Daily Reflection

July 30, 2018 Monday

17TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop & doctor
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)

Dt 32:18-19, 20, 21
You have forgotten God
who gave you birth.

1^st Reading: Jer 13:1-11

This is what Yahweh said to me: “Go! Buy yourself a linen belt and put it around your waist; do not put it in water.” So I bought the belt as Yahweh ordered and put it around my waist.

The word of Yahweh came to me a second time, “Take the belt you bought, the one you put around your waist, and go to the torrent Perah; hide it there in a hole in the rock.” I went and hid it as Yahweh instructed me.

After many days Yahweh said to me, “Go to the torrent Perah and get the belt I ordered you to hide there.” I went to the torrent and dug up the belt but it was ruined and good for nothing; and Yahweh said to me, “In this way I will destroy the pride and great glory of Judah, this wicked people who refuse to heed what I say, this stubborn people who go after other gods to serve and worship them. And they shall become like this belt which is now good for nothing.

For just as a belt is to be bound around a man’s waist so was the people of Israel and Judah bound to me — it is Yahweh who speaks — to be my people, my glory and my honor; but they would not listen.

Gospel: Mt 13:31-35

Jesus offered them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

It is smaller than all other seeds, but once it is fully grown, it is bigger than any garden plant. It becomes a tree so that the birds come and rest in its branches.”

He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman took, and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole mass of dough began to rise.”

Jesus taught all these things to the crowds by means of parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. This fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophet: I will speak in parables. I will proclaim things kept secret since the beginning of the world.

Reflections

The kingdom of heaven
is like a mustard seed
that a man took
and sowed in his field

Jesus began with twelve disciples. By the fourth century, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Today there are over 1.2 billion Catholics across the world. The mustard seed has grown into a large tree. But is the Kingdom of God to be measured by the number of adherents to Christianity or by the quality of their witness?

Moreover, the Kingdom ultimately refers to God’s reign over the world. So while we may be discouraged by the prevalence of evil and violence in the world, we believe that God will bring about the full establishment of his kingdom.

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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July 29, 2018 Sunday

17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
The hand of the Lord feeds us;
he answers all our needs.

1^st Reading: 2 K 4:42-44

A man came from Baal Shalishah bringing bread and wheat to the man of God. These were from the first part of the harvest, twenty loaves of barley and wheat. Elisha told him, “Give the loaves to these men that they may eat.”

His servant said to him, “How am I to divide these loaves among one hundred men?” Elisha insisted, “Give them to the men that they may eat, for Yahweh says: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” So the man set it before them; and they ate and had some left, as Yahweh had said.

2^nd Reading: Eph 4:1-6

Therefore, I, the prisoner of Christ, invite you, to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.

Make every effort to keep, among you, the unity of spirit, through bonds of peace. Let there be one body, and one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God, the Father of all, who is above all, and works through all, and is in all.

Gospel: Jn 6:1-15

After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when he healed the sick. So he went up into the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Then lifting up his eyes, Jesus saw the crowds that were coming to him, and said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread so that these people may eat?” He said this to test Philip, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred silver coins would not buy enough bread for each of them to have a piece.”

Then one of Jesus’ disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there, so the people, about five thousand men, sat down. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were seated. He did the same with the fish, and gave them as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten enough, he told his disciples, “Gather up the pieces left over, that nothing may be lost.”

So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with bread, that is, with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

When the people saw the miracle which Jesus had performed, they said, “This is really the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Jesus realized that they would come and take him by force to make him king; so he fled to the hills by himself.

Lectio Divina

Read: Elisha feeds one hundred men with twenty loaves of barley and wheat. “Live the vocation you have received,” says Paul. Jesus feeds five thousand men using five loaves and two fish.

