Monday, December 05, 2011 (Advent Weekday)

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
A servant is not pious if she is not industrious.
-- St Zita

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10
(The Road of Holiness)
1 The desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom in the wastelands.
2 The desert will sing and shout for joy; it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains
and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon. Everyone will see the Lord's splendor, see his greatness and power.
3 Give strength to hands that are tired and to knees that tremble with weakness.

4 Tell everyone who is discouraged, “Be strong and don't be afraid! God is coming to your rescue, coming to punish your enemies.”
5  The blind will be able to see, and the deaf will hear.
6 The lame will leap and dance, and those who cannot speak will shout for joy. Streams of water will flow through the desert;
7 the burning sand will become a lake, and dry land will be filled with springs. Where jackals used to live, marsh grass and reeds will grow.
8 There will be a highway there, called “The Road of Holiness.” No sinner will ever travel that road; no fools will mislead those who follow it.
9 No lions will be there; no fierce animals will pass that way. Those whom the Lord has rescued will travel home by that road.
10 They will reach Jerusalem with gladness, singing and shouting for joy. They will be happy forever, forever free from sorrow and grief.
Psalms: Psalm 85:9-14
9 Surely he is ready to save those who honor him, and his saving presence will remain in our land.
10 Love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will embrace.
11 Human loyalty will reach up from the earth, and God's righteousness will look down from heaven.
12 The Lord will make us prosperous, and our land will produce rich harvests.
13 Righteousness will go before the Lord and prepare the path for him.
Gospel: Luke 5:17-26
(Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man)
17 One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there who had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.
18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus.
19 Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven, my friend.”
21 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Why do you think such things?
23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
24 I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!”
25 At once the man got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home, praising God. 26 They were all completely amazed! Full of fear, they praised God, saying, “What marvelous things we have seen today!”