From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
    -- Philippians 4:10-13 --    
      
    Now I rejoice in the Lord exceedingly that now at length your thought   
   for me hath flourished again, as you did also think; but you were   
   busied.  I speak not as it were for want. For I have learned, in   
   whatsoever state I am, to be content therewith.  I know both how to be   
   brought low, and I know how to abound (every where and in all things I   
   am instructed): both to be full and to be hungry: both to abound and   
   to suffer need. I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me.   
   DRB   
   =====================   
   "Being satisfied in God (or anything) always seems easier when all is   
   going well. But when things you love are being stripped out of your   
   hands, then the test is real. If God remains precious in those   
   moments, then his supreme worth shines more brightly. He is most   
   glorified."   
      
      
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   December 18th - Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary   
      
   Today, December 18, we celebrate the feast day of the Expectation of   
   the Blessed Virgin Mary, reminding us that we, too, expectantly wait   
   for the grace and joy of Our Lord and Savior, born on Christmas day.   
   We remember that Jesus was “pre-born” at the moment of the   
   Incarnation, that the Word became flesh when Our Blessed Mother   
   assented to God’s plan, as she spoke to the Archangel Gabriel at the   
   Annunciation. That feast, on March 25, predates today’s feast by   
   nearly nine months.   
      
   We can try to imagine what those nine months were like for The Blessed   
   Virgin, knowing that the Lord grew within her, was one with her. We   
   can only begin to understand the patience she had to possess, looking   
   forward to both the glory and joy of the divine birth. We experience   
   these same feelings—albeit to a lesser extent, no doubt—during this   
   Advent season of preparation. We examine our lives, and look forward   
   to the saving grace of our Lord, as mediated by Our Blessed Mother.   
   While the Lord’s plan was first enacted at the moment Mary was   
   conceived without sin, and made manifest to the Blessed Virgin at the   
   Annunciation, it was made evident to the world at the moment of the   
   Nativity. Prior to that, Mary had seen and heard what others had not,   
   and she had only one more week to anticipate the arrival of her son,   
   Our Lord, the Redeemer of the World!   
      
   Our Blessed Mother was the original tabernacle, in which the Word   
   became flesh and dwelt among us. Saint Augustine wrote that Mary   
   conceived the Word in her heart before she conceived the Word in her   
   flesh—that as she anticipated the birth of Jesus, her faith grew   
   simultaneously. The second Vatican Council declared that during the   
   time of her pregnancy, the heart of the Incarnate Word beat gently   
   below her immaculate heart: two immaculate hearts, beating silently   
   and prayerfully as one.   
      
   We can imagine Mary’s nine-month journey as one of wonder and   
   anticipation, but given the circumstances she found herself in, we   
   also know of her difficult journey, the doubts of Saint Joseph, the   
   anxiety that she must have experienced during that time. But Our   
   Blessed Mother demonstrated not only patience, but also forbearance   
   and deep trust in the Lord. She knew the road would not be easy—in   
   fact, that her joy would almost certainly be linked to suffering   
   throughout her life—but in hope and confidence placed her life in the   
   Lord’s hands. As she prepared for the birth of Jesus, Mary emptied   
   herself, allowing her body and soul to be filled with the grace and   
   spirit of the Lord. During Advent, we pray for a similar experience,   
   that we might approach the birth of Our Savior with hope and   
   confidence.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Lord, help me to make time today to serve you in those who are most in   
   need of encouragement or assistance.   
   -- St. Vincent of Paul   
      
   Bible quote:   
   Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;   
   in honour preferring one another.  (Romans 12:10)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   O God who didst will that Thy Word should,   
   by the message of an Angel,   
   take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary,   
   grant unto us, we beseech Thee,   
   that all we who do believe her to be in very deed   
   the Mother of God,   
   may be holpen by her prayers in Thy sight.   
   Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)