Reflect: Our vocation is to feed God’s people. This feeding refers to responding to the needs of the people; and the needs could be physical, intellectual, emotional, or spiritual. The resources to feed the world have been placed in our hands; only that we often feel inadequate or do not trust in the adequacy of our resources to heal the needs of the world that seem so overwhelming. What we then need is a little nudge, encouragement and promptings to place our little resources at the feet of the Lord who can do wonders with them – like Elisha nudged the man and Andrew nudged the boy. Many youngsters miss out on their vocation to shepherd God’s people, because there is no one nudging them.

Pray: Pray for more vocations to various committed services within the Church.

Act: Invite a young man or woman to reflect on his or her vocation to serve the Lord.

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

July 28, 2018 Saturday

16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Blessed Virgin Mary
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)

Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a & 8a, 11
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, mighty God!

1^st Reading: Jer 7:1-11

These words were spoken by Yahweh, to Jeremiah, “Stand at the gate of Yahweh’s house and proclaim this in a loud voice: Listen to what Yahweh says, all you people of Judah (who enter these gates to worship Yahweh). Yahweh the God of Israel says this: Amend your ways and your deeds and I will stay with you in this place. Rely not on empty words such as: ‘Look, temple of Yahweh! Temple of Yahweh! This is the temple of Yahweh!’

It is far better for you to amend your ways and act justly with all. Do not abuse the stranger, orphan or widow or shed innocent blood in this place or follow false gods to your own ruin. Then I will stay with you in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors in times past and forever.

But you trust in deceptive and useless words. You steal, kill, take the wife of your neighbor; you swear falsely, worship Baal and follow foreign gods who are not yours. Then, after doing all these horrible things, you come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name and say, ‘Now we are safe.’

Is this house on which rests my name a den of thieves? I have seen this myself — it is Yahweh who speaks.

Gospel: Mt 13:24-30

Jesus told the people another parable, “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man, who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep, his enemy came, and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

When the plants sprouted and produced grain, the weeds also appeared. Then, the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’

He answered them, ‘This is the work of an enemy.’ They asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ He told them, ‘No, when you pull up the weeds, you might uproot the wheat with them. Let them grow together, until harvest; and, at harvest time, I will say to the workers: Pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

Reflections

Let them grow together

In the 4^th century. Donatists rejected priests and bishops whom they deemed morally unworthy to confer the sacraments. They established what they called the sole true Church. In the following centuries the Cathars, Manicheans, Arians, Bulgari, Albigenses and Patarenes all attempted to purify the Church by weeding out those they have found spiritually and morally wanting. In response, the Church, basing her stance on the Lord’s teaching to allow the weeds to grow and mingle with the wheat until harvest time, has constantly made room not only for saints but also for regular sinners, like you and me.

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

July 27, 2018 Friday

16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green)

Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
The Lord will guard us as a shepherd
guards his flock.

1^st Reading: Jer 3:14-17

Come back, faithless people — it is Yahweh who speaks — for I am your master. I will select one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and prudence. And when you have increased and multiplied in the land in those days — it is Yahweh who speaks — people will no longer speak of the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh; it will not be remembered or missed, nor shall it be made again!

Then they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh’ and all the nations will gather there to honor the name of Yahweh; and no longer will they follow the stubbornness of their wicked hearts.

Gospel: Mt 13:18-23

Now listen to the parable of the sower.

When a person hears the message of the kingdom, but does not take it seriously, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell along the footpath.

The seed that fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word and accepts it at once with joy. But such a person has no roots, and endures only for a while. No sooner is he harassed or persecuted because of the word than he gives up.

The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the word; but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word; and it does not bear fruit.

As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more.

Reflections

As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it

The Lord promises, “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and prudence.” We thank the Lord for the inspiring shepherds of the Church — Pope Francis, Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop Villegas and so many others.

To shepherd is to care for and govern a community, a role not restricted to the ordained ministers. Many of us — parents and educators, civic leaders and parish pastoral workers, youth leaders and elder siblings — share in the ministry of shepherding others. We pray, therefore, that we too might be blessed with God’s heart of mercy and compassion.

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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