21 Dec Thu Thu 3rd Week of Advent St Peter Canisius, priest and doctor Sgs. 2:8-14 Ps. 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21 Lk. 1:39-45 How To Pray With Shalom Home Page of Shalom Index of This Month        Once there was a dispute about whether God would have come among us as a human being if we had not sinned. Some said, 'no, He really came to save us from our sins' (Mt. 1:21). Others said, 'yes, He would have come anyway, because truly passionate love just cannot resist becoming one with the beloved'.     Today's reading testifies to such passionate love. The lover, full of bursting expection, watches for the Beloved to come: this is Israel waiting for God; this is the Church waiting for Jesus; and it is you and I, waiting this Christmas 2000 for the birth of the Lord anew in our world. How tender, how warm, how passionate it will be when He comes, finding sweetness in our voices and beauty in our faces.     Elizabeth stood in the presence of Jesus, hidden in His mother's womb, and her joy burst out in a prayer we still treasure today. We stand now in the presence of Jesus: Jesus hidden in the many others whom we have been given to love. Let us passionately respond to His presence in them.      Lord, help us to find Your beauty in others' faces and to dare to hope that they might find that same beauty in ours. 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 -