Daily Reflection

September 12, 2018 Wednesday

September 18, 2018 Tuesday

23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Holy Name of Mary
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green/White)

Ps 45:11-12, 14-15, 16-17
Listen to me daughter;
see and lend your ear.

1^st Reading: 1 Cor 7:25-31

With regard to those who remain virgins, I have no special commandment from the Lord, but I give some advice, hoping that I am worthy of trust by the mercy of the Lord.

I think this is good in these hard times in which we live. It is good for someone to remain as he is. If you are married, do not try to divorce your wife; if you are not married, do not marry. He who marries does not sin, nor does the young girl sin who marries. Yet they will face disturbing experiences, and I would like to spare you.

I say this, brothers and sisters: time is running out, and those who are married must live as if not married; those who weep as if not weeping; those who are happy as if they were not happy; those buying something as if they had not bought it, and those enjoying the present life as if they were not enjoying it. For the order of this world is vanishing.

Gospel: Lk 6:20-26

Then, looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Fortunate are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

Fortunate are you, who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Fortunate are you, who weep now, for you will laugh.

Fortunate are you, when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember, that is how the ancestors of the people treated the prophets.

But alas for you, who have wealth, for you have been comforted now.

Alas for you, who are full, for you will go hungry. Alas for you, who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.

Alas for you, when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of the people treated the false prophets.

Reflections

Luke’s ‘Sermon on the Plain’ more or less parallels Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon can be summarized as follows: An introduction of blessings and woes (20-26), The love of one’s enemies (27-36), The demands of loving one’s neighbour (37-42),Good deeds as proof of one’s goodness (43-45).

How are we to understand these sayings which turn our common worldview upside down? The way of Jesus is not how things are set up by the status quo. It has to be seen in the light of the Kingdom, in the kind of society that Jesus came to set up, a society based on love, mercy and solidarity. The coming of such a society could only be good news for the poor and the marginalized, for those suffering from hunger and exploitation, for those depressed by deep sorrow and for those abused and rejected for their commitment to justice, peace and integrity of creation or in the words of Pope Francis “Care for our Common Home.” On the other hand, it would not be good news for those greedy people who amass material wealth at the expense of others, who indulge in excessive consumption of the world’s goods, and who do not care for the poor and the excluded. There is really no place for such people in the Reign of God. To enter fully into the new world inaugurated by Jesus, we are impelled to live differently – from greed to solidarity, from indifference to greater concern for the poor, and from judgmental morality to living the mercy of God in all our relationships.

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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September 11, 2018 Tuesday

23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a & 9b
The Lord takes delight in his people.

1^st Reading: 1 Cor 6:1-11

When you have a complaint against a brother, how dare you bring it before pagan judges, instead of bringing it before God’s people? Do you not know, that you shall one day judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you incapable of judging such simple problems?

Do you not know, that we will even judge the angels? And could you not decide everyday affairs? But when you have ordinary cases to be judged, you bring them before those who are of no account in the Church! Shame on you! Is there not even one among you wise enough to be the arbiter among believers?

But no. One of you brings a suit against another one, and files that suit before unbelievers. It is already a failure that you have suits against each other. Why do you not rather suffer wrong and receive some damage? But no. You wrong and injure others, and those are your brothers and sisters. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Make no mistake about it: those who lead sexually immoral lives, or worship idols, or who are adulterers, perverts, sodomites, or thieves, exploiters, drunkards, slanderers or embezzlers will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Some of you were like that, but you have been cleansed, and consecrated to God and have been set right with God, by the name of the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit of our God.

Gospel: Lk 6:12-19

At this time, Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him, and chose twelve of them, whom he called ‘apostles’: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

Coming down the hill with them, Jesus stood in an open plain. Many of his disciples were there, and a large crowd of people, who had come from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem, and from the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon. They gathered to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And people troubled by unclean spirits were cured. The entire crowd tried to touch him, because of the power that went out from him and healed them all.

Reflections

What is calling? Rowan Williams puts it: "the trouble with the idea of vocation is that most of us, if we are honest, have a rather dramatic idea of it". There is no drama but perhaps fear and hesitations. The responsibility being given by God is service to others and maybe for many that’s a tall order to follow. A call has three distinct parties: someone who calls (Jesus), someone who is called (me & you) and those to whom the called is sent (those to whom you minister). What is at the heart of a call is God’s first act or initiative of calling someone to be his partner of sharing and living the Good News. His calling is the beginning of something new. It means losing one's old life and finding new life in following Jesus and becoming witness to the active presence of the Reign of God. Calling doesn't happen, once and for all, at a fixed date. The realization of a vocation is not a blinding flash, but a point at which it all makes sense. It makes sense to follow Jesus and become passionate about God and his mercy to those who are excluded and marginalized. Or simply we become passionate about what matters to God – being a merciful presence to others especially to those whose lives are wounded and hurting.

