Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)

Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

1^st Reading: Eph 5:21-33

Let all kinds of submission to one another become obedience to Christ. So wives, to their husbands, as to the Lord.

The husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of whom he is also the Savior. And as the church submits to Christ, so let a wife submit in everything to her husband.

As for you, husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church, and gave himself up for her. He washed her, and made her holy, by baptism in the word. As he wanted a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any blemish, but holy and blameless, he, himself, had to prepare, and present her to himself.

In the same way, husbands should love their wives, as they love their own bodies. He, who loves his wife, loves himself. And no one has ever hated his body; he feeds and takes care of it. That is just what Christ does for the Church, because we are members of his body.

Scripture says: Because of this, a man shall leave his father and mother, to be united with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a very great mystery, and I refer to Christ and the Church. As for you, let each one love his wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband.

Gospel: Lk 13:18-21

 And Jesus continued, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed, and planted it in his garden. The seed has grown, and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”

And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like? Imagine a woman who has taken yeast, and hidden it in three measures of fl our, until it is all leavened.”

Reflections

What can mustard seeds and leaven teach us about the Kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God‘s kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God‘s word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within. Leaven is another powerful agent of change. A lump of dough left to itself remains just what it is, a lump of dough. But when the leaven is added to it a transformation takes place which produces rich and wholesome bread when heated and wonderfully shared with others. The Kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield our lives to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Paul the Apostle says, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us“ (2 Cor. 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming power of the mustard seed, the seed of God‘s mercy in your heart? Is the power of your faith like a dough that inspires you to share your life with others even when at times there are no rewards and praises given to you? What matters is the joy of giving and giving yourself generously.

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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30TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)

Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6
Behave like God as his very dear children.

1^st Reading: Eph 4:32—5:8

Be good and understanding, forgiving one another, as God forgave you, in Christ.

As most beloved children of God, strive to imitate him. Follow the way of love, the example of Christ, who loved you. He gave himself up for us, and became the offer- ing and sacrificial victim, whose fragrance rises to God. And, since you are holy, there must not be among you, even a hint of sexual immorality, or greed, or any kind of impurity: these should not be named among you. So, too, scandalous words, nonsense and foolishness, which are not fitting; instead, offer thanksgiving to God.

Know this: no depraved, impure, or covetous person, who serves the god ‘Money,’ shall have part in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for these are the sins which God is about to condemn in people, who do not obey. Do not associate with such people.

You were once darkness, but, now, you are light, in the Lord. Behave as children of light.

Gospel: Lk 13:10-17

 Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years, so that she could not straighten up at all. On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight and praised God.

But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant, because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day, and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work. Come on those days to be healed, and not on the Sabbath!”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Everyone of you unties his ox or his donkey on the Sabbath, and leads it out of the barn to give it water. And here you have a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years. Should she not be freed from her bonds on the Sabbath?”

When Jesus said this, all his opponents felt ashamed. But the people rejoiced at the many wonderful things that happened because of him.

Reflections

There are two powerful gospel stories in Luke 7:36-50 and Luke 13: 10-17. The first is the story of a woman who entered the house of a Pharisee, named Simon. He had invited Jesus for a meal; while at table, she began to wash the feet of Jesus with both her tears and ointment. The second is a woman bent over for eighteen years. The two women have something in common – shame, worthlessness and their oppressive exclusion due to their bodies (sin, sickness, bleeding, and deformity). Their wretched bodies make them outsiders a socio-cultural-religious context which considers them impure, subservient, and invisible. In the narrative, they all break the rules of culture and religious purity and observance. The first enters the house of Simon without being invited; the second appears before Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath. What is so significant about the movement of the two women is reality of the disempowered outsider who initiates the miracle process. The bent-over woman invited Jesus to break the Sabbath in favor of her liberation from years of deformity, suffering, and exclusion. She became part of, and was an active participant in, the Reign of God as well as privileged beneficiary of the miracle and empowerment of Jesus. Faith seeking embodiment shatters any justification to the violence done against women and children today. All bodies are sacred and resist any form of commodification and exclusion.

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 SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)

Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

1^st Reading: Jer 31:7-9

For Yahweh says this, “Shout with joy for Jacob; rejoice for the greatest of nations. Proclaim your praise and say: ‘Yahweh has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’

Look, I will bring them back from the land of the north, gather them from the ends of the earth, the lame and the blind, mothers and women in labor — a great throng will return.

