Daily Reflection

December 15, 2018 Saturday

2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
Psalter: Week 2 / (Violet)

Ps 80:2ac & 3b, 15-16, 18-19
Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

1^st Reading: Sir 48:1-4, 9-11

Then came the prophet Elijah, like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the people and in his zealous love had them reduced in number. Speaking in the name of the Lord he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire. How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal?

You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses.

It was written that you should be the one to calm God‘s anger in the future, before it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob.

Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we, too, shall live.

Gospel: Mt 17:9a, 10-13

And as they came down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man be raised from the dead.

The disciples asked him, ”Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered, ”So it is: first comes Elijah; and he will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come; and they did not recognize him; and they treated him as they pleased. And they will also make the Son of Man suffer.”

Then the disciples understood that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist.

Reflections

God gives signs to show his active presence in the world. His presence is disruptive as he points the way to truthful and merciful living. Humanity is called to a higher form of consciousness by responding to God‘s reign of justice and mercy. John the Baptist is one disruptive person who pointed to Jesus and prepared the way for his coming. John fulfilled the essential task of all the prophets: to be signs pointing to Jesus Christ. John is the last and greatest prophet of the old covenant. The Jews expected that when the Messiah would come, Elijah would appear to announce his presence. John fills the role of Elijah and prepares the way for the coming of Jesus Christ by preaching a baptism of repentance and renewal. Are we reading the signs of God in our lives or we blind to the prophets pointing to the new covenant offered by Jesus to us? Are we watchful servants preparing for the Lord‘s coming by moving away from our former way of life and moving to a life of truth and love? Are you eager to follow the way of the prophets and are you prepared to meet the Lord Jesus when he returns in glory? The challenge of the prophets is freedom from complacency and from compromising with the ways of falsehood and lies and freedom to live in the way of the new covenant. Truth-telling and the exercise of mercy are the ways to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

Daily Reflection 2018

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 ® 2018
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

December 14, 2018 Friday

2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
St. John of the Cross, priest & doctor
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)

Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6
Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life

1^st Reading: Is 48:17-19

Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, Yahweh, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go.

Had you paid attention to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from my presence.

Gospel: Mt 11:16-19

Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, about whom their companions complain: ‘We played the flute for you, but you would not dance. We sang a funeral song, but you would not cry!‘

For John came fasting, and the people said, ‘He is possessed by a demon!‘ Then, the Son of Man came. He ate and drank; and people said, ‘Look at this man: a glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!‘ Yet, wisdom is vindicated by her works.

Reflections

Jesus‘ story about disappointed playmates challenge us to examine whether we are selective about persons we want to love and care for. The children in Jesus‘ illustration react with dismay because they cannot get anyone to join in their musical medley. They complain that if they play their music at weddings, no one will dance or sing; and if they play at funerals, it is the same. Are you in tune with the message of the Kingdom or Reign of God of mercy? Jesus‘ message of the Reign of God is good news and it produces true joy and inner freedom for those who will truly love and care for others. Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with deaf ears and with stiff resistance? It was out of bias, jealousy, and fear that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist‘s austerities to the devil and they attributed Jesus‘ table fellowship as evidence for messianic pretense. They succeeded in frustrating God‘s plan for their lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of John the Baptist and now to Jesus‘ message. What can make us blind and deaf to hear God‘s voice? Like the generation of Jesus‘ time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially as regards the truth of mercy and compassion. Indifference dulls our ears to God‘s mercy and to the good news of healing in a world marked by brokenness and woundedness. We prefer to exclude and judge people unworthy of our attention and care. Only the merciful can find joy and favor in God‘s grace. Do you know the joy of the gospel and is your life in tune with Jesus‘ message of mercy and inclusivity? ”Lord, open my ears to hear the good news of mercy and set my heart free to love and serve you joyfully. May nothing keep me from being merciful today.”

Daily Reflection 2018

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

December 13, 2018 Thursday

2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
St. Lucy, virgin & martyr
Psalter: Week 2 / (Red)

Ps 145:1 & 9, 10-11, 12-13ab
The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of great kindness.

