Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3
In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.

1^st Reading: Phil 2:1-4

If I may advise you, in the name of Christ, and if you can hear it, as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit, and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg of you, make me very happy: have one love, one spirit, one feeling, do nothing through rivalry or vain conceit. On the contrary, let each of you gently consider the others, as more important than yourselves. Do not seek your own interest, but, rather, that of others.

Gospel: Lk 14:12-14

 Jesus also addressed the man who had invited him, and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives, or your wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return, and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the upright.”

Reflections

We are drawn to the powerful tendency to live by the law of reciprocity. We want that others repay us with whatever we have done. We long to have the same treatment we have done to others. There is a subtle and relentless inclination in our desire to do what will make life comfortable and to avoid any form of insecurity. Jesus offers a different approach in dealing with others. You will be blessed because they cannot repay you! You will be blessed because God has something more for you. You will see that love and grace will freely come and flow into your life. What an amazing thing for Jesus to say! He calls us to have a disinterested benevolence or giving without counting the cost. Self-giving for the poor will bring you great blessing. And the blessing is not in the form of material reward but the experience of unconditional love and unmerited grace. Who wouldn't count everything as rubbish in order to gain Christ?

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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31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
I love you, Lord, my strength.

1^st Reading: Dt 6:2-6

Fear Yahweh, observe his commandments all the days of your life and his norms that I teach you today. So also for your children and your children’s children that they may live long.

Listen, then, Israel, observe these commandments and put them into practice. If you do this, you will be well and you will multiply in this land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, promised you.

Listen, Israel: Yahweh, our God, is One Yahweh. And you shall love Yahweh, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. Engrave in your heart the commandments that I pass on to you today.

2^nd Reading: Heb 7:23-28

The former priests were many since, as mortal men, they could not remain in office. But Jesus remains forever, and the priesthood shall not be taken from him. Consequently, he is able to save, for all time, those who approach God, through him. He always lives to intercede on their behalf.

It was fitting that our high priest be holy, undefiled, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens; a priest who does not, first, need to offer sacrifice for himself, before offering for the sins of the people, as high priests do. He offered himself in sacrifice, once and for all. And, whereas, the law elected weak men as high priests, now, after the law, the word of God, with an oath, appointed the Son, made perfect forever.

Gospel: Mk 12: 28b-34

 A teacher of the law had been listening to this discussion and admired how Jesus answered them. So he came up and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is: Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the law said to him, “Well spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one, and there is no other besides him. To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”

Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Lectio Divina

Read: Keep the commandments of the Lord and the commandments will keep you. Jesus­ ­declares the equivalency of loving God and loving neighbor. Jesus, the unblemished sacrificial lamb, is the priestly meeting ground of the love-triad: God, neighbor, and I.

Reflect: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God,” said Jesus to the lawyer who upheld the equivalency of love of God and neighbor. But there is a catch in the sentence: being not far only implies being close enough; it is no guarantee that one is ­definitively within the Kingdom. What would move the lawyer – and us – from within the ­proximity to within the boundaries of the Kingdom? If knowing the greatest commandment with its equivalent love of God and neighbor takes us close to the Kingdom, it is doing the commandment that will move us in.

Pray: Ask God for the wisdom to know the commandments and the courage to do the same.

Act: Do an examination of conscience today. Where do you stand in relation to doing the commandments?

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

30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Martin de Porres, religious
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green/White)

Ps 42:2, 3, 5cdef
My soul is thirsting for the living God.

1^st Reading: Phil 1:18b-26

But, in any case, whether they are sincere or showing off, Christ is proclaimed and, because of this, I rejoice and have no regrets. I know that all this will be a grace for me, because of your prayers, and the help given by the Spirit of Christ. I am hopeful, even certain, that I shall not be ashamed. I feel as assured now, as before, that Christ will be exalted through my person, whether I live or die.

For to me, living is for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I am to go on living, I shall be able to enjoy fruitful labor. Which shall I choose? So I feel torn between the two. I desire greatly to leave this life and to be with Christ, which will be better by far, but it is necessary for you that I remain in this life. And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will stay, and remain with you, for your progress and happiness in the faith. I will surely come to you again, and give you more reason for being proud of belonging to Christ Jesus.

Gospel: Lk 14:1, 7-11

 One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.

Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited; and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you, ‘Please give this person your place.’ What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!

“Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you, ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

Reflections

Whoever humbles himself will be exalted

As I read Jesus' parable, do I have either the proud feeling of being considered more special than I thought I was, or do I feel deprived of being thought more ordinary than seemed right to me? When Jesus recommends humility - and his parable is not about right etiquette at parties - what is he calling me to? What is so great about this humility? In Jesus we see the humility of the one who knew who he was – God’s beloved - and freely caring, serving and healing others. He is among us as one who serves, the one who sees the needs of his people and does his best to meet them. In word and actions, he served us with his whole life. Pope Francis said in one of his homilies: “God saves us by making himself little, near and real.” By being “little, near and real” God makes himself relatable and felt. “The Lord does not want to be feared like a powerful and aloof sovereign. He does not want to remain on his throne in heaven or in history books, but loves to come down to our everyday affairs, to walk with us.”

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

All Souls’ Day

    All those major religions of the world which believes in “life-after death” have the tradition of commemoration  of the dead and praying  for the dead.  All Souls Day is a holy day set aside by christians for honouring the dead.  The day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church, but it is also celebrated and a few other Protestants Churches.  The official name of the celebration in the Roman Rite liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church is “The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed.”
    The celebration of All Souls Day in the Catholic Church in on the 2nd of November and it follows All Saints’ Day.  The Roman Catholic celebration is associated with the doctrine that the souls of the faithful who at death have nor been cleansed from the temporal punishment due to venial sins and from attachment to mortal sins can not immediately attain the beatific vision in heaven and that they may helped to do so by prayer and by sacrifice of the mass.

The History of All Souls Day
Historically, the western christian tradition identifies the general customs of praying for the dead dating  as far back as 2 Maccabees (12:42-46).  The custom of setting apart a special day for intercession for certain of the faithful on November 2nd was first established St. Odilo of Cluny at his abbey of Cluny in 998.  The celebration was soon adopted in several dioceses in France and spread throughout Western Church.  It was accepted in Rome only in the fourteenth century.  While November 2nd remained in the liturgical celebration, through the entire month of November because it is associated in the Western Catholic traditions.

Offering our Efforts on Behalf of the Holy Souls
    On all Souls’ Day, we not only remember the dead, but we apply our efforts, through prayers, almsgiving and Holy Mass, to their releases from purgatory.  There are two plenary indulgences attached to All Souls Day, one for visiting a church and another for visiting a cemetery.
    The plenary indulgence for visiting a cemetery can also be obtained everyday from November 1-8, and as part of indulgence, on any day of the year.

What is Indulgence?
    “An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.  Indulgences  may be applied to the living or the dead.”  c.c.c No. 1471.
    “Since the faithful departed now being purified are also member of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is abstain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted. ” c.c.c. No. 1479
    “Through indulgences, the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in purgatory.”  c.c.c. No. 1498

By: Fr. A. Singarayan