Reflections from Turvey Abbey
WEEK THREEWEDNESDAY Isaiah 45:6-8.18. 21-25Luke 7:19-23 Today our anticipation of the coming of the Messiah gains momentum as Isaiah contrasts God’s powers with those of the popular Babylonian gods: Apart from me all is nothing.I am the Lord, unrivalled,I form the light and create the dark.I make good fortune and create calamity, it is I, …
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WEEK THREETUESDAY Zephaniah 3:1-2. 9-13Matthew 21:28-32 ‘In your midst I will leave a humble and lowly people, and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.’ The promise that God will leave ‘a humble and lowly people’, a faithful remnant, runs throughout the Prophetic literature of the Old …
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THIRD WEEK OF ADVENTMONDAY Numbers 24:2-7,15-17Matthew 21:23-27 Today’s first reading is a rather unfamiliar text from the Book of Numbers. We hear one of the oracles of the prophet Balaam. How fair are your tents, O Jacob!How fair your dwelling, Israel!Like valleys that stretch afar,like gardens by the banks of a river,like aloes planted by …
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WEEK THREESUNDAY Isaiah 35:1-6, 10Matthew 11:2-11 Today Isaiah offers us poetic vision of all that God promises for the people of Judah: everybody and everything will be restored in a land governed by God. Judah has experienced a period of barrenness and dryness in her relationship with God. All of this God will turn into …
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WEEK TWOSATURDAY Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4. 9-11Matthew 17:10-13 The prophet Elijah is mentioned in both readings today. His message was simple: turn away from sin and turn towards God. Look back over your week. How has God called you to conversion? Photo by Eric Muhr on Unsplash
WEEK TWOFRIDAY Isaiah 48: 17-19Matthew 11:16-19 ‘If only you had been alert to my commandments,your happiness would have been like a river,your integrity like the waves of the see.’ (Is 48) ‘But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing …
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IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Genesis 3:9-15, 20Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12Luke 1:26-38 In her book, Born Contemplative, Madeleine Simon writes about the spiritual development of young children and explores her thesis that we are all born with an innate capacity for God. She says that a child’s faith journey begins the moment the mother knows that she is pregnant. …
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SECOND WEEK OF ADVENTWEDNESDAY Isaiah 40:25-31Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my …
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SECOND WEEEK OF ADVENTTUESDAY Isaiah 40:1-11Matthew 18:12-14 Today Isaiah paints the scene of a triumphant homecoming for Judah, their time of exile ended. Isaiah uses the familiar biblical theme of reversal, and we are invited to picture a landscape where valleys, hills, ridges and mountains are transformed. It’s likely that the image of ‘a straight …
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Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash WEEK TWOMONDAY Isaiah 35:1-10Luke 5:17-26 In the days of the overhead projector and the use of acetates I remember watching a clever presenter build up a picture by laying five acetates, one on top of each other. Something similar is perhaps at work with the liturgy of the Word …
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