Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 117:1bc, 2
Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.

1^st Reading: Gal 2:1-2, 7-14

After fourteen years, I, again, went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and Titus came with us. Following a revelation, I went to lay before them the gospel that I am preaching to the pagans. I had a private meeting with the leaders — lest I should be working, or have worked, in a wrong way.

They recognized that I have been entrusted to give the Good News to the pagan nations, just as Peter has been entrusted to give it to the Jews. In the same way that God made Peter the apostle of the Jews, he made me the apostle of the pagans.

James, Cephas and John acknowledged the graces God gave me. Those men, who were regarded as the pillars of the Church, stretched out their hand to me and Barnabas, as a sign of fellowship; we would go to the pagans, and they, to the Jews. We should the needy in them. I have taken care to do this.

When, later, Cephas came to Antioch, I confronted him, since he deserved to be blamed. Before some of James’ people arrived, he used to eat with non-Jewish people. But when they arrived, he withdrew, and did not mingle anymore with them, for fear of the Jewish group. The rest of the Jews followed him in this pretense, and even Barnabas was part of this insincerity. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas publicly: If you, who are Jewish, agreed to live like the non Jews, setting aside the Jewish customs, why do you, now, compel the non-Jews to live like Jews?

Gospel: Lk 11:1-4

 One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this: Father, may your name be held holy, may your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.”

Reflections

Lord, teach us to pray

Luke‘s gospel has been called the Gospel of Prayer. It is in his gospel, more than any of the others, that we are told about Jesus praying, especially before the more important moments of his public life, such as at his baptism, the choosing of the Twelve, before Peter‘s confession of his Messiahship and in the garden before his Passion. Today we see Jesus just praying somewhere and it was perfectly natural for Jesus to pray to his Father, if we understand by prayer being intimate with God. When we pray, what really matters is to have a sacred space within one‘s mind and heart and allow God to speak to us. Sometimes we ask him for help in our lives or in making the right decision. Sometimes we thank and praise him for all the blessings of the day. Sometimes we pray on behalf of someone else and sometimes to simply dwell in silence. At the end, the sacred quest is silent listening to Someone who speaks to us gently and gives us inner peace and joy.

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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27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Denis, bishop & martyr, & Companions, martyrs /
St. John Leonardi, priest
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green/Red/White)

Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

1^st Reading: Gal 1:13-24

You have heard of my previous activity in the Jewish community; I furiously persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. For I was more devoted to the Jewish religion than many fellow Jews of my age, and I defended the traditions of my ancestors more fanatically.

But one day, God called me, out of his great love, he, who had chosen me from my mother’s womb; and he was pleased to reveal, in me, his Son, that I might make him known among the pagan nations. Then, I did not seek human advice nor did I go up to Jerusalem, to those who were apostles before me. I immediately went to Arabia, and from there, I returned, again, to Damascus. Later, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to meet Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord’s brother. On writing this to you, I affirm before God that I am not lying.

After that, I went to Syria and Cilicia. The churches of Christ in Judea did not know me personally; they had only heard of me: “He, who once persecuted us, is now preaching the faith he tried to uproot.” And they praised God because of me.

Gospel: Lk 10:38-42

 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work? Tell her to help me!”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Reflections

Martha is a doer to the point of making more complaints than simply serving. Martha is burdened by what she is doing. Serving is something that Jesus himself did constantly and he urged his followers to do the same. But it should not be a burden. And, after Martha had complained about her sister, Jesus told her that she was “anxious and worried about many things“. A true servant does not experience anxiety and worry. It signifies a lack of inner peace and sense of balance. Martha must have been somewhat surprised when Jesus said that Mary had “chosen the better part“ which would “not be taken from her“. What was that better part? Was Mary just sitting at the feet of Jesus and not helping her sister at all? No. We are told that she was “listening to him speak“. Listening to his message is something Jesus tells his disciples and the crowd they need to be doing all the time. And we have mentioned before that listening involves understanding, accepting and assimilating that message so that it becomes part of our own nature. If we do not spend time listening to him, how can we know that our activity is properly directed? It is easy for us Christians to be very busy but are we busy about the right things? To answer that question we have to stop to listen, to discern and to pray. And, ultimately, the highest form of activity in our lives is contemplation or being mindful of God‘s presence in all things. If I am not mindful of my activities each day, I end up being caught by the burden of doing things for others. I fail to see the deeper connection of who I am and what I am doing. I am simply busy.

