4 Dec Mon Mon 1st Week of Advent St John Damascene, priest & doctor Is. 2:1-5 Ps. 122:1-2, 4-5, 6-9 Mt. 8:5-11 How To Pray With Shalom Home Page of Shalom Index of This Month        The season of Advent is a time of preparation for the incarnation of our Saviour into our human condition in order to liberate us from its sinfulness and raise it up to its truest vocation as intended by God. Our experience during this period is twofold. First, we are invited to remember the deep yearning of the Jews for the coming of the Messiah. Secondly, the birth of Jesus is not merely a historical event of the past but an experience that continues to be present in our own lives today. We too, just as the Jewish community of two thousand years ago, are being invited to yearn for the birth of Jesus into the areas of our lives that have yet to encounter Him.     Just as the centurion's , our homes are also filled with ailing servants. We too suffer from the burden of sin, both personal and social. Furthermore, just as the Jews of Jesus' time and the centurion in today's Gospel reading, we too yearn for healing and liberation. Let us pray for awareness, so that, we may face the areas in our lives that cry out for healing and invite Jesus to come into it.      Dear Lord, come into my life and transform me. Amen. DAILY OFFERING Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen. PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH INTENTION That the celebration of the Jubilee may become the source of a new commitment in men and women of good will to protect and promote human life. MORE
- END - P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H     INTENTION : That the celebration of the Jubilee may become the source of a new commitment in men and women of good will to protect and promote human life. In the threshold of the year 2001, it is our duty to renew our commitment to safeguarding the dignity of the poor and marginalised and to recognise in a practical way the rights of those who have no rights. This is the spirit of the new millennium which presupposes the following: The basic right to life which is inviolable which involves a positive choice for life. The development of a culture of this kind embraces all the circumstances of life and ensures the promotion of human dignity in every situation. Recent developments in the field of genetic engineering present a profoundly disquieting challenge. In order that scientific research in this area may be at the service of the person, it must be accompanied at every stage by careful ethical reflection, which will bring about adequate legal norms safeguarding the integrity of human life. Life can never be downgraded to the level of a thing. To choose life involves rejecting every form of violence. In every circumstance, the right to life must be promoted and safeguarded with appropriate legal and political guarantees. Let us raise our voices on their behalf. - END -