The Feast of St Nicholas, Bishop.
"At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
"Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
"The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel.
"Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way.”
"The disciples said to him, “Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?”
"Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few fish.”
"He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
"They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full." (Matthew 15: 29 - 37).
Wednesday 6th December 2023 of the First Week of Advent is the feast of St Nicholas (270 - 349 ).
St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra in present day Turkey. He was one of the 318 Bishops at the Council of Nicaea and signed the famous document, the Nicene Creed.
His anonymous gift-giving around Christmas to the poor and destitute could not be secret for long. This custom became a tradition around the Feast of St Nicholas and today Santa Claus is a favorite feast of children in many countries of the world.
"The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic Gods giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves." (St. Nicholas of Myra).
Our key Scripture for today is the background to the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. The entire Liturgy of the word today centers on food, banquet and celebrations. Let us unpack them one by one.
#1. Collect (Opening Prayer).
"Prepare our hearts, we pray, O Lord our God, by your divine power, so that at the coming of Christ your Son we may be found worthy of the banquet of eternal life and merit to receive heavenly nourishment from his hands."
How do we prepare our hearts for the eternal banquet? The 7-Way Plan: Prayer, Word of God, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Examination of Conscience, Spiritual Reading and Faith Sharing or Ministry.
#2. First Reading (Isaiah 25: 6 - 10).
"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines." (Isaiah 25: 6).
This mountain is type and shadow of the Sanctuary where the Lord God prepares for us a banquet of the word of God and the holy Eucharist.
#3 Responsorial Psalm:
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." (Psalm 23: 1).
Do you find yourself in constant want or need? I need a new car, shoe, job, suit, whatever? If the Lord is truly your Good Shepherd, you will be pretty content most of the time. The restless spirit harbors the spirit of the world. We are warned not to compromise with the spirit of the world but to allow the word of God to shape our vision of the world. God knows exactly what you need and when you need it. (Cf Romans 12: 2).
#4 The Gospel:
"They all ate and were satisfied." (Cf Matthew 15: 29 - 37).
How do you feel when your Good Shepherd feeds you? If you are not satisfied, then what and who can satisfy you? The spirit of the world is a restless spirit, full of discontentment. Reject him. Tell him boldly:
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Happy Advent!
Mary was conceived without original sin. This grace and privilege are fitting in view of the birth and death of her Son Jesus Christ, who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
"O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, did prepare a worthy dwelling place for Your Son, we beseech You that, as by the foreseen death of this, Your Son, You did preserve Her from all stain, so too You would permit us, purified through Her intercession, to come unto You."
For the Immaculate Conception Devotions and Prayers and Prayer intentions click the link below:
http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/11/novena-of-immaculate-conception.html?m=1
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