Wednesday of the Second week of Advent

Book of Isaiah

To whom can you liken me as an equal? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these: He leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing!
Why, O Jacob, do you say, and declare, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting; for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary, and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

Psalms

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

St. María Maravillas de Jesús((1891-1974))

SAINT MARÍA MARAVILLAS DE JESÚS (Pidal y Chico de Guzmán)Professed Nun of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1891-1974) María de las Maravillas was born in Madrid, Spain, on November 4, 1891. She was the daughter of Luis Pidal y Mon, the Marquis of Pidal, and Cristina Chico de Guzmán y Muñoz. Her father was the Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See. She was blessed togrow up in a virtuous Catholic family. María made a vow of chastity at the age of 5 and devoted herself to acts of charity. After reading the works of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Jesus, she felt called to become a Discalced Carmelite. Her father, whom she assisted when he became ill, passed away in 1913. Understandably, her mother was reluctant to accept her entry into a Carmelite monastery. On October 12, 1919, María entered the Discalced Carmelites of El Escorial. Her simple vows were on May 7, 1921. Before a final profession on May 30, 1924, she discerned God's will to found the Carmel of Cerro de los Ángeles. Sr. María's foundation was inaugurated on October 31, 1926, together with three other Carmelites. It was the first in a series of Teresian Carmelite Monasteries that she established. She was not being called to found a new order or to branch off from the Discalced Carmelites. She sought to live deeply and to transmit the spirit and ideals of St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross. On June 28, 1926, the bishop of the Diocese of Madrid-Alcalá appointed Sr. María as the monastery's prioress. In 1933, Mother María established another foundation in Kottayam, India. From there, other foundations began. Mother María's role as prioress would be permanent in the various monasteries she founded: notwithstanding the natural apprehension she feltin accepting positions of responsibility. She was motivated by her love for the Church and for her Carmelite sisters. Mother María was criticized for the poverty of the convents she founded. Some alleged that they were not solid, small in size and unfurnished, with bare walls on which hung Bible verses or writings of the Carmelite saints. She would reply, "It is not our concern to plant a seed, since the Discalced Carmelites have already been founded." During the Spanish Civil War, the nuns of Cerro de los Ángeles lived in an apartment in Madrid. In September 1937, another Carmel in the Batuecas, Salamanca, was founded. In 1939, the monastery of Cerro de los Ángeles was restored. Amid deprivations, Mother María was courageous and happy: edifying and encouraging her daughters. Mother María was a mystery to the sisters closest to her in the sense of interior trials. Only her spiritual directors knew the "dark night of the soul" that she lived throughout her life, which kept her in profound spiritual aridity. Her guide was total abandonment to the will of God. In the following years, foundations were established in other parts of Spain. Mother María also sent nuns to the Carmel of El Escorial and to the venerable Monastery of the Incarnation in Avila. To unite the monasteries founded by her and others, she founded the Association of St. Teresa, which received official approval from the Holy See in 1972. On December 8, 1974, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Mother María received Last Rites. On December 11, surrounded by her community in the Carmel of La Aldehuela, Madrid, she passed away. At the time of her passing, her sisters reported that she kept repeating the phrase, "What happiness to die a Carmelite!" Mother María was beatified on May 10, 1998. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 4, 2003.

St. Damasus I(Pope († 384))

SAINT DAMASUS IPope( 384) St. Damasus was born in Rome. He was the archdeacon of the Roman Church in 355 when Pope Liberius was banished to Berda. Damasus accompanied Pope Liberius to Berda and afterward returned. When Pope Liberius passed away, Damasus was consecrated pope. When Ursinus incited a revolt to usurp the papacy, Pope Damasus acted in a manner that becomes a father of the Church. After freeing the Church of schism, Pope Damasus began extirpating Arianism in the West and Apollinarianism in the East. Thus, he convened several councils. He also rebuilt the church of St. Laurence, known as St. Laurence in Damaso, anddonated the lands in its vicinity. He diverted springs running over Vatican tombs and decorated the sepulchers of martyrs. Pope Damasus passed away on December 10, 384. He served as pope for eighteen years and two months, and was nearly 80 years old.

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