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

September 10, 2018 Monday

23RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 5:5-6, 7, 12
Lead me in your justice, Lord.

1^st Reading: 1 Cor 5:1-8

You have become news, with a case of immorality, and such a case that is not even found among pagans. Yes, one of you has taken, as wife, his own stepmother. And you feel proud! Should you not be in mourning, instead, and expel the one who did such a thing? For my part, although I am physically absent, my spirit is with you and, as if present, I have already passed sentence on the man who committed such a sin. Let us meet together, you and my spirit, and in the name of our Lord Jesus, and with his power, you shall deliver him to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit be saved in the day of Judgment.

This is not the time to praise yourselves. Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? Throw out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our Passover, you should be unleavened bread. Let us celebrate, therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and sincerity.

Gospel: Lk 6:6-11

On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralyzed right hand, and the teachers of the law and the Pharisees watched him: Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, “Get up, and stand in the middle.” Then he spoke to them, “I want to ask you: what is allowed by the law on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And Jesus looked around at them all. Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored, becoming as healthy as the other. But they were furious, and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.

Reflections

There were scribes and Pharisees in the congregation and, we are told, they “were watching him” to see whether he would heal the man on a Sabbath day so that they could accuse him of breaking the Law. Jesus, of course, is fully aware of what is going on. He speaks directly to the disabled man: “Rise up and stand out in the middle!” The command to “rise up” is already an indication of what is going to take place; the man is going to be given back the capacity to walk and lead a normal life. For him, the Law was relative to the dignity and well-being of the person, especially the sick and helpless. No implementation of a law can offend the well-being of everyone. And sometimes following the dignity of the human person may have to go against the letter of the law. What is legal is not always moral. It can be immoral, that is, evil, to obey a law in certain circumstances. What is moral goes beyond the law and may even contradict the law. We will find ourselves in situations where contemporary Pharisees will try to put the Church to proclaim a judgmental God and force fundamentalism in our understanding of the Scripture or the liturgy or morality or something else. These are people who put the letter of the laws, regulations and rubrics before mercy and love. For them it is more important to observe the externals of rules than to be a loving person. They are preoccupied with following the law or the commandments and the exclusion of those who violate them. They forget that the mercy of God is where true faith is lived.

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

September 9, 2018 Sunday

23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

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

1st Reading: Is 35:4-7a
Say to those who are afraid: “Have courage, do not fear.
See, your God comes, demanding justice.
He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you.”
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed.
Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout.
For water will break out in the wilderness and streams gush forth from the desert.
The thirsty ground will become a pool, the arid land springs of water.
In the haunts where once reptiles lay, grass will grow with reeds and rushes.

2^nd Reading: Jas 2:1-5

My brothers and sisters, if you truly believe in our glorified Lord, Jesus Christ, you will not discriminate between persons. Suppose a person enters the synagogue where you are assembled, dressed magnificently and wearing a gold ring; at the same time, a poor person enters dressed in rags. If you focus your attention on the well-dressed and say, “Come and sit in the best seat,” while, to the poor one you say, “Stay standing, or else sit down at my feet,” have you not, in fact, made a distinction between the two? Have you not judged, using a double standard?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters, did God not choose the poor of this world to receive the riches of faith, and to inherit the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Gospel: Mk 7:31-37

Again, Jesus set out: from the country of Tyre he passed through Sidon and, skirting the sea of Galilee, he came to the territory of Decapolis. There, a deaf man, who also had difficulty in speaking, was brought to him. They asked Jesus to lay his hand upon him.

Jesus took him apart from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears, and touched his tongue with spittle. Then, looking up to heaven, he said with a deep sigh, “Ephphata!” that is, “Be opened!”

And immediately, his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about it; but the more he insisted, the more they proclaimed it. The people were completely astonished and said, “He has done all things well; he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”

Lectio Divina

Read: The advent of God into our midst is marked by events of healing, redemption, and joy – it is not an event to be scared of. Jesus proves the same by curing the deaf person and other miracles that bring relief to the suffering. We are invited to share in this healing of the world by caring for the inner substance of human beings, and not to be distracted by the external differences among them.

Reflect: The letter of James is a “how to” manual of the Gospel message: he translates the dynamics of the Kingdom into everyday living. Our ordinary tendency is to treat people based on their social standing and external achievements. How we sometimes bend over backwards to please folks with high social standing! The invitation of the Kingdom is to see beyond the peripherals and relate to the essence of everyone, an essence that is endowed with dignity and God’s own image.

Pray: Lord, help me relate to people not with the worldly standards, but with the Gospel standard.

Act: Converse with someone below your social rank, treating him/her with respect, dignity and equality.

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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