Reflection: Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Today, please remember in your prayers Fr. Walter Lawrence, a priest of our Archdiocese, who was buried this morning. As well, please remember his Mom, Betty Jean and his sister Jeannine and her family. Also you might pray for the people of St. Mary's Church, Barnesville, MD, where Fr. Lawrence served as Pastor. You may recall an earlier posting where prayers were asked for him as he struggled with acute leukemia.
---------------------------------------------------
Today, our first reading gives us a sense of the Advent theme of preparation. We read Isaiah's words about the root of Jesse which really is an encouragement for us to be rooted in Christ Jesus. That rootedness is actually a call for you and me to be a witness in a unique way. Be open to what it might be that God can accomplish through us.

If we recall throughout the day, at different times, that God made us. That he made us for a purpose, for a goal which came with us. Ours is the challenge to know that purpose as best as we can and to let that purpose be the impetus that drives us forward to carry out the will of God in our lives. Rooted in Christ Jesus we should never forget that it means we have been called by name. We have been anointed as his followers. Mindful of these aspects of our lives, we should find our lives to be a positive experience that enables us to be great people. Do you think about this each day? Perhaps, like so many, we focus upon what we may have done wrong, how we may have failed at a particular assignment and so on. In doing that are we really recognizing that we are rooted in Christ Jesus.