Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Eph 1:3-6.11-12
Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before him in love, marking us out for himself beforehand, to be adopted sons, through Jesus Christ. Read More
Mt 7:21-29
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: “not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’ “Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
“The kings of the earth and the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and every one, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?’” (Rev 6:15-17) Read More
Isa 25:6-10a
“On this mountain, for all peoples, Yahweh Sabaoth is preparing a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines. On this mountain, he has destroyed the veil which used to veil all peoples, the pall enveloping all nations; he has destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away the tears from every cheek; he has taken his people’s shame away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has spoken. And on that day, it will be said, ‘Look, this is our God, in him we put our hope that he should save us, this is Yahweh, we put our hope in him. Let us exult and rejoice since he has saved us.’ For Yahweh’s hand will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trodden under his feet as straw is trodden into the dung-heap”.
“The Lamb went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne” (Rev 5:7).
Prior to this scene, the seer of Revelation had ascertained that no one in heaven or on earth was worthy to open the book in the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne, or to break its seals (v. 3).
Lk 10:21-24
In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Read More
“Day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”” (Rev 4:8).
This is how St John describes the adoration of our Father at His heavenly throne. In the apocalyptic vision, the Apostle saw twenty-four elders and four living creatures praising the glory of God without ceasing.
Lk 10:21-24
In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Read More
Isa 2:1-5
“The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It will happen in the final days that the mountain of Yahweh’s house will rise higher than the mountains and tower above the heights. Then all the nations will stream to it, many peoples will come to it and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.’ For the Law will issue from Zion and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
“Thou, o Lord, hast loosed my bonds” (Ps 116:16c).
How infinitely profound is our redemption, how immensely it brings us freedom!
On the contrary, how much sin binds us, how much we are attached to this fleeting life, how often we are captives in ourselves, not daring to place our life completely in God’s hands and thus live it to the full! Read More
