Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

THE WORD

3 Jn,5-8 /Lk 18,1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’”

The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?

Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

IN OTHER WORDS

There was a merchant who sold a product to a customer. A few months passed and the customer indicated that the product was defective and needed to be replaced. The merchant replaced it with an entirely different product and requested payment. There was no guarantee of the durability of the article which the customer wished to obtain.  The merchant became very persistent to obtain the payment without a guarantee to the customer. Calls were made, invoices sent, the merchant wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer. What resulted from the merchant’s persistence? The customer ultimately responded with an agreement of payment which included a one-year guarantee for quality. The merchant’s tenacity obtained the desired results.

If an answer to our prayers is desired, we must then pray with fervor, conviction and determination.

Let not our prayer only consist of requesting. Let us also include praise and thanksgiving.

• Fr. Jess Briones, SVD | U.S.A.

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

	Production : Fr. Carlos Maria de Guzman, Jr., SVD and Staff of Logos Publications
	Cover Design : Malou E. Domingo
	Liturgical Calendar : Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD
	Production Consultant : Fr. Gerardo del Pinado, SVD
	Scriptural Texts : New American Bible and Daily Roman Missal
	Cover artwork based on photos by Fr. Bar Fabella, SVD
	Published by : Logos Publications, Inc. 1916 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila
	Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Telephone : +63 2 711 1323
	Fax : +63 2 732 273
	Copyright © 2015 Society of the Divine Word

 

THE WORD

2 Jn 4-9 / Lk 17,26-37

Jesus said to his disciples, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot let Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what has left behind.  Remember the wife of Lot.  Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.

And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”

IN OTHER WORDS

When we listened to the reading from the Gospel, perhaps some of us were touched by verse 33: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it”. These words certainly t well with the story of the lay leader Peter To Rot who was brutally killed by the Japanese soldiers during World War II because of his un inching dedication to spreading the Good News to the local people. At first, the Japanese army did not arrest him, because only the priests were rounded up and deported, not lay people. But eventually he was apprehended because he continued to gather the community for prayer and made sure the catechism was taught to them. Peter To Rot could therefore have saved his life by doing nothing more than the others. But he sensed he could help his fellow Christians, knowing very well that if he played a leading role, he might have to suffer for that. Had he remained inactive, he would have saved his life. He played a leading role, a role that led to him sacrificing his life.

The story of Peter To Rot is a looking back at past history. That story also helps us to look forward to the future. What is our vision for the Church of tomorrow? How do we see the Church of tomorrow?

It will surely be a Church where the laity will take a much more active role than it did in the past. The Church of tomorrow will be a Church where every member of the community is invited to play his and her role more actively.

• Fr. Alex Muaña, SVD | South Africa

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

	Production : Fr. Carlos Maria de Guzman, Jr., SVD and Staff of Logos Publications
	Cover Design : Malou E. Domingo
	Liturgical Calendar : Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD
	Production Consultant : Fr. Gerardo del Pinado, SVD
	Scriptural Texts : New American Bible and Daily Roman Missal
	Cover artwork based on photos by Fr. Bar Fabella, SVD
	Published by : Logos Publications, Inc. 1916 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila
	Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Telephone : +63 2 711 1323
	Fax : +63 2 732 273
	Copyright © 2015 Society of the Divine Word

 

THE WORD

Phlm 7-20 / Lk 17,20-25

Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’  For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”

Then he said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, there he is,’ (or) ‘Look, here he is.’ Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.

For just as lightning ashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But rst he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation.”

IN OTHER WORDS

I was once traveling inside a packed city train and noticed that a pair of pickpockets were carrying out one of their tested modus operandi. One would ask the victim a seemingly innocent question aimed to distract attention while the other would concentrate on extricating the wallet.

Many times, they get away with it.  Like these impostors, the Pharisees posed one more question to Jesus but they would not get away with it easily. Since Jesus knew their real intentions he was quick to show them the aw of their question, which is, they were looking for signs of God’s kingdom in the wrong place. Jesus pointed out to them that discovering God’s kingdom was not a shallow search for some place out there but was instead a deeper act of searching for it inside each person’s hidden recesses. This different orientation reveals one of the novelties of the words of Jesus and it con rms the point that while we are a community of believers, faith is first a personal act. This act of believing in His Word cannot be done by others for us nor can we just ride on family or cultural traditions. Faith, to a certain extent, needs an “I” to make it to a beautiful “We”. That is why whenever the community renews the faith through the recitation of the Creed, we begin with the phrase. “I believe…” In other words, seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near (Is 55,6).

• Fr. Jun Castro, SVD | Mozambique

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

	Production : Fr. Carlos Maria de Guzman, Jr., SVD and Staff of Logos Publications
	Cover Design : Malou E. Domingo
	Liturgical Calendar : Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD
	Production Consultant : Fr. Gerardo del Pinado, SVD
	Scriptural Texts : New American Bible and Daily Roman Missal
	Cover artwork based on photos by Fr. Bar Fabella, SVD
	Published by : Logos Publications, Inc. 1916 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila
	Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Telephone : +63 2 711 1323
	Fax : +63 2 732 273
	Copyright © 2015 Society of the Divine Word

 

THE WORD

Ezk 43,1-2.4-7 / 1 Cor 3,9-11.16-17/ Jn 2,13-22

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a market place.” His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “ is temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

IN OTHER WORDS

I was about to say “The Lord be with you” at the beginning of the Holy Mass when a little boy of seven walked with deep respect along the isle and genuflected reverently before taking a place in the pew... Such an impressive gesture!

The temple in the Gospel episode today portray a different picture. The rattling noises of the market place –arguments about prices - make William Barclay’s comments appropriate: ‘in the temple there was worship without reverence.’ He says further that God’s house was being desecrated.

Coming to Church is primarily for the purpose of worship. It must always be coupled with reverence because worship without reverence can be a terrible thing. It is worship that does not bring vividly the holiness of God to the worshipper’s mind and heart. It may also make the atmosphere of worship a kind of marketplace filled with distractions and disorders. In this case, even if a person is well groomed and pretty in his/her appearance, he/she is no better than the wicked traders in the Gospel who have forgotten the true function of God’s house and turned it into a marketplace.

The Gospel invites us to worship God with reverence - devotion, freshness, contemplation and enthusiasm. Patterned after the reminder of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to priests who are going to celebrate the Holy Mass, the following statement is suggested to remind us: “People of God, worship God reverently as if it is your rst worship, your last worship and your only worship.”

• Fr. Dennis B. Testado, SVD | Liceo del Verbo Divino, Tacloban City

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

	Production : Fr. Carlos Maria de Guzman, Jr., SVD and Staff of Logos Publications
	Cover Design : Malou E. Domingo
	Liturgical Calendar : Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD
	Production Consultant : Fr. Gerardo del Pinado, SVD
	Scriptural Texts : New American Bible and Daily Roman Missal
	Cover artwork based on photos by Fr. Bar Fabella, SVD
	Published by : Logos Publications, Inc. 1916 Oroquieta St., Sta. Cruz, Manila
	Email Address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
	Telephone : +63 2 711 1323
	Fax : +63 2 732 273
	Copyright © 2015 Society of the Divine Word