Daily Reflection

September 9, 2017 Saturday

22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (White)
St. Peter Claver, priest / Memorial of Blessed Virgin Mary

Ps 54:3-4, 6 & 8
God himself is my help.

1^st Reading: Col 1:21-23

You, yourselves, were once estranged, and opposed to God, because of your evil deeds, but now, God has reconciled you, in the human body of his Son, through his death, so that you may be without fault, holy and blameless before him. Only stand firm upon the foundation of your faith, and be steadfast in hope. Keep in mind the gospel you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Gospel: Lk 6:1-5

One Sabbath Jesus was going through a field of grain, and his disciples began to pick heads of grain, crushing them in their hands for food. Some of the Pharisees asked them, “Why do you do what is forbidden on the Sabbath?“ Then Jesus spoke up and asked them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He entered the house of God, took and ate the bread of the offering, and even gave some to his men, though only priests are allowed to eat that bread.“ And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord and rules over the Sabbath.“

REFLECTION:

Human laws are necessary. They create order and help us regulate our personal and social life. To a great extent, they simplify life. However, they also have their dark side: they stifle personal reflection. With their collective dos and don‘ts, they discourage individual morality and situation-specific responses. One of the (many) reasons why Marx and Nietzsche were critical of religion was that religious laws often degenerated into mindless practices that stifled individual quest and discouraged people from making a critique of life from their own personal standpoint.

Jesus reminds his opponents that religion pure and simple goes far beyond collective morality and traditional practices, and truly enables one to respond to life‘s challenges from personal convictions. Genuine religiousness facilitates a deeper understanding of the law and its purposes, and provides the freedom to break them when they are superseded by the needs of one‘s sisters and brothers.

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.

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

DAILY GOSPEL ® 2017
Readings and Reflections
Copyright © 2O16
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September 8, 2017 Friday

FEAST OF THE Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Psalter: Proper / (White)

Ps 13:6ab, 6c
With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

1^st Reading: Rom 8:28-30 (or Mic 5:1-4a)

We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him, whom he has called, according to his plan. Those whom he knew beforehand, he has also predestined, to be like his Son, similar to him, so, that, he may be the Firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And so, those whom God predestined, he called; and those whom he called, he makes righteous; and to those whom he makes righteous, he will give his glory.

Gospel: Mt 1:1-16, 18-23

This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife.
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings: Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation to Babylon, Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ—the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her.

While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus‘ for he will save his people from their sins.“ All this happened in order to fulﬁll what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us.

REFLECTION:

Modern human being prides in being “self-made“—unique and original—and consequently suffers from utter loneliness and depression. Thankfully, the notion of being self-made is a lie. No one fathers (or mothers) oneself: Life is given in love and received with joy. We carry the legacy and heritage of all those who have gone before us. It is this connectedness and being part of something or someone else that the genealogy of Jesus presents before us. We celebrate the Nativity of Mary today—the feast that reminds us that Mary too wasn‘t self-made, but was born of a set of parents who had a significant part in shaping her life. We can be pretty sure that Mary remained grateful to her parents for their role in her life, and to God who was God-with-her. In moments of loneliness, it helps to remind ourselves of our genealogy that links us all the way to 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

September 7, 2017 Thursday

22nd WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 98:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6
The Lord has made known his salvation.

1^st Reading: Col 1:9-14

Because of this, from the day we received news of you, we have not ceased praying to God for you, that you may attain the full knowledge of his will, through all the gifts of wisdom and spiritual understanding.

May your lifestyle be worthy of the Lord and completely pleasing to him. May you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.

May you become strong, in everything, by a sharing of the glory of God, so that you may have great endurance and persevere in joy.

Constantly give thanks to the Father, who has empowered us to receive our share in the inheritance of the saints, in his kingdom of light. He rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. In him, we are redeemed and forgiven.

Gospel: Lk 5:1-11

One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats, left at the water‘s edge by fishermen, now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There he sat, and continued to teach the crowd.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.“ Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets.“ This they did, and caught such large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats almost to the point of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus‘ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!“ For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made, and so were Simon‘s partners, James and John, Zebedee‘s sons.

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.“ So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

REFLECTION:

“Duc in altum!“ Jesus ordered Simon. “Put out into deep water!“ What did Simon do? He agreed to do so, because Jesus commanded it. He caught such a large number of fish that his net began to break. He had to call for help. He also realized the extent of his own sinfulness and begged Jesus to leave him. Fortunately, Jesus would not; instead, he would ask Simon to follow him.

Putting out into the deep can be dangerous. The depths are unchartered territories. You never know what resides in the depths, and what sins—yours and others‘—would surface when you explore the depths in yourself and in other people. Your nets—the resources you have—may begin to break. You will be forced to call for help, even from your competitors. The catch you make could be a mixture of good, bad, and ugly fish. Is it all worth the risk? It is, when done at the command of Jesus, for it can lead to self-awareness and humility that will open us up towards God‘s purposes.

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

September 6, 2017 Wednesday

22nd WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 52:10, 11
I trust in the mercy of God for ever.

1^st Reading: Col 1:1-8

Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Receive grace and peace from God, our Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Thanks be to God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord!

We constantly pray for you, for we have known of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of your love for all the saints. Indeed, you await in hope the inheritance reserved for you in heaven, of which, you have heard through the word of truth. This gospel, already present among you, is bearing fruit, and growing throughout the world, as it did among you, from the day you accepted it, and understood the gift of God, in all its truth.

He who taught you, Epaphras, our dear companion in the service of Christ, faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, has reminded me of the love you have for me, in the Spirit.

Gospel: Lk 4:38-44

Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever, and they asked him to do something for her. Bending over her, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately, she got up and waited on them.

At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Demons were driven out, howling as they departed from their victims, “You are the Son of God!“ He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew he was the Messiah.

Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place. People went out in search of him, and finding him, they tried to dissuade him from leaving. But he said, “I have to go to other towns, to announce the good news of the kingdom of God. That is what I was sent to do.“ And Jesus continued to preach in the synagogues of Galilee.

REFLECTION:

No sooner does Jesus rebuke the fever of Simon‘s mother-in-law than it leaves her. She immediately gets up and waits on them: Now that she is healed, she attends to the needs of Jesus and his disciples.

The many healings and blessings God grants us must make us more sensitive and compassionate to the needs of others. As Simon‘s mother-in-law did, we too shall make use of our restored energies and renewed life to care for God and His people. Every gift comes with a mandate, every healing has a mission—that we share its fruits with other people. If God‘s gifts do not make us more generous than before, we would be no different from the servant who received a talent but hid it from everyone and refused to invest it for God‘s purposes (Matt. 25:14-30).

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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