Cristy Li

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me
to bring Good News to the poor.” –Luke 4:18A

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The Lord Will Come; Go Out to Meet Him!
He is the Prince of Peace.  Image Courtesy: EWTN

God The Creator and Redeemer

Hear this O House of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and who came forth from the

loins of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel but not in truth

or right (righteousness) For they call themselves after the Holy City and lean on the God of

Israel, the Lord of hosts is His name.

The former things I declared long ago, they went out from My mouth and I made them known;

then suddenly I did them and they came to pass. Because I know that you are obstinate, your

neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from long ago before

they came to pass, I announced them to you, so you would not say, ‘My idol did them, my

carved image and my cast image commanded them.’

You have heard; Now see this and will you not declare it? From this time forward I make you

hear new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago;

before today you have not heard them, so that you could not say, ‘I already know them.’ You

have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew

that you would deal very treacherously and that from birth you were call a rebel.

For My Name’s sake I defer My anger, for the sake of praise I restrain it for you, so that I may

not cut you off. See I have refined you but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of

adversity. For My own sake, for My own sake, I do it, for why should My Name be profaned? My

glory I will not give to another.

Listen to Me, O Jacob and Israel, whom I called: I am He, I am the first and I am the last. My

hand laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand spread out the heavens; When I

summon them, they stand at attention.

Assemble, all of you and hear! Who among them has declared these things?

The Lord loves him; He shall perform His purpose on Babylon and His arm shall be against the

Chaldeans. I, even I have spoken and called Him, I have brought Him and he will prosper in his

way.

Draw near to me, hear this! From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it

came to be I have been there and now the Lord God has sent me and His Spirit.

Thus says the Lord, Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord Your God, who

teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go.

O that you had paid attention to My Commandments! Then your prosperity would have been

like a river and your success like the waves of the sea; Your offspring would have been like the

sand and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from

before Me.

Go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy and proclaim it,

send it forth to the end of the earth; Say, ‘The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!’ They did

not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock;

He split open the rock and the water gushed out.

“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” –Isaiah 48:1-22

The Two Ways

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread,

or sit in the seat of scoffers but their delight is in the Law of the Lord and on His Law they

meditate day and night. They are like trees, planted by streams of water, which yield fruit in its

season and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do they prosper.

The wicked are not so but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will

not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish.

–Psalm 1:1-6

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Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. –Matthew 3:2 ; 10:7 (RSVCE)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through Him. –John 3:16-17

Faith Without Works Is Dead

What does it profit my Brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can faith save

him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in

peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it

profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works is dead.

Some one will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your

works and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; You do well. Even

the demons believe and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you foolish fellow that faith apart

from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son

Isaac upon the alter? (Genesis 22:1-19)

You see that faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by works and the

(Holy) Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as

righteousness.’ (Galatians36) Abraham was called the friend of God. (James 2:23)

You see that a man is justified by works and not faith alone and in the same way was not also

Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the Messengers and sent them out

another way? (Joshua 2:1-24)

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead. –James 2:14-26

Please Others, Not Yourselves

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor.
(Mark 12:30-31)

For Christ did not please Himself but as it is written, ‘The insults of those who insult you have

fallen on me.’ (Psalm 69:9)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by

steadfastness and by the encouragement of the (Holy) Scriptures we might have hope.

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one

another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the

God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel For Jews and Gentiles Alike

Welcome one another, therefore just as Christ has welcomed you, for the Glory of God. For I

tell you that Christ has become a Servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in

order that He might confirm the promises given to the Patriarchs and in order that the Gentiles

might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written. ‘Therefore I will confess you among the

Gentiles and sing praises to Your Name.’ (Psalm 18:49 ; 2 Samuel 22:50) and again He says,

‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people;

Again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles and let all the peoples praise Him.’

Again, Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse shall come, the One who rises to rule the Gentiles; In Him

the Gentiles shall hope.” (Isaiah 11:1-10)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope

by the power of the Holy Spirit. –Romans 15:1-13

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Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. –Isaiah 55:6 (NRSVCE)

A Song of Victory

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let the House of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Out of my distress I called on the Lord, the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? The Lord is on my side to help me. I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in Princes.

All nations surround me; In the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surround me, surround me on every side, in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surround me like bees, they blazed like a fire of thorns, in the name of the Lord I cut them off! I was pushed hard so that I was falling but the Lord helped me.

The Lord is my strength and my might, He has become my Salvation.

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord is exalted, the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”

I shall not die but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has punished me severely but He did not give me over to death.

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give Thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter through it.

I Thank You that You have answered me and have become my Salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech You, give us success!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.

The Lord is God and He has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches up to the horns of the alter.

You are my God and I will give Thanks to You; You are my God, I will extol You.

Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.
–Psalm 118:1-29 (NRSVCE)

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Behold, the Lord comes to save His people;
Blessed are those prepared to meet Him.  Image Courtesy: Franciscan Friars

Praises to God for His Mercy and Salvation

O Lord, You are My God; I will exalt You, I will praise Your name. For You have done

wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. For You have made the city a heap, the

fortified city a ruin; the palace of aliens is a city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore

strong peoples will glorify You; Cities of ruthless nations will fear You. For You have been a

refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a

shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm, the noise of

aliens like a heat in a dry place, You subdued the heat with the shade of clouds, the song of the

ruthless was stilled. On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich

food, a feast of well-aged wines strained clear. He will destroy on this mountain the shoud that

is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; He will swallow up death

forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces and the disgrace of His

people He will take away from all the earth. For the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day,

‘Lo this is Our God; We have waited for Him so that He might save us. This is the Lord for

whom we have waited; Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For the hand of the Lord will

rest on this mountain.

The Moabites (natural enemies of God and Israel) shall be trodden down in their place as straw

is trodden down in a dung-pit. Though they spread out their hands in the midst of it, as

swimmers spread out their hands to swim, their pride will be laid low despite the struggle of

their hands. The high fortifications of his walls will be brought down, laid, low, cast to the

ground, even to the dust. –Isaiah 25:1-12

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