1^st Reading: Is 41:13-20

For I, Yahweh, your God, take hold of your right hand and say to you: ”Fear not, I am your assistance.” Fear not, Jacob, poor worm, and you, people of Israel, so frail. I am your redeemer, says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, your helper. I will make you a thresher, new and with sharp double teeth: you will thresh hills and mountains, crushing them and reducing them to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will carry them off and the storm will scatter them. But you will rejoice in Yahweh and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The poor and the afflicted seek water, and find none. Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I, Yahweh, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up streams over the barren heights and let the rivers flow through all the valleys; I will turn the desert into lakes and brooks and the thirsty earth into a land of springs.

I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle and the olive; I will plant in the wasteland fir, cypress and pine — that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of Yahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Gospel: Mt 11:11-15

I tell you this: no one greater than John the Baptist has arisen from among the sons of women; and yet, the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is something to be conquered; and violent men seize it.

Up to the time of John, there was only prophesy: all the prophets and the law. And if you believe me, John is indeed that Elijah, whose coming was predicted. Let anyone with ears listen!

Reflections

John has a unique role which sets him apart from all others: he is the one to announce the long-awaited arrival of the Messiah. John is the last in the line of the great prophets, men who spoke in God‘s name pointing the way for God‘s People. He forms a kind of bridge between the Old and the New. What does John the Baptist brings to us? It‘s his witness for Jesus and His teachings costing his life. Like the Prophets before him, John gave his life so that evil would not triumph over goodness and truth. John chose the way of God‘s justice and love over evil, immorality and violence. He gave his life for God. His fidelity to God was tested to the limit and he chose the most demanding way of God. Jesus hailed him as the greatest amongst the prophets. Somehow the gospel communicates to us that for us to become great in the eyes of Jesus, we have to emulate John. His humble witness for Jesus and his uncompromising stand against falsehood and lies are the way of the prophet. More than the crave for money, manipulative power or anything that the world offers us is the fullness of life in living our faith truthfully and steadfastly. God‘s love is greater than anything that we can attempt to replace with. Faith in God, like the one of John‘s, is the authentic way as he chose the true love for God over cheap and inauthentic ways of worshipping God.

Daily Reflection 2018

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

December 12, 2018 Wednesday

2ND WEEK OF ADVENT
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 & 10
O bless the Lord, my soul!

1^st Reading: Is, 40:25-31

To whom, then, will you liken me or make me equal? Says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and see: who has created all this? He has ordered them as a starry host and called them each by name. So mighty in his power, so great his strength, that not one of them is missing. How can you say, O Jacob, how can you complain, O Israel, that your destiny is hidden from me, that your rights are ignored by Yahweh? Have you not known, have you not heard that Yahweh is an everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth? He does not grow tired or weary, his knowledge is without limit. He gives strength to the enfeebled, he gives vigor to the wearied. Youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in Yahweh will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagle‘s wings; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and never tire.

Gospel: Mt 11:28-30

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Reflections

Rest allows us to reread our old narrative from a different perspective and the story lights up and provides another story different from the past. We are given fresh insights that are more life-giving instead of the recurring pains and complaints that are replayed many times over. We are more than our single stories. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian writer, narrates the danger of a single story in TED Talks and she becomes aware of the power of stories.

It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power. There is a word, an Igbo word that I think about whenever I think about the power structures of the world, and it is ”nkali.” It‘s a noun that loosely translates to ”to be greater than another.” Like our economic and political worlds, stories, too, are defined by the principle of nkali: How they are told, who tells them, when they‘re told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power. Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and to start with, ”secondly.” Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans, and not with the arrival of the British, and you have an entirely different story. Start the story with the failure of the African state, and not with the colonial creation of the African state, and you have an entirely different story…All of these stories make me who I am. But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.

Daily Reflection 2018

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

Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

December 15, 2018 Saturday

Daily Reflection 2018

December 14, 2018 Friday

Daily Reflection 2018

December 13, 2018 Thursday

Daily Reflection 2018

December 12, 2018 Wednesday

Daily Reflection 2018

More Articles ...

RVA Mass