Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

5TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

1st Reading: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Man’s life on earth is a thankless job,
his days are those of a mercenary.
Like a slave he longs for the shade of
evening, like a hireling waiting for his wages.
Thus I am allotted months of boredom
and nights of grief and misery.
In bed I say, “When shall the day break?”
On rising, I think, “When shall evening
come?” and I toss restless till dawn.
My days pass swifter than a weaver’s
shuttle, heading without hope to their end.
My life is like wind, you well know it,
O God; never will I see happiness again.

2nd Reading: 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
Because I cannot boast of announcing the gospel: I am bound to do it. Woe to me, if I do not preach the gospel! If I preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been trusted with this office, against my will. How can I, then, deserve a reward? In announcing the gospel, I will do it freely, without making use of the rights given to me by the gospel. So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody’s slave, in order to gain a greater number. To the weak, I made myself weak, to win the weak. So, I made myself all things to all people, in order to save, by all possible means, some of them. This, I do, for the gospel, so that I, too, have a share of it.

Gospel: Mk 1:29-39
 On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the home of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. As Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever, they immediately told him about her. Jesus went to her and, taking her by the hand, raised her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening, at sundown, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had evil spirits: the whole town was pressing around the door. Jesus healed many who had various diseases, and drove out many demons; but he did not let them speak, for they knew who he was.
Very early in the morning, before daylight, Jesus went off to a lonely place where he prayed. Simon and the others went out also, searching for him; and when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Let us go to the nearby villages so that I may preach there, too; for that is why I came.” So Jesus set out to preach in all the synagogues throughout Galilee; he also cast out demons.

Lectio Divina
Read: A depressed Job moans the weariness and boredom of the human condition. Paul too narrates the compelling conditions of his life and vocation, but unlike Job, he delights in it with a sense of freedom. Jesus is hemmed in by the sick and the needy, yet he still finds time to respond to their needs and spend time with his Father.
Reflect: The human condition, with its ordinariness and boredom, demands and work, sickness and suffering, can sometimes be almost unbearable, as Job experienced. One may suffer compassion fatigue and burnout by rubbing shoulders with such realities day in and day out. However, the one who can see through such depressing events and discern God’s designs and one’s own vocation within all these, can transform them into channels of grace for oneself and for others. Like Jesus, those who remain connected to the source of grace, shall never run dry.
Pray: Pray for a heart that remains grounded in God so as to respond to the world around.
Act: Reach out and help a person in need.

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
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4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Blessed Virgin Mary / St. Blaise, bishop & martyr / St. Ansgar, bishop
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/Red/White)

Ps 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Lord, teach me your statutes.

1st Reading: 1 K 3:4-13
The king used to sacrifice at Gibeon, the great high place; on the altar there he had offered a thousand burnt offerings. It was in Gibeon, during the night, that Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what you want me to give you.”
Solomon answered, “You have shown your servant David my father a great and steadfast love because he served you faithfully and was righteous and sincere towards you. You have given him proof of your steadfast love in making a son of his sit on his throne this day. And now, O Yahweh my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a young boy who does not know how to undertake anything. Meantime, your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen — a people so great that they can neither be numbered nor counted.
Give me, therefore, an understanding mind in governing your people that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this multitude of people of yours?”
Yahweh was pleased that Solomon had made this request. And he told him, “Because you have requested this rather than long life or wealth or even vengeance on your enemies; indeed, because you have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I shall grant you your request. I now give you a wise and discerning mind such as no one has had before you nor anyone after you shall ever have.
“I will also give you what you have not asked for, both wealth and fame; and no king shall be your equal during your lifetime.

Gospel: Mk 6:30-34
 The apostles returned and reported to Jesus all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves into a remote place and have some rest.” For there were so many people coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a secluded area by themselves. But people saw them leaving, and many could guess where they were going. So, from all the towns, they hurried there on foot, arriving ahead of them. As Jesus went ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Reflections
LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD
In our society today, there are many voiceless people, oppressed people, people who do not know what direction in life they will take. They are like the crowd Jesus had compassion on because they were like “sheep without a shepherd”. There are the farmers in our country who are mostly tenants and do not have land of their own and who flock to the city looking for work. It is good that some of them have become organized and therefore have shepherds to guide them in their struggle for their rights. There are the urban poor who are also without power and cannot obtain the most basic necessities in life and the social services that could ease their life lived in utmost poverty. There are the indigenous people who are overwhelmed by those who want to rob them of their ancestral lands and the treasures buried there. Not only are they driven away but their leaders are being killed by those who are supposed to protect them but instead protect the interests of the multinational mining corporations who exploit them. Maybe the ones who are truly lost are the refugees which until now are adrift at sea because they have not found a place to welcome them and to give them a home. In this year of compassion and mercy, we proclaim our solidarity with these groups of people and resolve to do whatever little we can to help alleviate their sufferings.

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

PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
Psalter: Proper / (White)

Ps 24:7, 8, 9, 10
Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!

1st Reading: Mal 3:1-4

2nd Reading: Heb 2:14-18*

Gospel: Lk 2:22-32 (or Lk 2:22-40)
 When the day came for the purification according to the law of Moses, they brought the baby up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every first born male shall be consecrated to God. And they offered a sacrifice, as ordered in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. 
There lived in Jerusalem, at this time, a very upright and devout man named Simeon; the Holy Spirit was in him. He looked forward to the time when the Lord would comfort Israel; and he had been assured, by the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before seeing the Messiah of the Lord. So, he was led into the temple by the Holy Spirit at the time the parents brought the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law. 
Simeon took the child in his arms, and blessed God, saying, “Now, O Lord, you can dismiss your servant in peace, for you have fulfilled your word and my eyes have seen your salvation, which you display for all the people to see. Here is the light you will reveal to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
His father and mother wondered at what was said about the child. Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Know this: your son is a sign; a sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed.” 
There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband; and since then, she had been continually about the temple, serving God, as a widow, night and day, in fasting and prayer. She was now eighty-four. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There, the child grew in stature and strength, and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him.

Reflections
A SWORD WILL PIERCE YOUR SOUL
Several times Mary was told in relation to her Son that a sword shall pierce her soul just as many times as she kept things in her heart to ponder over them also in relationship to Jesus. Mothers experience the same anguish and maybe puzzle­ment about their children. I know some mothers who feel guilty if their children no longer practice what they taught them or behave in ways they do not approve of. Of course they should not feel as if they are responsible for all their children’s decisions and behavior. In the case of Mary, it surely is not Jesus’ behaviour or decisions that pierced her soul. It was the premonition that her Son would suffer and ­suffer in a most horrible way. She could ­almost feel in her body the same pain that she foresaw would be felt by her Son when he would be reviled, rejected, betrayed, tortured, scourged, crucified. Somehow as Mother of Sorrows, mothers of today who suffer pain because of their children can take her as their model in the patient endurance of their anguish. I think of ­mothers whose sons and daughters who fight for justice have been ­arrested, tortured and killed and, in case of daughters, also gang-raped and defiled. Mother Mary, look upon these suffering mothers and give them the cou­rage to bear their sorrows and help them find justice for their children. Amen.

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