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Spiritual Reflection
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November 14, 2009 | | | |  | Spiritual Reflection for 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Nov. 18, 2009
God can be seen in the goodness of his people.
If we were to hold onto the picture we are given in today's Gospel – a darkened sun, a moon without light, stars falling from the sky – it would seem quite depressing. We feel this way sometimes when life turns upside down. Perhaps a loved one is sick or facing unemployment. Yes, sometimes it seems that the moon is without light.
We should take care when we are reading Scripture, to read it fully. If we do, we begin to notice that the picture does not stop in the gloom. We would never stop on Good Friday, at the death of Jesus, would we? Good Friday only makes sense because there is Easter Sunday and the Resurrection. What we often call the light at the end of the tunnel is really the hope of God's grace that comes through the darkness. When we are reflecting on Scripture, the complete picture comes in the description of the coming of the Son of Man with great power and glory. God's last word is not one of despair. God has the power to bring light to any situation.
In today's second reading, the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that the one, perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross has reconciled us to the Father and won for us forgiveness of sin. It is also through and in Christ that we are consecrated and made holy, enabling us to better recognize the power of God at work in our lives and in the world. Any desire we have to do good or to love others is actually from God, because God - who is love – created us in his image and planted the desire to love in our hearts.
God will never leave or forsake us. God will provide us with the strength and grace to cope with whatever life brings our way. God can and will bring good out of the difficulties we experience. Remember, there are always signs of God's love around us. Look for them. | | | | | |
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 Our Lady of Lourdes - In 1858, in a grotto, near Lourdes in southern France, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl. She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a fountain in the grotto. When Bernadette dug at a spot designated by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative property that science can identify. Lourdes has become the most famous modern shrine of Our Lady. |
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