For this fourth day of Advent we have a passage from Matthew’s Gospel (15: 29-37) [Once again an encouragement to read the Gospel and take time to silently reflect upon God’s eternal Word.]
In today’s Gospel, another large crowd has gathered around Jesus. They bring to him for healing “the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.”
Advent is a time for us to ‘join this great crowd’ that comes to Jesus. Today’s Gospel reveals the loving power of Jesus which heals all ills. We have all the evidence we need in the life, preaching, miracles, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus to put our faith in him!
Pope Francis in his first encyclical letter, Lumen Fidei, The Light of Faith, writes:
The history of Jesus is the complete manifestation of God’s reliability. If Israel continued to recall God’s great acts of love, which formed the core of its confession of faith and broadened its gaze in faith, the life of Jesus now appears as the locus of God’s definitive intervention, the supreme manifestation of his love for us. The word which God speaks to us in Jesus is not simply one word among many, but his eternal Word (cf. Hebrews 1:1-2). God can give no greater guarantee of his love, as St. Paul reminds us (cf. Romans 8:31-39). Christian faith is thus faith in a perfect love, in its decisive power, in its ability to transform the world and to unfold its history.
Number 15
This Advent we are invited to place all our needs ‘at the feet of Jesus’, who longs to bring healing and fullness of life. The human journey presents everyone with moments of great challenge, pain and difficulty which can make us doubt the reality of a loving God. However, our Faith keeps us ever proclaiming with the Psalmist: “I love you LORD, you are my strength.” (Psalm 18)
5Prepare our hearts, we pray, O Lord our God, by your divine power, so that at the coming of Christ your Son we may be found worthy of the banquet of eternal life and merit to receive heavenly nourishment from his hands. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
Roman Missal: Opening Prayer for Mass, Wednesday of First Week of Advent