Psalm
27, verse 1:
1 The LORD is my
light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The
LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
This verse is and should be our declaration of faith. Let us commit it to memorization and repeat
it to ourselves daily or when fear and doubt rears its ugly head within our
depths. Doing this will help us trust
the Lord and develop a true relationship of love with the Trinity through
prayer. God will become our sanctuary
and we will be able to put away our fears and rest in the arms of God.
We will no longer have to pretend that we are not afraid for we will
trust the Lord with our whole being offering our lives, families, time and
treasure with total peace. We will be
able to sleep and awaken easily. The old
Navajo adage will no longer apply to us; you
cannot wake a person who is pretending to be asleep; due to our faith in
God.
Through our reliance in Him we will be able to say with King David, “I
believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait
for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.” (Psalm
27:13-14).
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,“Son of David, have pity on us!” When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. (Mt. 9:27-31)
St. Barbara, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, is the patron saint of artillerymen, miners, and a happy death. Though her feast on December 4 obviously belongs to the cycle of saints and not to the temporal cycle of Advent, there is a custom observed in her honor that ties into the meaning of the Advent season. A Barbara branch is the name given to a twig that is broken from a fruit tree (especially cherry), placed in a bowl of water, and kept in a warm, well-lit part of the house, such as the kitchen. According to legend, if the Barbara branch blooms on or before Christmas Day, good luck will come to the person whose branch it is. Aside from this harmless superstition, Barbara branches are reminiscent of the image from Isaiah of Christ as a Flower from the root of Jesse (Is. 11.2; the Epistle for Advent Ember Friday); they can thus be instructive in teaching children the meaning of Advent and Christmas. They are also used as the Saint's tribute to the Christ Child in the manger, lovingly placed in the crèche when they have blossomed.[1]
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