Luke 1: 57-66
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John." But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name." So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him."
Dawg's Thought:
Today's prayer intention - for safety for those who are traveling.
There was a Vietnamese Bishop, Nguyen Van Thuan. There was a time when he was captured and thrown into solitary confinement. While there, he would find hope in his faith and he would continue to do the things that God called him to do, including celebrate Mass with just a drop of wine. He was ultimately released, and when he took a trip to Rome, he was asked not to return.
They captured him, and although he couldn't have the public ministry a bishop normally has, he was able to do great good with the limitations that he had. He was able to bring hope to the concentration camp he was imprisoned in. He was able to live a life in Christ regardless of his situation.
It could have been easy for Zechariah to lose hope after God made him mute. It could be easy for us to lose hope if we lose our job or if we lose our ability to walk or even type. It's easy to lose hope if we ignore that God can bring about great good regardless of our limitations.
Our Lord does great things. May we keep his greatness always in our minds so that we may not lose hope in a world searching desperately for it. Take care and God Bless.
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