Daily Reflection

November 4, 2017 Saturday

30th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (White)
St. Charles Borromeo, bishop / Memorial of Blessed Virgin Mary

Ps 94:12-13a, 14-15, 17-18
The Lord will not abandon his people.

1^st Reading: Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29

And so I ask: Has God rejected his people? Of course not! I, myself, am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected the people he knew beforehand. Don‘t you know what the Scripture says of Elijah, when he was accusing Israel before God?

Again, I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not. Their stumbling allowed salvation to come to the pagan nations, and, this, in turn, will stir up the jealousy of Israel. If Israel‘s shortcoming made the world rich, if the pagan nations grew rich with what they lost, what will happen when Israel is restored?

I want you to understand the mysterious decree of God, lest you be too confident: a part of Israel will remain hardened, until the majority of pagans have entered. Then, the whole of Israel will be saved, as Scripture says: From Zion will come the Liberator, who will purify the descendants of Jacob from all sin. And this is the Covenant I will make with them: I will take away from them their sins.

Regarding the gospel, the Jews are opponents, but it is for your benefit. Regarding election, they are beloved, because of their ancestors; because the call of God, and his gifts, cannot be nullified.

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.“

REFLECTION:

Jesus‘ teaching in the gospel reading today immediately reminds me on the virtue of humility, referred to as the mother of all virtues. St. Augustine speaks of humility as the first, second, third, and last step towards matured spirituality. Jesus lived this humility “though He was God, He humbled Himself and took the human flesh.“

I am joyfully reminded too of the song of Mary, the Magnificat, how God acted favorably on the lowly and put to shame the proud: “He has cast down the mighty from thrones and lifted up the lowly“ (Lk. 1:52). Truly, God is pleased with the humble.

One time I was traveling by train to Switzerland from Rome. In Milan we transferred to another train. I was already seated on the right seat number but not in the right coach. The officer told me to leave and transfer to another coach. Before everyone‘s eyes, I left, shameful and humiliated. In formal and grand occasions, upon arrival, I simply sit at a hidden and back place. As always, I am escorted and paged to occupy the seat reserved for me among the VIPS. Doing such, I received applauses and admirations. These experiences bring me to understand clearly and deeply Jesus sayings and teachings on humility in contrast to pride.

Daily Gospel ® is a product 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.

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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

DAILY GOSPEL ® 2017
Readings and Reflections
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November 3, 2017 Friday

30th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
St. Martin de Porres, religious

Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

1^st Reading: Rom 9:1-5

I tell you, sincerely, in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit, that I am not lying: I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire, that, I myself, suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren: I mean, my own people, my kin. They are Israelites, whom God adopted, and on them, rests his glory. Theirs, are the Covenants, the law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the patriarchs, and from their race, Christ was born, he, who, as God, is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever: Amen!

Gospel: Lk 14:1-6

One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched. In front of him was a man suffering from dropsy; so Jesus asked the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?“ But no one answered. Jesus then took the man, healed him, and sent him away. And he said to them, “If your lamb or your ox falls into a well on a Sabbath day, who among you doesn‘t hurry to pull it out?“ And they could not answer.

REFLECTION:

Jesus is not unaware that healing is prohibited on Sabbath day yet He did it. The reason for doing so is manifested in His words to the teachers and Pharisees: “If your lamb falls into a well on Sabbath day, who among you doesn’t hurry to pull it?“ He could not afford seeing the man suffering. He acted spontaneously.

In Luke 3:5-6, Jesus taught that human need is more important that the laws of the Sabbath. In fact, He said that Sabbath is made in service to the people and not enslave the people. Of all God‘s visible creatures, we are the most important. We are the most loved. Our life is a sharing from God‘s life, created in His image and likeness. Jesus came for us. He died for us. All He did was for man to be happy and reach the fullness of life. Our being and our dignity are such that Jesus would even dispense the law of the Sabbath if only to save life. St. John Mary Vianney experienced such love of God and dignity of man that he said; “One soul is worth saving.“ In the words of Ninoy Aquino: “The Filipino is worth dying for.“ Let us appreciate our gift of life and its dignity. Let us be grateful to God for His care. Let us observe the “Day of the Lord,“ Sunday not simply as a law but a way to achieve the best of life as designed by God.

Daily Reflection

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

November 2, 2017 Thursday

THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED
(All Souls‘ Day)
Psalter: Proper / (White)

Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

1^st Reading: Wis 3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them.