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

27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 111:1b-2, 7-8, 9 & 10c
The Lord will remember his covenant forever.

1^st Reading: Gal 1:6-12

I am surprised at how quickly you have abandoned God, who called you, according to the grace of Christ, and have gone to another gospel. Indeed, there is no other gospel, but some people, who are sowing confusion among you, want to turn the gospel of Christ upside down.

But even if we, ourselves, were giving you another gospel, different from the one we preached to you, or if it were an angel from heaven, I would say: let God’s curse be on him! As I have said, I now say again: if anyone preaches the gospel in a way other than you received it, fire that one!

Are we to please humans or obey God? Do you think that I try to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, that the gospel we preached to you is not a human message, nor did I receive it from anyone, I was not taught of it; but it came to me, as a revelation from Christ Jesus.

Gospel: Lk 10:25-37

 Then a teacher of the law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” The man answered, “It is written: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.

It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.

The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.’”

Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The teacher of the law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

Reflections

The lawyer knew his Scriptures very well. When Jesus asks, “What is written in the law?“ the lawyer quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, verses we now call the “two great commandments: love God and love your neighbor,“ reminding us of the “two tablets“ of the law which Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. The first commandment about loving God is the “Shema“ which every Jewish child knows by heart, beginning with “Hear (shema), O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord alone…“ It is the prayer the lawyer in this story would have recited twice every day as an adult Jewish man. The second is a repeated theme throughout the Torah. Speaking through Moses God makes very clear to the people of Israel that they should care for the strangers and aliens among them. God loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:18-19).

In the gospel, Jesus changes the lawyer‘s question. The lawyer asked, “And who is my neighbor?“ By his definition the neighbors of the story would have been the priest and the Levite, members of his group, not the alien and heretical Samaritan. However, at the end of the story, Jesus changes the question by asking, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor?“ that is, “Who proved to be a neighbor?“ “Neighbor“ is not defined by location or group but by those who need concern and care. Our “neighbors“ are those who need us anywhere and anytime and the challenge is to respond in full generosity and mercy and not hindered by any form of constructed social barrier.

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

27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)

Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives.

1^st Reading: Gen 2:18-24

Yahweh God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him.” Then Yahweh God formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air and brought them to man to see what he would call them; and whatever man called every living creature, that was its name.

So man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air and to every beast of the field. But he did not find among them a helper like himself. Then Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to come over man and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and filled its place with flesh. The rib which Yahweh God had taken from man he formed into a woman and brought her to the man. The man then said, “Now this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.” That is why man leaves his father and mother and is attached to his wife, and with her becomes one flesh.

2^nd Reading: Heb 2:9-11

But Jesus, who suffered death, and for a little while was placed lower than the angels, has been crowned with honor and glory. For the merciful plan of God demanded that he experience death, on behalf of everyone.

God, from whom all come, and by whom all things exist, wanted to bring many children to glory, and he thought it fitting to make perfect, through suffering, the initiator of their salvation. So, he who gives, and those who receive holiness, are one. He, himself, is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters.

Gospel: Mk 10:2-16

 Some (Pharisees came and) put him to the test with this question: “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you have hearts of stone. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female; and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one body. So, they are no longer two, but one body. Therefore, let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked him about this, and he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against his wife; and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another, also commits adultery.”

People were bringing their little children to him to have him touch them; and the disciples rebuked them for this.

When Jesus noticed it, he was very angry and said, “Let the children come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and, laying his hands on them, blessed them.

Lectio Divina

Read: God created man and woman to be helpers to each other, on equal footing. It has been God’s will, from the beginning of creation, that man and woman make a commitment to belong to each other for good. Everything that exists does so through God and for His glory – so do human families.

Reflect: Isn’t it more than sheer coincidence that Mark discusses­ the indissolu­bility of marriage following it up with Jesus welcoming children and rebuking those who prevent their access to him, the source of life? Of late, ­marriage has become a private affair between two individuals focused on furthering their own pleasure and selfish ends to such an extent that having children within marriage becomes unthinkable and an aberration. At best, they are open to having one child, and no more. Whereas Catholics don’t have to breed like rabbits, as Pope Francis rightly pointed out, they must definitely be open to welcoming children as the necessary and noble fruit of their marital bond.

Pray: Pray for Christian families.

Act: Dine together as a family. If you are single, dine with a family today.

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