How Many Loaves Do You Have? December 6

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. Isaiah 25:6

I shall not want. Psalm 23

Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” Matthew 15:34

Piety

Refresh my soul. Lord, help me to forget the temporal physical pleasures with which the world tempts me. Unbind me from my life of abundant abundance. Let me dwell in your house and drink from your well, eat from your table and drink from your bottle. Satisfy me like you satisfied the crowd on the side of the mountain. Amen.

Study

Dare you pick up a magazine, watch television, or listen to the radio during this Christmas season without being the “target demographic?”

Is Lexus appealing to you to have a “December to remember?”

Does K-Mart want you to “put the holiday together?”

Are you afraid to visit relatives or friends without bringing a light blue box marked Tiffany, or a sweater sporting Dior, or a shirt with the polo-pony riding Ralph Lauren?

How many Lands’ End® and L.L. Bean® catalogs have stuffed your mailbox like the Thanksgiving Turkey?

Expectations are set so high on Madison Avenue. Then, they get dashed on Main Street. And the holidays turn into what Fr. O’Connor called the “hollow days.”

Today, Jesus asks me how much abundance I have. He tells me not to want. He will provide a feast of “juicy, rich foods and pure, choice wines.” Come to the banquet and you will find the bread of life and the blood of eternal salvation. (And a few dried fishes.)

Action

How will you answer Jesus when he asks you about the luxuries of life? How many books do you have? How many DVDs do you have? How many dollars do you have?

How will you prepare this Advent season?

Day 4: Dec. 6 - 4. Tend to our mental and intellectual health through continuing education, assertiveness training, journaling. Read about politics and economics, but avoid media overload by turning off the TV and reducing unhelpful, mass market magazine subscriptions. (from http://www.simpleliving.org/)