In the eyes of the unwise they appear to be dead. Their going is held as a disaster; it seems that they lose everything by departing from us, but they are in peace.

Though seemingly they have been punished, immortality was the soul of their hope. After slight affliction will come great blessings, for God has tried them and found them worthy to be with him; after testing them as gold in the furnace, he has accepted them as a holocaust.

At the time of his coming they will shine like sparks that run in the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever.

Those who trust in him will penetrate the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love, for his grace and mercy are for his chosen ones.

2^nd Reading: Rom 6:3-9

Don’t you know, that in baptism, which unites us to Christ, we are all baptized and plunged into his death? By this baptism in his death, we were buried with Christ and, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, we begin walking in a new life. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so shall we be, by a resurrection like his.

We know, that our old self was crucified with Christ, so as to destroy what of us was sin, so that, we may no longer serve sin—if we are dead, we are no longer in debt to sin. But, if we have died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. We know, that Christ, once risen from the dead, will not die again, and death has no more dominion over him.

Gospel: Mt 25:31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his Glory. All the nations will be brought before him, and as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

The King will say to those on his right: ‘Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me into your house. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to see me.‘

Then the righteous will ask him: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food; thirsty and give you drink, or a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to see you?‘ The King will answer, ‘Truly, I say to you: whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.‘

Then he will say to those on his left: ‘Go, cursed people, out of my sight into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not welcome me into your house; I was naked and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.‘

They, too, will ask: ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison, and did not help you?‘ The King will answer them: ‘Truly, I say to you: whatever you did not do for one of these little ones, you did not do for me.‘

And these will go into eternal punishment, but the just to eternal life.

REFLECTION:

As we remember and pray for our departed brothers and sisters today, death could be the best point to reflect on. Death is a destiny. When we came into the world, death has become natural to man. No man lives forever in this world. “There is a time to be born and a time to die“ (Eccle. 3:2). Of course, we do not have to forget that death is penalty for sin. “As sin came into the world through one man and death through sin. And so death spread to all men because all men sinned“(Rom. 5:12). Death reminds us of our limitedness. We have only one life, lived in a given time. But death is not simply an end of earthly journey, it is also a passing to another life, the life eternal promised by Jesus. The promised life has to be worked here on earth. What then shall we do to have a happy death?

An anonymous author said: “When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you will be smiling and everyone around you will be crying.“ This could be the measure of how we lived our life when we face death. The gospel reminds of Winston Churchill. He said, “We make a living by what we get: We make a life by what we give.“ Our gospel today confirms this, “Truly I say to you, just as you did it for one of the least of theses brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me.“

Daily Reflection

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

November 1, 2017 Wednesday

SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS
(All Saints‘ Day)
Psalter: Proper / (White)

Ps 24:1b-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

1^st Reading: Rev 7:2-4, 9-14

I saw another angel, ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.“

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal: a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel:

After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, “Who saves, but our God, who sits on the throne, and the Lamb?“

All the angels were around the throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, Amen. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, “Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, it is you who know this.”

The elder replied, “They, are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the blood of the Lamb.“

2^nd Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-3

See what singular love the Father has for us: we are called children of God, and we really are. This is why the world does not know us, because it did not know him.

Beloved, we are God’s children, and what we shall be has not, yet, been shown. Yet, when he appears in his glory, we know, that we shall be like him, for, then, we shall see him as he is. All who have such a hope, try to be pure, as he is pure.

Gospel: Mt 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them:
Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted.
Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.
Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.
Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.
Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.
Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God.
Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. For that is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

REFLECTION:

Every time there is an announced canonization or beatification, I feel envious and always want to attend it. Thank God I was able to attend some. I feel envious because I know I could also be beatified or canonized. To be a saint is our calling. It is the end of life we all want to attain. The envy that I have always lead to deep self-examination, it strengthens and inspires me to go on with life especially in moments of dryness and difficulties. Reflecting on the lives of the saints, many of them, except the martyrs, did not perform extraordinary things but simply faithful to their ordinary duties and putting much love on it. They do it for the love of God and neighbor, not wanting to be praised and rewarded. However their goodness never escaped the eyes of God. They are canonized saints. I feel deep joy every time I think of them. I always feel their soft voice telling me, “you are destined to be with us.“ “ We are waiting for your coming.“ What then shall we do?

The following can help us for our reflections: The great use of life is to spend it for something that will last–(William James), “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe–(St Augustine), Happiness is not a goal, it is a by-product–(Eleanor Roosevelt)

Daily Reflection

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

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