Tuesday of first week in Advent, December 4, 2006

Scripture:Zecheriah 14:5,7. Isaiah 11:1-10. Psalm 72:1-2,7-8,12-13,17. Luke 10:21-24 Peace and consolation permeate the readings given to us today in the liturgy of Advent. These dispositions will help us throughout this Advent, but today we focus upon them by meditating on the Scriptures cited above. Isaiah gives us the most idyllic description of the Messianic age. I think it is realistic in the realm of the spiritual and within our interior life in the Spirit. The Messiah through the Spirit has the great gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, strength (fortitude) and fear of the Lord (sublime reverence in the Presence of the Holy). The mission of the Offshoot of David is to bring peace to the world. Even the animal world and nature will reflect this peace brought to us by the Messiah. We pray that this will happen today in our world of struggles, wars, terrorism, and violence. Our prayers can help us to have the needed dispositions for such a divine like peace and messianic justice. Our own efforts at bringing this about in our ministries and work are important and do help to make this world better. "Better to light a candle in the darkness than to curse it." Jesus, our Messiah and Savior is rejoicing in the Spirit. He has all of the gifts of the Spirit and brings them to us with his words and his healing power. Today we have an Advent revelatory word that tells us to be like children in our practice of virtue and in our openness to his message. Only then will we believe that peace can come about. Through the eyes of faith we can understand today's Gospel where Jesus says to us, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see; and the ears to hear what you hear." Many others liked the prophets desired to see this as Jesus and Isaiah have seen and revealed to those who believe. Lord God, help me to remember today's Scriptures and their message of peace, justice, and consolation. I thank you for implanting these seven gifts of the Spirit through the baptismal and confirmational anointings of sacred signs and sacramental words. Help me to accept them with childlike openness and with wonder. Amen.