Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

Gospel: John 14:6-14
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me. If you know me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know him, and you have seen him.”Philip asked him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough.” Jesus said to him, “What! I have been with you so long and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever sees me sees the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? All that I say to you, I do not say of myself. The Father who dwells in me is doing his own work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; at least believe it on the evidence of these works that I do.Truly, I say to you, the one who believes in me

will do the same works that I do; and he will even do greater than these, for I am going to the Father. Everything you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Indeed, anything you ask, calling upon my name, I will do it.

Reflections

“Lord, show us the Father.”Director Franco Zeffirelli after filming the movie entitled Brother Sun, Sister Moon, once said, “I discovered Francis, I discovered Christ.”Francis of Assisi succeeded in imitating Christ. He became a living image of Jesus as described in the gospels. The movie director came to know more about Christ when he was filming the life of St. Francis for Hollywood.Jesus tries to convince his disciples to know more about him- self, because the more they know him, the more they will know the Father. Jesus serves as their tangible bridge to the Father. The Father in heaven is accessible only through Christ. The disciples must believe in Jesus’ claim. They do not have to argue or to prove it with their reasoning or experimentation. All they have to do is to follow him, learn more about him as they journey with him. Jesus is still in the process of revealing everything about the Father. We learn more about Jesus and the Father, when we follow Jesus in real time. Movies about Jesus in reel time can help, but we can know him more when we live our faith guided by his teachings as preached by our Church.

Daily Reflection 2019

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2019
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Gospel: John 3:31-36
He who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and his words belong to the earth. He who comes from heaven speaks of the things he has seen and heard; he bears witness to these things, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does receive his testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of God.The one sent by God speaks God’s words, and gives the Spirit unstintingly. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything into his hands. Whoever believes in the Son lives with eternal life; but he who will not believe in the Son will never know life, and always faces the justice of God.”

Reflections

“He who comes from above is above all.”Jesus comes from heaven. He speaks the things of heaven. He speaks God’s words, nothing else. He will bring people to heaven. But humanity does not believe him.The gospel of John clearly presents the importance of believing in the claims of Jesus. He comes from heaven and he brings only to us what he has seen and heard from the Father.Later Jesus will make miracles or signs to back up his claims. Still, many will not believe in him. There is a judgment to those who out- rightly reject him and never gives him an inch. But to those who come to believe him, he promises life eternal.To us who believe, we may ask, “What does it mean to believe?”To believe in Jesus is to enter into a relationship with him and consequently with the Father who sent him. To believe in him is to take seriously his words, his claims and his teachings. They may appear so ordinary or outrageous at times, but they come from his Father. What may be hard to believe for the Jews is his claim of divinity. Jesus will later say, “Nobody comes to me, unless the Father draw him.”

Daily Reflection 2019

Daily Reflection 2019

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2019
Copyright © 2O17 
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com

Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
He went to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all these things?” And so they took offense at him.Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is his hometown and in his own family.” And he did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Reflections

“Isn't he the carpenter‘s son?“Familiarity breeds contempt. Jesus’ town mates cannot accept that he has become so popular and can have so much power and wisdom. They look down on his parents and his family back- ground. How come that he is so outstanding now as if he does not come from a barrio or insignificant town compared to Capernaum or Jerusalem.No matter where Jesus comes from, we presume that his father Joseph taught him the rudiments of his faith and help him grow to become a practicing and God- fearing Jew. In those days, it was the obligation of the male parents to instruct their children about the Torah and their religious practices. Joseph, though portrayed as a quiet man, certainly taught Jesus how to love God and neighbor. He gave him a good foundation of his faith and morals.When Jesus exposed himself to other places and other people, he was prepared to learn a lot more. His mind was ready to face controversies and to preach with solid theology. Jesus was also aware of his identity as the Son of God. His town mates fail to believe him and appreciate his saving power.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019

Daily Reflection 2019

Daily Reflection 2019

Daily Reflection 2019

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2019
Copyright © 2O17 
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com

Gospel: John 3:7-15
Because of this, don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again from above.’The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus asked again, “How can this be?” And Jesus answered, “You are a teacher in Israel, and you don’t know these things!Truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and we witness to the things we have seen, but you don’t accept our testimony. If you don’t believe when I speak of earthly things, what then, when I speak to you of heavenly things? No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man.As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Reflections

“Whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”We need to understand earthly things in order to understand heavenly things. Pneuma is the Greek word for either wind or spirit. When we know the movement of the wind we may also figure out the movement of the Spirit. The wind blows where it will, so the Spirit of the Lord.Now when we possess the Spirit of the Lord, because we are born of the Spirit, we can understand God’s ways and we should be willing to be carried away by his Spirit.Jesus teaches Nicodemus his firsthand experience with God. Jesus knows what he is saying about God and the mind of God because he has been there in heaven. He is just sent as incarnate to testify to bring to earth the heavenly realities.All Jesus asks now of Nicode­ mus and us listeners is to believe in him. Soon he will be lifted up. He will ascend into heaven where he comes from. This will confirm what he claims to be and his teachings about God and how we should live our lives on earth. Jesus is different from the rabbis of Israel and us who only figure what heaven is like.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2019