Tuesday of the First week of Advent
Commentary of the day
Saint Bernard : “Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see"
Reading
Is 11,1-10.
But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. On that day, The root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Ps 72,1.7-8.12-13.17.
Of Solomon.
That abundance may flourish in his days, great bounty, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth.
For he rescues the poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help.
He shows pity to the needy and the poor and saves the lives of the poor.
May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun, may his name endure.
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name; may all the nations regard him as favored.
Lk 10,21-24.
At that very moment he rejoiced (in) the holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." Turning to the disciples in private he said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
Commentary of the day
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 2 on the Song of Songs (©Classics of Western Spirituality)
“Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see"
When I reflect, as I often do, on the ardor with which the patriarchs longed for the bodily presence of Christ, I am pierced with sorrow and shame. And now I can scarcely contain my tears, so ashamed am I of the lukewarmness and lethargy of the present times. For which of us is filled with joy at the realization of this grace as the holy men of old were moved to desire by the promise of the Incarnation? Soon now we shall be rejoicing at the celebration of his birth. But would that it were really for his birth and not for mere vanities! How I pray that that burning desire and longing in the hearts of these holy men of old may be aroused in me by these words: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth" (Sg 1,1). In those days a spiritual man could sense in the Spirit how great would be the grace poured out by the touch of those lips (Ps 45 [44],3) and through those words, weighted with all our longings, desire with all his heart that he would not be deprived of a share in that sweetness. The good men of those days could say, "Of what use to me are the words the prophets have uttered? Rather, let him who is beautiful beyond the children of men (Ps 45 [44], 3) kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. I am no longer content with what Moses says, for he sounds to me like someone who cannot speak well" (Ex 4,10); Isaiah is "a man of unclean lips" (Is 6,5); Jeremiah is a child who does not know how to speak (Jer 1,6). All the prophets are empty to me. But he, he of whom they speak, let him speak to me. Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Let him not speak to me in them or through them, for they are "a watery darkness, a dense cloud" (Ps 18 [17],12). I await him whose gracious presence and eloquence of wonderful teaching causes a "spring of living water" to well up in me to eternal life (]n 4,14).
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