Advent is “mission impossible”

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The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday in the First Week of Advent, St. Francis Xavier, 03 December 2024
Isaiah 11:1-10     <'[[[[><  +  ><]]]]'>     Luke 10:21-24

How lovely indeed 
are your words this Season
of Advent, O Lord our God
as we listen to Prophet Isaiah's
colorful prophecies about peace
when preys and predators live
in harmony:

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and 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 b e neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like ox. The baby shall play by the cobra’s den, and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair (Isaiah 11:6-8).

Right now,
many of us are in darkness,
some are about to give up in life,
losing hope,
frustrated and disappointed
in themselves,
in their work,
and worst,
in their relationships;
help us imagine this
amazing scene from
Isaiah's prophecy
heralding the Christ's advent.

Fill us with hope,
loving Father
so we may cooperate 
with your grace to accomplish
Your "mission impossible"
like St. Francis Xavier 
who gloriously accomplished 
"mission impossible" in the Far East
as he took to heart the final words
of St. Ignatius his superior,
"Go set all in fire."

Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the Prince of Peace
who had come,
would come again,
and continues to come
to us daily in our lives:
open our eyes,
teach us to trust in You
like little children;
give us that childlike
attitude of believing
and hoping
"mission impossible" is possible,
that there's nothing we cannot
 accomplish
for as long as we are in You;
reawaken our hopes in You,
Jesus, despite the defiance
of history and other people
in your plans
of peace and joy,
of fulfillment and life
right here,
right now.
Amen.