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Monday, November 16, 1998

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St. Margaret of Scotland
St. Gertrude


Revelation 1:1-4; 2:1-5
Psalm 1
Luke 18:35-43

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eye-opening freedom

"At that very moment he was given his sight and began to follow Him, giving God the glory." —Luke 18:43

In a little over a year, we will begin to celebrate the Great Jubilee and the two thousandth anniversary of Jesus' Incarnation. In this year, a world in slavery can be freed, debts can be forgiven, and the dispossessed can have their lands and lives restored to them (see Lv 25:8ff). Because our society is so far removed from God's Biblical order and because we are in such great need of a Jubilee Year, most people, even Christians, don't see how a Jubilee Year will ever happen. Can we realistically expect bankers to forgive debts? How many large landowners will give their land back to the poor? Will we suddenly be freed from all our addictions, compulsions, phobias, and anxieties?

When Jesus proclaimed that He would give us Jubilee Year after Jubilee Year, He promised not only to free slaves but also to open the eyes of the blind (Lk 4:18). Before we have a Jubilee Year, we must have our eyes opened. With the blind man of Jericho, we must cry out to Jesus: "I want to see" (Lk 18:41). Until we can see with the eyes of faith, how can we walk by faith and not by merely natural sight? (see 2 Cor 5:7) Until we can walk by faith, we cannot walk in the freedom of the Jubilee Year.

We must have spiritual sight to even entertain the thought of Jubilee freedom. Pray: "Lord, I want to see" (Lk 18:41).

Prayer:  Father, let me see "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" the way You see them.

Promise:  "I hold this against you, though: you have turned aside from your early love. Keep firmly in mind the heights from which you have fallen. Repent, and return to your former deeds." —Rv 2:4-5

Praise:  St. Gertrude was highly educated and well read. The Lord appeared to her in a vision, and from that point on, she read only the Bible and the works of the Church Fathers. She received many revelations from the Lord and wrote them down to build up the body of Christ.

Rescript:  ..

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.


Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, April 4, 1998


Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 8, 1998