Shalom

1 Dec Sat	34th Week in Ordinary Time
	Dan. 7:15-27 (R. Ps.) Dan. 3:82-87, 59 Lk. 21:34-36

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Nightmares can seem so real and frightening. We feel overpowered by monsters and negative characters. When we awaken, there is a sense of relief that the threat has vanished and we are safe. Our life experiences, both personal and communal, are often similar. We may feel defeated and frightened, but then the light breaks through and we feel new life. Daniel's vision was meant to encourage God's people, who were undergoing savage persecution. Hang on! Don't give up! This too will pass! God is the only supreme authority, and He will be victorious. Let us not be overwhelmed by our fears and struggles. God has not abandoned us. Jesus always walks with us. And we will overcome.

Part of being faithful and courageous is the exercise of vigilance and perseverance. Unless we are attentive to our experience and the presence of God in our lives, we will allow many of the opportunities and blessings to slip by. Rather than being distracted from our spiritual path by care and worries, we continue our daily journey one step at a time, knowing that God is with us every step of the way. How has God come to us today? How has God challenged and taught us today?

Lord, help me to see that my fears are nothing compared to Your grace and love.

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 Christians may free themselves from the subtle forms of cultural conditioning which prevent them from recognising the dignity and rights of others
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H

INTENTION :	That Christians may free themselves from the subtle forms of cultural conditioning which prevent them from recognising the dignity and rights of others
Our vocation and mission as Christians is to bring the light of Christ to the world in order to preserve the world from corruption by permeating it with the values of the Gospel. We need, ourselves, first and foremost to be enlightened by Christ. We do not generate light, we only refract, reflect and radiate. It is His light that we must cast on the world. The more transparent our lives are with the values of the Gospel, the better is the light of Christ reflected and the less we are seen. The world in which we live is mixed with wheat and weeds. There is good and evil. Consumerism is but the logical sequence of a materialistic way of life. Spiritual values are forgotten. Our wants are made to appear as our needs and we are forced to get so immersed in the joys of this world as to forget the joys of the world to come. We are admonished to be aware lest we be trapped by these and other forms of cultural conditioning that mark this world. Awareness is the first step to change. We pray that this awareness may help us to be delivered from the cultural conditioning that hinders and hampers our vision and prevents us from recognising the dignity and the rights of others.
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