Daily Reflection

November 13, 2018 Tuesday

32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin
Psalter: Week 4 / (White)

Ps 37:3-4, 18 & 23, 27 & 29
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

1^st Reading: Ti 2:1-8, 11-14

Let your words strengthen sound doctrine. Tell the older men to be sober, serious, wise, sound in faith, love and perseverance. The older women, in like manner, must behave as befits holy women, not given to gossiping or drinking wine, but as good counselors, able to teach younger women to love their husbands and children, to be judicious and chaste, to take care of their households, to be kind, and submissive to their husbands, lest our faith be attacked.

Encourage the young men, to be self-controlled. Set them an example by your own way of doing. Let your teaching be earnest and sincere, and your preaching, beyond reproach. Then, your opponents will feel ashamed and will have nothing to criticize.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, teaching us to reject an irreligious way of life, and worldly greed, and to live in this world, as responsible persons, upright and serving God, while we await our blessed hope — the glorious manifestation of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus. He gave himself for us, to redeem us from every evil, and to purify a people he wanted to be his own, and dedicated to what is good.

Gospel: Lk 17:7-10

Who among you would say to your servant, coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep, ‘Go ahead and have your dinner’? No, you tell him, ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron, and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink afterward.’ Do you thank this servant for doing what you told him to do? I don’t think so. And therefore, when you have done all that you have been told to do, you should say, ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Reflections

The point Jesus is making is that God need never be grateful to us for anything we do for him. No matter how much we do for him, we can never put him in our debt. Everything we give to God (or to God through others) is simply giving back to him a small portion of what he has already given us. God can never be a matter of reward for us. He can never be under any obligation to us. God’s grace is not a merited reward. Perhaps that is what some of the Pharisees thought. They felt that, because they kept the Law perfectly, God owed them salvation. We can do the same thing ourselves when, for instance, we think that by saying certain prayers or performing certain acts (novenas, indulgences, pilgrimages, and acts of charity) God should give us what we are telling him to do, to give us what we are asking for. All our living out of the Gospel is not a compliment paid to God. On the contrary, we can never be grateful enough to him for showing us the way to truth, love, and freedom which Jesus taught us and for giving us the grace to walk his Way. With God, all our giving is only a partial giving back. We are just sharing what is basically given to us. We are receiving more than we are giving back. All is grace. Our response to the daily offer of grace is gratitude.

Daily Reflection 2018

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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

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November 12, 2018 Monday

32ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Josaphat, bishop & martyr
Psalter: Week 4 / (Red)

Ps 24:1b-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

1^st Reading: Ti 1:1-9

From Paul, servant of God, apostle of Christ Jesus, at the service of God’s chosen people, so that they may believe, and reach the knowledge of truth and godliness.

The eternal life we are waiting for was promised from the very beginning, by God, who never lies, and as the appointed time had come, he made it known, through the message entrusted to me by a command of God, our Savior.

Greetings to you, Titus, my true son in the faith we share. May grace and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. On the elders of the Church

I left you in Crete because I wanted you to put right what was defective, and appoint elders in every town, following my instructions. They must be blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, and not open to the charge of being immoral and rebellious. Since the overseer (or bishop) is the steward of God’s House, he must be beyond reproach: not proud, hot-headed, over-fond of wine, quarrelsome, or greedy for gain.

On the contrary, he must be hospitable, a lover of what is good, wise, upright, devout and self-controlled. He must hold to the message of faith, just as it was taught, so that, in his turn, he may teach sound doctrine, and refute those who oppose it.

Gospel: Lk 17:1-6

Jesus said to his disciples, “Scandals will necessarily come and cause people to fall; but woe to the one who brings them about. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around his neck. Truly, this would be better for that person, than to cause one of these little ones to fall.

Listen carefully: if your brother offends you, tell him, and if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he offends you seven times in one day, but seven times he says to you, ‘I’m sorry,’ forgive him.”

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” And the Lord said, “If you have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, you may say to this tree, ‘Be uprooted, and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it will obey you.“

Reflections

Jesus does not give his disciples an easy answer to their request for faith. He tells them if they had faith “the size of a mustard seed” they could command a mulberry tree to be uprooted and moved to the sea. We distinguish the faith that “moves mountains” from basic trust in God or Christ. Our tendency to distinguish these two types of faith tends to be rooted in the false assumption that the former has to do with manipulating some kind of supernatural power and the latter has to do with submitting to an external authority or set of beliefs or standards of conduct. To have faith means having our whole way of perceiving and responding to life transformed by the prodigality of God’s mercy. If having “faith” - even faith the size of a mustard seed - means having one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions wholly transformed by God’s Reign in our midst, then it entails being caught by and immersed in God’s mercy and love. Since God’s grace is immeasurable, his generosity and mercy elude any of our attempts to manipulate it - either as a power we can control or as a means for justifying or rewarding ourselves. This is why we are “worthless slaves”: those to whom nothing is owed. We serve in the banquet of God’s kingdom simply because of who we are, or more importantly, because of the One who is the source of everything we have and do.

