EMBER DAY December 17, 2014

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Matthew, Chapter 25, verse 24-25:
24 Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’

Christ is always trying to draw us away from fear to having a relationship of love and peace with the Trinity.  For if we live our faith in fear we will be like the person who buried his only talent. We must if filled with the love of Christ go forth bravely to build Christ's Kingdom in our own spheres of influence and in our way of being. 

The church recognizes that fear slowly creeps into our lives and makes changes in the liturgy to renew us and avoid sinfulness. One of the corrections that the church made in the liturgy change of 1969 was the obligation for Catholic’s to fast on Ember Days. 

Today, Friday and Saturday are Ember Days according to the old calendar.  Ember Days were observed in the old calendar to fast and pray for God’s guidance and grace for the new season and to pray for Priest’s.

We are a priestly people and as such we should also during these days reflect and pray asking our Lord on how he wants us to use our time, talent and treasure. 

Today ask our Lord how he wants you to spend your time during this season assisting our priests.

Today also marks the beginning of the O Antiphons, the seven jewels of our liturgy in the preparation of the birth of Christ. 

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