Marist Association Daily Prayer

Let us always remember that

we are in the holy presence of God

May God continue to live in our hearts

In the name of the Father,

Son and Holy Spirit

Amen

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  • Intention of the Day
  • Today's Gospel
  • Breaking Open the Word
  • Marist Source
  • Reflection
  • Meditation
  • Call to Action
  • Closing Prayer

Intention of the Day

That we witness to unity in cultural diversity.
Marists at St Teresa’s Catholic College, Noosaville, QLD.

That we witness to unity in cultural diversity.
Marists at St Teresa’s Catholic College, Noosaville, QLD.

Today's Gospel. 2nd Sunday of Advent.

The one who comes after me is more powerful than I...he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Matthew 3: 11.
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Matthew 3: 1 - 12.

1 In due course John the Baptist appeared; he proclaimed this message in the desert of Judaea,

2 'Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.'

3 This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said: A voice of one that cries in the desert, 'Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.'

4 This man John wore a garment made of camel-hair with a leather loin-cloth round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him,

6 and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins.

7 But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, 'Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming retribution?

8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance,

9 and do not presume to tell yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father," because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones.

10 Even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees, so that any tree failing to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire.

11 I baptise you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

12 His winnowing-fan is in his hand; he will clear his threshing-floor and gather his wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.'

Breaking Open The Word

We are invited into that Kingdom, the Kingdom of the new era. We are invited not only to profit passively from it, but to build it.

Taken from: Give Us This Day
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Taken from: Give Us This Day

Someone Old, Someone New.

[John] was not clear about what would happen to those who converted. He was more clear on what would happen to those who would not. Their future would be God’s wrath, God’s anger, God’s fury, and God’s vengeance.

He did not exclude the possibility of being saved, otherwise he would not have asked people to be baptized, but he does not dwell on that theme very much.

His message was somber and grim, dark and heavy. . . .

John was right; Jesus confirmed his opinion. But John was right in the old way, according to the Old Testament pattern. With John, the Old Testament closed. . . .

Jesus made the difference very clear. He spoke about a complete break. He said: “Up to the time of John it was the law and the prophets; since then it is the Kingdom of God.”

Saint John lamented; Jesus rejoiced. John sang a funeral hymn, Jesus an alleluia verse. John refused to eat bread; Jesus broke his bread. John refused to drink wine; Jesus changed all the water in the kitchen into wine. John dressed in a camel’s skin; Jesus in a customized shirt without a seam. John warned; Jesus invited. They were, in fact, so different that they started to wonder about each other. John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask him: “Are you really the one?” Jesus answered: “You, John, are the greatest of the Old-Timers, but the smallest of the New Timers is greater than you!”

Something new had started—the Kingdom of God. We are invited into that Kingdom, the Kingdom of the new era. We are invited not only to profit passively from it, but to build it.

Fr. Joseph Donders, Praying and Preaching the Sunday Gospel. Taken from Give Us This Day.

Fr. Joseph G. Donders (d. 2013), a member of the Missionaries of Africa, was an educator, writer, and social justice advocate.

That we witness to unity in cultural diversity.
Marists at St Teresa’s Catholic College, Noosaville, QLD.

Marist Source

In a privileged way, we encounter Jesus in the three special Marist places - the Crib, the Cross, the Altar.

# WFR 20.

That we witness to unity in cultural diversity.
Marists at St Teresa’s Catholic College, Noosaville, QLD.

To Ponder

‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ – How am I called to growth in order to fully live the life that God has imagined for me?

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Where has the Spirit drawn you in today's prayer?

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Closing Prayer

All Loving God

Cultivate in us a spirituality that flows out of Marian simplicity, humility and modesty.

Release in us wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement for your work in which we share.

Help us set our gaze on those people and places most in need of Christlife,

Impel us to respond together,

And lead us to be in communion with one another, and with you.

Like Mary, we listen for your invitation,

Like Mary, we set out joyfully and in haste to the hill country of the lives of young people,

Like Mary, we build communities in ways that are Christ-centred.

All Loving God, come and live in our hearts.

 

 Amen