the ways in which we have turned from him and he leaves us light and pure.
What is the catch our skeptical inner voice may ask? The catch is that we must open our hearts and accept that invitation. We need to put the burdens down, not cling to them as we often do. We must lay our hatred, our jealousy, our greed, and our fear at his feet. If we can do that, his tender yoke is indeed no burden at all and we will have peace.
Pax
§ Alternate readings may be taken from the Common of Holy Men (not yet completed by SOW).
[i] ALTRE
[ii] The picture is “Christ the Savior” by Jerónimo de Bobadilla, c. 1670s
[iii] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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