THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT - Gospel (Mt 11:11-15) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” (Mt 11:12)

FIRST READING - Is 41:13-20

I am the LORD, your God,

who grasp your right hand;

It is I who say to you, “Fear not,

I will help you.”

Fear not, O worm Jacob,

O maggot Israel;

I will help you, says the LORD;

your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

I will make of you a threshing sledge,

sharp, new, and double-edged,

To thresh the mountains and crush them,

to make the hills like chaff.

When you winnow them, the wind shall carry them off

and the storm shall scatter them.

But you shall rejoice in the LORD,

and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the LORD, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the broad valleys;

I will turn the desert into a marshland,

and the dry ground into springs of water.

I will plant in the desert the cedar,

acacia, myrtle, and olive;

I will set in the wasteland the cypress,

together with the plane tree and the pine,

That all may see and know,

observe and understand,

That the hand of the LORD has done this,

the Holy One of Israel has created it.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Mt 11:11-15

Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.

All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.

And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come.

Whoever has ears ought to hear.

THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT - Gospel (Mt 11:11-15) THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, God praises Saint John the Baptist, stating that "among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist." This is due to his humility, simplicity, and smallness. And God revealed to His disciples that John was the incarnation of Elijah, the prophet who came to prepare the way for the Savior.

Through today's Gospel, God teaches humanity the lesson of humility and its smallness in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And He calls humankind to live in close union with God to listen to His words and put them into practice. It is only when we live in close union with God, that we will love our brothers and sisters. We will be united, knowing to forgive, enduring all, and sacrificing everything.

God does not want humans to fall into Satan's temptations, which are division, jealousy, envy, and competition with one another. When living in a common community, God wants everyone

to know how to be in harmony and love one another. Be determined to give up personal interests in order to serve and seek for the common good, which is to glorify God and save souls.

God wants His children to be determined to abandon the old way of life, which is jealousy, envy, and competition that Satan has created because all of these do not come from God. As in the Word of God today, Jesus Christ gives an example of a community life, where without unity; all the work that God gives will not be accomplished as He desires. For everything to be pleasing to God, all members of the community must learn to let go of our selfish egos. We must also be united, to glorify God, and to seek the benefit of souls.

God always loves all of His children.

Therefore, He teaches His children that when there is no listening, no loving unity, no sharing with each other, and when there is no common interest being placed above all else, there will be a complete failure; but when there is loving unity, becoming one with each other, all work will be accomplished according to God's will.

This is the way God teaches all communities, especially religious communities that we need to listen to God's words, we need to have unity of love and forgiveness, we need to give up our personal interests, we need to love God and fear Him in order to listen to Him and put it into practice, and to listen to the words of our brothers and sisters. Only then will the community become holy according to God's will.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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