Rock formations at a distance. Picture by Jerry Torres
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
Optional Memorial of Saint Nicholas, Bishop
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
R.
Emphasis mine Ps 40:2 and 4, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 11
We are using the Optional readings today. I initially thought we would use the response to the Responsorial Psalm, but no, after we reread the Responsorial Psalm, the words “And he put a new song into my mouth,” leaped out at me, The Holy Spirit.
The three readings all tie into each other.
The first reading is from Isaiah, where Isaiah first observes God and is overwhelmed;
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
In the Gospel reading,
The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
At the end of the reading,
They are to announce that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
We, yes, we, don’t often link the readings of the day. You can imagine my surprise when, after reading the readings, The Holy Spirit showed me how they were linked together.
Isaiah, after he had been purged of his sins, answered the question, “Whom shall I send? Isaiah replied, “Here I am, send me.”
The Responsorial Psalm said, “And He put a new song into my mouth.”
The Gospel reading ended with, “Proclaim the Kingdom of God is at hand!”
Upon reflection on the three readings, I realized that we have been discussing this for the past two years ( I just realized we have written over one hundred and four blogs). The central theme, if you will, is celebrating a new life in the Kingdom of God and that life is filled with Love, Joy, and Peace.
Like Isaiah and the seventy-two disciples, we are asked to go out and proclaim the new Kingdom that Jesus created by His Life, Death, and Resurrection.
And,
The easiest way to proclaim the new Kingdom is by our actions; when we do this, God will put a new song into our mouth.
We suggest three relationship-building prayers this quarter if you want to join and grow in Team Jesus.
- Weeeeeeeee, say this prayer every time you and God interact. For example, Weeeeeee made a great meal, Weeeee played a good game of …, Weeeeeee didn’t handle this very well, etc.
- Thank you, Father; say this all day, every day, for all the Father is doing in your life. If something really good happens, say this multiple times with enthusiasm. When I was told my Basal Cell had disappeared, I said the Thank You prayer at least fifty times as I walked out of the doctor’s office.
- I’m Fantastic; anytime anyone asks how you are, tell them you are Fantastic. I believe you are who you say you are. You have every reason to be Fantastic and no reason not to be. If you can’t think of a reason to be Fantastic, thank God for the difficulty, and God will provide you with the reasons.
Sidebar:
Thanksgiving is over, and it was a transition period for Gail and me. As we have said, this is the first time Gail and I haven’t hosted Thanksgiving in fifty-four years. We knew we were too old and had to pass the baton to someone else.
Everyone said they would host Thanksgiving, but for several reasons, Maine was the most convenient place to gather.
My younger brother Roger and his wife Lisa said they would host Thanksgiving, and Gail and I couldn’t be happier.
What a wonderful Thanksgiving they hosted. Because of the change, I came to the dinner a little down, because this part of our life was over, but I left sky-high because of the Love, Joy, and Peace that filled the room that day.
Roger and Lisa did a fantastic job!
The baton was passed, and the family would continue to come together to celebrate being a family filled with Love.
We pray your Thanksgiving was filled with the Holy Spirit’s Love, Joy, and Peace.
Thanksgiving for 2023, God put “a new song into my mouth.”
It is a song of Joy for having a family that wants to get together and celebrate our Love for each other, and Gail and I could sit back and enJOY the fruit of our marriage and labor.
Thought for the day from NSRV The C.S. Lewis Bible:
God loves us: not because we are lovable but because He is love, not because He needs to receive, but He delights to give.
Picture:
This picture is of the rock formations at a distance. I saw this natural window and sat down to enjoy this view. Picture by Jerry Torres
Please keep Snapping!
Several people from foreign countries have asked for my email address, but I am still waiting to hear back. We decided to include my email for your convenience.
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, no people, please, because we have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
By sending your picture, you consent to allow us to reprint that picture in our next book, God Thoughts 2023, with your name and any comments in the Blog.
