The Catholic Calendar for Friday, December 12, 2003
Friday of the Second Week of Advent
Our Lady of Guadalupe

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Zechariah 2:14-17
Psalm 113:1-8
Luke 1:39-47

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

One of the great virtues of a follower of Christ is flexibility--this does not mean wavering in faith or vagueness in our commitment. What it means is openness and acceptance of all types of people. In the Gospel, Jesus shows his attempts to ‘accommodate’ to all situations. He bonds with the truly virtuous and honestly religious people of the day, and he also eats with sinners and reaches out in love to the outcasts, even to the point of scandalizing the righteous lawkeepers. And he urges us to use our talents as he did--to pipe a merry tune in times of joy, and to sing a dirge in sympathy with those who mourn. We must be ‘all things to all men’, as St. Paul urges.

Today is also the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. How Mary rebuked the proud Spanish conquistadors for their trampling on the poor Indian people of Mexico just ten years before her appearance! How graciously she addresses the humble Indian as ‘dignified Juan Diego.’ She tells him she has come with love and compassion as their merciful Mother. She promises to hear the people's laments and to cure their miseries and sorrows. How, like her Son, she opens her heart in love for all.

May we strive to have such a heart, and treat even those we disagree with or disapprove, with dignity and love.

- Msgr. Paul Whitmore (smartins at twcny dot rr dot com)

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posted by joachim at 6:04 AM