Advent Meditations: Friday 7 December
| Fri Dec 7 |
am: 16, 17 pm: 22 |
Amos 5:1-17 |
Jude 1-16 | Matt 22:1-14 |
FEAST DAY:: Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, 397 – Born of a family of politicians, Ambrose followed the family business. In due course he was sent to facilitate the election of the episcopal see of Milan when it became vacant in 374. Noticing his gifts, the people demanded that Saint Ambrose be made their bishop. The neighboring bishops and the Emperor convinced him to accept this call as the will of God, and so the catechumen Ambrose was baptized and ordained first deacon, then priest, then bishop, all in a single week! Ambrose once a politician now turned churchman was profoundly aware of his lack of preparation for this great responsibility and so set himself immediately to prayer and the study of Scripture. .
MEDITATION- Psalm 17 is a reminder of the importance of humble sincere prayer. If we are open to praying with a sincere heart seeking God’s will for a Holy Advent think of the possibilities that might occur in our lives. If we could take on the spirit of the psalmist who is accustomed to praying, because he is encouraged by the faith encounter and now expects God to give notice his prayers. Certainly, there are those who pray because they have an awareness of wicked works, and temptations they have succumbed to. That is not the sole impetus to pray. It is in these circumstances of adversity that we learn that through grace God’s paths is the safest for us. We are reminded in this Advent Season that those who persevere and wait on the Lord will receive loving-kindness, and uncommon mercies, as gifts for all.
PRAYER: God our Father, you conquer the darkness of ignorance by the light of your Word revealed through preachers and servants such as Ambrose. Strengthen within our hearts the faith you have given us, so we may teach not with our lips but with our lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN
Activity/Spiritual Discipline – – Consider today reflecting on the Apostles Creed, the earliest baptismal statement. How do these eternal truths shape you lives and your spirituality as you await the coming of Christ?
ANCIENT WORDS/PRESENT GRACE: “Nothing graces the Christian soul so much as mercy; mercy as shown chiefly towards the poor, that thou mayest treat them as sharers in common with thee in the produce of nature, which brings forth the fruits of the earth for use to all.– Saint Ambrose of Milan.
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