During all the hilltop moments in Jesus's life, not only was he informed and confirmed by his Father about his true identity and mission but he also shared those inspirations with his followers. This is what the scriptures and the Church exhorts us to encounter during our personal prayer time. The author esteems of his retirement life of solitude as a hilltop milieu that is very conducive to meditate in the presence of God, who is the highest. According to the author, "Where the Highest is, there the hilltop is." And he asserts the meditations found in this work have been collected when he was at his highest place. This book contains fifty-two weekend meditations based on liturgical year C's Sunday scriptural passages. The author writes in his foreword the following: "I dream to see this work as a handbook to be used either in the hands of every Christian at his/her Sabbath prayer hours or at the desks of preachers during the preparation of their Sunday homilies."
Hilltop Scriptural Meditations for Year C Weekend Spiritual Nourishment
By Benjamin A VimaTrafford Publishing
Copyright © 2015 Benjamin A. Vima
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4907-6687-4Contents
DEDICATION, xiii,
FOREWORD, xv,
FIRST WEEKEND, 1,
SECOND WEEKEND, 5,
THIRD WEEKEND, 9,
FOURTH WEEKEND, 13,
FOURTH WEEKEND-SPECIAL, 17,
FIFTH WEEKEND, 21,
FIFTH WEEKEND SPECIAL, 25,
SIXTH WEEKEND, 28,
SEVENTH WEEKEND, 32,
EIGHTH WEEKEND, 35,
NINTH WEEKEND, 38,
TENTH WEEKEND, 41,
ELEVENTH WEEKEND, 44,
TWELFTH WEEKEND, 48,
THIRTEENTH WEEKEND, 51,
FOURTEENTH WEEKEND, 54,
FIFTEENTH WEEKEND, 57,
SIXTEENTH WEEKEND, 60,
SEVENTEENTH WEEKEND, 64,
EIGHTEENTH WEEKEND, 67,
NINETEENTH WEEKEND, 70,
TWENTIETH WEEKEND, 74,
TWENTY-FIRST WEEKEND, 78,
TWENTY-SECOND WEEKEND, 81,
TWENTY-THIRD WEEKEND, 84,
TWENTY-FOURTH WEEKEND, 88,
TWENTY-FIFTH WEEKEND, 91,
TWENTY-SIXTH WEEKEND, 95,
TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEKEND, 98,
TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEKEND, 101,
TWENTY-NINTH WEEKEND, 104,
THIRTIETH WEEKEND, 108,
THIRTY-FIRST WEEKEND, 112,
THIRTY-SECOND WEEKEND, 115,
THIRTY-THIRD WEEKEND, 119,
THIRTY-FOURTH WEEKEND, 123,
THIRTY-FIFTH WEEKEND, 126,
THIRTY-SIXTH WEEKEND, 129,
THIRTY-SEVENTH WEEKEND, 133,
THIRTY-EIGHTH WEEKEND, 137,
THIRTY-NINTH WEEKEND, 141,
FORTIETH WEEKEND, 145,
FORTY-FIRST WEEKEND, 149,
FORTY-SECOND WEEKEND, 152,
FORTY-THIRD WEEKEND, 155,
FORTY-FOURTH WEEKEND, 158,
FORTY-FIFTH WEEKEND, 162,
FORTY-SIXTH WEEKEND, 166,
FORTY-SEVENTH WEEKEND, 169,
FORTY-EIGHTH WEEKEND, 173,
FORTY-NINTH WEEKEND, 177,
FIFTIETH WEEKEND, 180,
FIFTY-FIRST WEEKEND, 183,
FIFTY-SECOND WEEKEND, 187,
CHAPTER 1
FIRST WEEKEND
First Advent Sunday Encounter Jesus Not as Stringent Judge but as Good Shepherd
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand ... Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:25–36)
By many rituals and customs, like blessing the Advent wreath and candles, we make the best use of them to show our longing and hoping for Jesus's coming both in our hearts and in the daily events — not only this holy season of beginning the liturgical year, but also throughout our lifetime.
"Who is this Jesus for whom we are eagerly waiting?" is the question we meditate on this first weekend and try to get the answer to. First of all, in the light of scriptures and Christian tradition, we are inspired to believe that the one for whom we are waiting is not an ordinary leader as the secular world defines. Nor is he a prophet (Nabi), as our Islamic brethren consider, or one of the many incarnations of God, as our Hinduistic friends uphold. Rather, he is a person who is named Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Lord of the universe.
In the midst of the trials and perils troubling Israel, Prophet Jeremiah was sent by God to encourage and console his people with an oracle about the wonderful days when all his promises would be fulfilled