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

November 11, 2018 Sunday

32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green)

Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
Praise the Lord, my soul!

1^st Reading: 1 K 17:10-16

So Elijah went to Zarephath. On reaching the gate of the town, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called after her and said, “Bring me also a piece of bread.” But she answered, “As Yahweh your God lives, I have no bread left, but only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am just now gathering some sticks so that I may go in and prepare something for myself and my son to eat — and die.”

Elijah then said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go, and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son. For this is the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of meal shall not be emptied nor shall the jug of oil fail, until the day when Yahweh sends rain to the earth.”

So she went and did as Elijah told her; and she had food for herself, Elijah and her son from that day on. The jar of flour was not emptied nor did the jug of oil fail, in accordance with what Yahweh had said through Elijah.

2^nd Reading: Heb 9:24-28

Christ did not enter some sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself. He is now in the presence of God, on our behalf. He had not to offer himself many times, as the high priest does: he, who may return every year, because the blood is not his own. Otherwise, he would have suffered many times from the creation of the world. But no; he manifested himself only now, at the end of the ages, to take away sin by sacrifice, and, as humans die only once, and afterward are judged, in the same way, Christ sacrificed himself, once to take away the sins of the multitude. There will be no further question of sin, when he comes again, to save those waiting for him.

Gospel: Mk 12:38-44

As Jesus was teaching, he also said to them, “Beware of those teachers of the law, who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace; and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues; and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods, while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”

Jesus sat down opposite the temple treasury, and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings. But a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.

Then, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty; but she gave from her poverty, and put in everything she had, her very living.”

Lectio Divina

Read: The widow who fed Elijah with food is rewarded generously by God. Jesus recognizes the generosity and sacrifice involved in the little contribution of the widow to the Temple funds and praises her. The letter to the Hebrews memorializes the supreme act of generosity of Christ for our sake.

Reflect: Absolutely nothing escapes the attention of God, as evidenced in Jesus noticing the widow’s contribution and the act of the widow of Zarephath. This can be good news and bad news! It is good news that none of our little and generous acts goes unnoticed by God who would reward us in plenty. The bad news is that none of our little or big sins escapes the attention of God either. It would be wise to take refuge in His divine mercy, for that alone can ensure us our redemption.

Pray: Lord, give me the grace to see and recognize the good in others.

Act: Recognize an act of goodness done by someone by appreciating the person for the same.

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

November 10, 2018 Saturday

31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Leo the Great, bishop & doctor
Psalter: Week 3 / (White)

Ps 112:1b-2, 5-6, 8a & 9
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord.

1^st Reading: Phil 4:10-19

I rejoice in the Lord because of your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me before, but you had no opportunity to show it. I do not say this because of being in want; I have learned to manage with what I have. I know what it is to be in want and what it is to have plenty. I am trained for both: to be hungry or satisfied, to have much or little. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

However, you did right in sharing my trials. You Philippians, remember that in the beginning, when we first preached the gospel, after I left Macedonia, you, alone, opened for me a debit and credit account, and when I was in Thessalonica, twice you sent me what I needed.

It is not your gift that I value, but rather, the interest increasing in your own account. Now, I have enough, and more than enough, with everything Epaphroditus brought me, on your behalf, and which I received as “fragrant offerings pleasing to God.” God, himself, will provide you with everything you need, according to his riches, and show you his generosity in Christ Jesus.

Gospel: Lk 16:9-15

And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.

Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?

No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be considered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by God.

Reflections

“If you can trust a man in little things, you can also trust him in greater.” In other words, if we can be trusted with the material goods that come into our lives and use them to build the Kingdom of God, to create a more just and equitable society, then we can be trusted with something much greater, to commune with God freed from our possessions and positions. Jesus reminds us that the material goods that come into our lives (no matter how they may have been acquired) do not belong absolutely to us. Everything on this earth belongs to God. We are only the stewards of what has come into our possession and we will be judged on how we make use of it. That leads obviously to the next warning that we cannot be at the same time give ourselves totally to God and become slaves of money and anything connected with wealth. We saw that in the case of the rich man who wanted to follow Jesus. He is possessed by his possessions and so could not surrender his life to Jesus. Many of us think we can and we try to compromise but, to give ourselves to God completely, we must become free of the lure of wealth and deeper still by an acquisitive mentality. “I buy therefore I am” of the present world is the dominant mindset and lifestyle. We end up being consumers and destroy the earth with our disposable mindset and behavior.

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

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