They went away weeping, they will return in joy.“

2^nd Reading: Heb 5:1-6

Every high priest is taken from among mortals, and appointed, to be their representative before God, to offer gifts, and sacrifices for sin. He is able to understand the ignorant and erring, for he, himself, is subject to weakness. This is why he is bound to offer sacrifices, for his sins, as well as for the sins of the people. Besides, one does not presume to take this dignity, but takes it only when called by God, as Aaron was.

Nor did Christ become high priest in taking upon himself this dignity, but it was given to him, by the one who says: You are my son, I have begotten you today. And in another place: You are a priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.

Gospel: Mk 10:46-52

 They came to Jericho. As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he began to call out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying, “Take heart! Get up, he is calling you!” He immediately threw aside his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Master, let me see again!” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And, immediately, he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.

Lectio Divina

Read: Those who left weeping will return in joy, thanks to the intervention of God. A priest is one called upon by God to bring people to God. Jesus heals Bartimaeus, the blind, in response to his cry.

Reflect: “Go your way” was the blessing and permission given by Jesus to Bartimaeus after healing him; but Bartimaeus chooses to follow Jesus. He knew he had no way other than that of Jesus. Perhaps he understood far better than others what Jesus meant when he had said, “I am the way.” Bartimaeus chose correctly. There is no way to deeper sight, knowledge, and life’s fulfilment but following Jesus.

Pray: “Lord Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. Let me walk your path in your light.”

Act: Have you pledged your eyes? If not, you might want to think about doing so.

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

29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Blessed Virgin Mary
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)

Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

1^st Reading: Eph 4:7-16

But to each of us, divine grace is given, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore, it is said: When he ascended to the heights, he brought captives and gave his gifts to people.

He ascended, what does it mean, but, that he had also descended to the lower parts of the world? He, himself, who went down, then ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things. As for his gifts, to some, he gave to be apostles; to others, prophets, or even evangelists; or pastors and teachers. So, he prepared those who belong to him, for the ministry, in order to build up the Body of Christ, until we are all united, in the same faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Thus, we shall become the perfect Man, upon reaching maturity, and sharing the fullness of Christ.

Then, no longer shall we be like children, tossed about by any wave, or wind of doctrine; and deceived by the cunning of people, who drag them along into error. Rather, speaking the truth, in love, we shall grow in every way, toward him, who is the head, Christ. From him, comes the growth of the whole body, to which a network of joints gives order and cohesion, taking into account, and making use of, the function of each one. So, the body builds itself, in love.

Gospel: Lk 13:1-9

 One day, some people told Jesus what had occurred in the temple: Pilate had had Galileans killed, and their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this? No, I tell you. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish, as they did.

And those eighteen persons in Siloah, who were crushed when the tower fell, do you think they were more guilty than all the others in Jerusalem? I tell you: no. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish, as they did.”

And Jesus continued, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but found none. Then he said to the gardener, ‘Look here, for three years now I have been looking for figs on this tree, and I have found none. Cut it down, why should it continue to deplete the soil?’ The gardener replied, ‘Leave it one more year, so that I may dig around it and add some fertilizer; perhaps it will bear fruit from now on. But if it doesn’t, you can cut it down.’”

Reflections

Catastrophes or accidents which take people‘s lives constantly force people to ask. When some die suddenly and there are no justifiable reasons, some see it as a punishment from God. They see some lapses in their lives. Jesus disagrees. “Do you think they were more guilty than anyone else who lived in Jerusalem?“ Jesus asks. “Certainly not!“ he asserts. In fact, he says, his hearers will all meet a similar fate unless they change their ways. The sins of the victims were not the cause of their death but they are certainly warnings to the rest of us to see if we are ready to give the best for God and humanity. And he goes on to illustrate his meaning with a parable. A man had a fig tree in his garden which did not produce fruit. Eventually he told the gardener to cut the tree down because it had not given fruit for three years in a row and it was only taking up space. However, the gardener urged that the tree be left for one more year and be given one more chance. In the meantime, he would hoe the ground and add some fertilizer. If, after those efforts, there was still no fruit, let it be cut down. The story can be linked to what Jesus has just said. In a sense the people he has been talking to are like fig trees that have not borne fruit. They still have a chance to turn their lives around, a chance which was not given to those who had died in those two incidents. We, too, are being given a chance – For a day? A month? Several years? We have no idea. What is clear is that there is no time to waste; we have to start today. We are called to be fruitful with our lives and the time to be serious with our lives is to grow in faith and in love.

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