Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

daily gospel gospel reading bible reflection

THE WORD

Jl 1: 13–15; 2: 1–2 / Lk 11: 15–26

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that [I] drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.”

 

IN OTHER WORDS

Have you ever wished you had the power to see the physical and spiritual worlds at the same time? When I was young, I did. I wished angels occupy space and become visible so that I might actually see them guarding everyone. How I wished to see them flying constantly over our house to safeguard the members of my family. As I grew up, I also realized that it was not only an exciting but also a horrifying thought because it would also mean seeing demons in space and watching them quarreling with angels all the time.

In our gospel for today, some of the Jewish leaders reacted vehemently to Jesus’ healings and exorcisms. They assumed that he had to be in league with Satan. This reaction is not surprising, because oftentimes Jewish exorcists had to resort to old-fashioned witchcraft to do their work successfully when demons would not leave a person.

This assertion of power and authority of Christ to cast out demons is a clear demonstration of the reign of God. He came to free us from the greatest danger of all – the corrupting force of evil which destroys us from within and makes us slaves to sin and Satan (John 8:34). St. Augustine of Hippo once mentioned that our lives have a God-shaped void which only He can fill satisfactorily. If we attempt to leave it vacant or to fill it with something else, we will end up being in a worse state in the end. Thus, we must also learn to fill the void with God who is the source of all that is life-giving for us. The Lord assures us of his protection from spiritual harm and gives us the help and strength we need to resist the devil and his lies. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

  • Felmar Castrodes Fiel, SVD (WBC – Cebu City)

The Word in other words 2015

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.

 

THE WORD

Mal 3: 13–20 / Lk 11: 5–13

Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit* to those who ask him?”

 

IN OTHER WORDS

In the Gospel today Jesus teaches His disciples about prayer. And inasmuch as He highlights the importance of persistence in prayer we should not overlook the fact that the context of the “persistent asking” is friendship.

We all have friends. And friends are not only “persistent”; they are for the most part “thick-faced.” They would just barge into our house, go straight to the fridge and eat everything there, then sit at the sala and watch TV.

In the Gospel Jesus said that the friend would get his bread out of persistence. But I don’t think that this friend would dare to bother the bread-owner if they were not friends. Really, I imagine that if the owner would not get up, the friend in need would climb up the window, steal some bread, and thank the breadowner the next day.

Friendship with God is a crucial element in our prayer life. If we do not have this relationship it would be very difficult for us to approach him in prayer and we would hesitate about knocking at His door when all of a sudden we find ourselves in need of “bread.” On the other hand, if we are friends with God, we know that we can shout at Him, cry before Him, dance with Him, sing for Him…all the while certain that the “bread” we ask for will be ours in His time and in the best possible way.

  • Dante Salces Barril, SVD (Rome)

The Word in other words 2015

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.

 

THE WORD

Jon 4: 1–11 / Lk 11: 1–4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray say:

‘Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us.
And do not subject us to the test.’”

 

IN OTHER WORDS

The rosary is probably the most prayed and best-known devotional prayer, as well as the most carried devotional item, among Catholics. As we celebrate today the Memorial of the Our Lady of the Rosary, let us be reminded once again of the power of prayer. Prayer is our way of communing with God. It is in prayer that we are brought closer to God. The more we pray the more we are united with God. The Apostles who were with Jesus all the time recognized this. They saw in Jesus a man of prayer, a man who was always praying and communing with His heavenly Father. That’s why in today’s gospel the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them how to pray and He taught them a communal and complete/perfect prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer shows us the essential elements of what a prayer should be. It is a prayer of thanksgiving, self-surrender, living in God’s providence, recognizing our sinfulness, asking for forgiveness and forgiving those who sinned against us, and finally asking God to help us fight every temptation of life. This prayer is not just for our sake but also for the sake of our brothers and sisters. We mean to pray not only for ourselves but also for one another since we are a family; we are all brothers and sisters, and God is our Father. This prayer shows us what is our true relationship with God – a “Father and son/daughter relationship.” It also shows us God’s graciousness, mercy, compassion and loving kindness. We should also treat one another in the same way that God treats us so that we can live as true sons and daughters of our heavenly Father.

Let Mary, the Lady of the Holy Rosary, be our model of faith because throughout her life, Mary lived devoutly as an obedient daughter of God. How about us? Do we pray fervently to God? How do we pray? Do we live as God’s true sons and daughters should? Do we allow Jesus to speak to us every time we say the Lord’s Prayer?

  • Joey B. Ruega, SVD (DWC, Calapan City)

The Word in other words 2015

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.

 

THE WORD

Jon 3: 1–10 / Lk 10: 38–42

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

 

IN OTHER WORDS

Our Gospel for today reminds me of an embarrassing experience when I was a regent in the Holy Name University, formerly the Divine Word College of Tagbilaran. I was then teaching Values Education. In one of the major exams I told my students that I would not be giving any special consideration so they had to be present during the examination day. But when that day came one of them was absent. This really annoyed me and all the more I resolved not to give the student a special consideration. Sure enough, the following week she approached me and pleaded if I could give her a special consideration. I firmly said ‘No’. All of a sudden she broke into tears and said, ‘You are so inconsiderate. I was absent last week because my father died. You are very insensitive.” Immediately I told her to see me after the class and I allowed her to take the exam.

It seems to me that in the Gospel reading for today, what Jesus needed at that very moment was not so much food or special treatment but a listening ear. He must have been excited to share his missionary experiences to his close friends, Martha and Mary. It was Mary who was sensitive enough to feel and notice that. She gladly sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him. This reminds us, therefore, of the importance of being sensitive to the needs of the people around us, especially the people we are working with. The hardest thing to do, most of the time, is to be sensitive to the people around us. We would rather want to impose or project our own wants on them, as if we know what they are going through. More importantly, we can only be sensitive to the needs of others if we are not so much engrossed with our own selves and our own concerns. To be sensitive to the needs of others is, therefore, to go the ‘extra mile.’

In response to our Gospel for today let us ask God to give us the grace to be sensitive to the needs of the people around us and thus become other-centered.

  • Gerry E. Paat, SVD (SVD Postulancy, Tagaytay City)

The Word in other words 2015

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.

 

More Articles ...

  1. October 5, 2015 Monday
  2. October 4, 2015 Sunday
  3. October 3, 2015 Saturday
  4. October 2, 2015 Friday
  5. October 1, 2015 Thursday
Page 402 of 412

Daily Reflection

November 2024
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
28 29 30 31 1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 1