The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, December 2, 2004
Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Isaiah 26:1-6
Psalm 118:1,8-9,19-21,25-27
Matthew 7:21,24-27

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like the wise man who built his house upon rock. (Matthew 7:24)

Today's gospel is very relevant in our times. As our nation increasingly espouses secular values while rejecting the Judeo-Christian tenets upon which our Constitution was based, we're losing the ability to discern good from evil. 'Good' can be described as our living in a loving, self-giving, unselfish manner toward every individual. When we choose to ignore this moral compass set by a 'higher power' whose very essence is love, we sink toward lawlessness and societal disorder. This is presently most evident in those areas permeated by liberalism which acknowledges no boundaries to our freedoms and right to privacy, regardless of their consequences to others.

Our news media's daily reports of greed, dishonesty and violence attests to human sin. It's true that there's also much good in this world, but suffering is not caused by those practicing 'goodness.' The 'spoilers' are infecting us with amorality, a disease easily spread to those having no knowledge of God. These have undercut the most basic human right cited in our Constitution: the right to life. We now create embryos in the laboratory, kill them and harvest their cells for use to prolong the lives of those who are ill, relieve them of discomfort. 'Progress' has now led us to feed upon one another's flesh. A unique human life begins at conception, regardless of how or where it takes place.

Creator God,
make Your light of truth enlighten our minds
and the warmth of Your love permeate our hearts,
that we may live in Christ's new life. Amen.

- Marie Bocko, OCDS
(mlbocko at earthlink dot net)

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posted by joachim at 4:13 AM