Saturday of the First week of Advent
Saints of the day:
St. Sabas, Abbot (439-532)
When Sabas had been ten years in this monastery, being eighteen years old, he went to Jerusalem to visit the holy places, and attached himself to a monastery then under control of St. Euthymius; but on the death of the holy abbot our Saint sought the wilderness, where he chose his dwelling in a cave on the top of a high mountain, at the bottom of which ran the brook Cedron.
After he had lived here five years, several came to him, desiring to serve God under his direction. He was at first unwilling to consent, but finally founded a new monastery of persons all desirous to devote themselves to praise and serve Goa without interruption.
His great sanctity becoming known, he was ordained priest, at the age of fifty-three, by the patriarch of Jerusalem, and made Superior-General of all the anchorites of Palestine.
He lived to be ninety-four, and died on the 5th of December, 532.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894] Saint Gerald
Saturday of the First week of Advent
The Book of Isaiah 30:19 People in Tziyon, who live in Yerushalayim,
SAINT SABAS
Abbot
(439-532)
St. Sabas, one of the most renowned patriarchs of the monks of Palestine, was born in the year 439, near Cæsarea. In order to settle a dispute which had arisen between some of his relatives in regard to the administration of his estate, while still young he forsook the world and entered a monastery, wherein he became a model of fervor.Abbot
(439-532)
When Sabas had been ten years in this monastery, being eighteen years old, he went to Jerusalem to visit the holy places, and attached himself to a monastery then under control of St. Euthymius; but on the death of the holy abbot our Saint sought the wilderness, where he chose his dwelling in a cave on the top of a high mountain, at the bottom of which ran the brook Cedron.
After he had lived here five years, several came to him, desiring to serve God under his direction. He was at first unwilling to consent, but finally founded a new monastery of persons all desirous to devote themselves to praise and serve Goa without interruption.
His great sanctity becoming known, he was ordained priest, at the age of fifty-three, by the patriarch of Jerusalem, and made Superior-General of all the anchorites of Palestine.
He lived to be ninety-four, and died on the 5th of December, 532.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894] Saint Gerald
Feastday: December 5
Death: 1109
In the latter half of the eleventh century, the archbishop of Toledo named Bernard, was delegated by the Pope to bring about an ecclesiastical reform in Spain. He called in various French clerics and monks, among whom was St. Gerald, Abbott of Moissac, who was appointed choir director of theCathedral of Toledo.
So well did this saintly man fulfil his duties and so much did he influence the people for good, that when the See of Braga became vacant, Gerald was selected by the clergy and people of that city to be their bishop. Gerald visited his diocese eradicating the abuses that had cropped up, especially that of the administering of ecclesiastical investiture by laymen.
you will weep no more.
At the sound of your cry, he will show you his grace;
on hearing it, he will answer you.
20 Though Adonai may give you but bread and water,
and not very much of that;
your teacher will no longer hide himself,
but with your own eyes you will see your teacher.
21 With your ears you will hear a word from behind you:
“This is the way; stay on it,
whether you go to the right or the left.”
23 Then he will give you rain for the seed
you use to sow your land;
and the food that comes from the ground
will be rich and abundant.
When that day comes, your cattle
will graze in spacious pastures.
24 The oxen and donkeys that work the land
will eat a tasty mixture,
winnowed free of chaff,
spread by pitchfork and shovel.
25 On every high mountain and lofty hill
will be streams and flowing brooks,
on a day of great slaughter,
when the towers fall.
26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be
as bright as the light of the sun;
and the light of the sun will be seven times stronger,
like the light of seven days [in one],
on the day Adonai binds up the wounds of his people
and heals the bruise caused by the blow.
Psalm 147:1 Halleluyah!
How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How sweet, how fitting to praise him!
2 Adonai is rebuilding Yerushalayim,
gathering the dispersed of Isra’el.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines how many stars there are
and calls them all by name.
5 Our Lord is great, his power is vast,
his wisdom beyond all telling.
6 Adonai sustains the humble
but brings the wicked down to the ground.
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint Matthew 9:35 Yeshua went about all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and weakness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his talmidim, “The harvest is rich, but the workers are few. 38 Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers to gather in his harvest.”
10:1 Yeshua called his twelve talmidim and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and weakness.
5 These twelve Yeshua sent out with the following instructions: “Don’t go into the territory of the Goyim, and don’t enter any town in Shomron, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Isra’el. 7 As you go, proclaim, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is near,’ 8 heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara’at, expel demons. You have received without paying, so give without asking payment.
Saturday of the First week of Advent
Commentary of the day:
Saint John-Paul II, Pope from 1978 to 2005
Redemptoris missio, 86
“The harvest is good”
If we look at today's world, we are struck by many negative factors that can lead to pessimism. But this feeling is unjustified: we have faith in God our Father and Lord, in his goodness and mercy. As the third millennium of the redemption draws near, God is preparing a great springtime for Christianity, and we can already see its first signs. In fact, both in the non-Christian world and in the traditionally Christian world, people are gradually drawing closer to gospel ideals and values, a development which the Church seeks to encourage. Today in fact there is a new consensus among peoples about these values: the rejection of violence and war; respect for the human person and for human rights; the desire for freedom, justice and brotherhood; the surmounting of different forms of racism and nationalism; the affirmation of the dignity and role of women.
---------------------Saturday of the First week of Advent
Commentary of the day:
Saint John-Paul II, Pope from 1978 to 2005
Redemptoris missio, 86
Christian hope sustains us in committing ourselves fully to the new evangelization and to the worldwide mission, and leads us to pray as Jesus taught us: "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
The number of those awaiting Christ is still immense: the human and cultural groups not yet reached by the Gospel, or for whom the Church is scarcely present, are so widespread as to require the uniting of all the Church's resources. As she prepares to celebrate the jubilee of the year 2000, the whole Church is even more committed to a new missionary advent. We must increase our apostolic zeal to pass on to others the light and joy of the faith, and to this high ideal the whole People of God must be educated.
The number of those awaiting Christ is still immense: the human and cultural groups not yet reached by the Gospel, or for whom the Church is scarcely present, are so widespread as to require the uniting of all the Church's resources. As she prepares to celebrate the jubilee of the year 2000, the whole Church is even more committed to a new missionary advent. We must increase our apostolic zeal to pass on to others the light and joy of the faith, and to this high ideal the whole People of God must be educated.
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