Today’s Readings – Friday of Week 2 of Advent - First Reading

Commentary on Isaiah 48:17-19

In a passage where Second Isaiah speaks of King Cyrus being chosen as God’s instrument to liberate his people from Babylon and enable them to return to their homeland, we have today’s short reading, a new prophecy inserted in the text. It is a reflection on what the destiny of Israel might have been if she had remained faithful to God’s calling. The sufferings of the Exile are seen by the writer as a punishment that Israel largely deserved.

If the Israelites had remained faithful, their prosperity “would have been like a river” and their integrity “like the waves of the sea” – symbols of free-flowing abundance. If they had remained faithful, they would have enjoyed the promises made long ago by Yahweh. Instead of being a d … Continue

Yesterday’s Readings – The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Commentary on Genesis 3:9-15; Ephesians 1:3-6,11-12; Luke 1:26-38

The Immaculate Conception means that Mary from the first moment of her existence was totally free from the influence of that universal sinfulness which touches us all from the time we are born. The reaso … Continue