Daily Reflection

June 20, 2017 Tuesday

11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green)

Ps 146:2, 5-6ab, 6c-7, 8-9a
Praise the Lord, my soul!

1^st Reading: 2 Cor 8:1-9

Now, I want you to know about a gift of divine grace among the Churches of Macedonia. While they were so afflicted and persecuted, their joy overflowed, and their extreme poverty turned into a wealth of generosity. According to their means even beyond their means—they wanted to share, in helping the saints.

They asked us for this favor, spontaneously, and with much insistence, and, far beyond anything we expected, they put themselves at the disposal of the Lord, and of us by the will of God. Accordingly, I urged Titus to complete, among you, this work of grace, since he began it with you. You excel in everything: in the gifts of faith, speech and knowledge; you feel concern for every cause and, besides, you are first in my heart. Excel, also, in this generous service.

This is not a command; I make known to you the determination of others, to check the sincerity of your fraternal concern. You know well, the generosity of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Although he was rich, he made himself poor, to make you rich, through his poverty.

Gospel: Mt 5:43-48

You have heard, that it was said: Love your neighbor and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you: love your enemies; and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good; and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust.

"If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

REFLECTION:

True love does not discriminate. It accepts reality as it is without a conscious effort to change it. The transformation that takes place is not imposed or forced. It is a response to the overwhelming sense that one is loved even if it is most of the time undeserved. This is a tough commandment to follow. Most of our love is narrow and selfish. It is only reserved to those who love us in return.

This is where the commandment of Jesus displays a freshness never seen before. It invites the listener to an unconditional love that does not define the boundaries for those to be loved and those who will be excluded in that love. It simply embraces all. We must remember that we are called “catholic” which simply put, means “everybody is welcome.” Everybody will feel this welcome only from a loving heart. That is why Jesus invites us to a heart big enough to give space for all.

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
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June 19, 2017 Monday

11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (Green/White)
St. Romuald, abbot

Ps 98:1, 2b, 3ab, 3cd-4
The Lord has made known his salvation.

1^st Reading: 2 Cor 6:1-10

Being God’s helpers, we beg you: let it not be in vain, that you received this grace of God. Scripture says: At the favorable time I listened to you, on the day of salvation I helped you. This is the favorable time, this is the day of salvation.

We are concerned, not to give anyone an occasion to stumble or criticize our mission. Instead, we prove, we are true ministers of God, in every way, by our endurance in so many trials, in hardships, afflictions, floggings, imprisonment, riots, fatigue, sleepless nights and days of hunger.

People can notice, in our upright life, knowledge, patience and kindness, action of the Holy Spirit, sincere love, words of truth, and power of God. So we fight with the weapons of justice, to attack, as well as to defend.

Sometimes, we are honored, at other times, insulted; we receive criticism as well as praise. We are regarded as liars, although we speak the truth; as unknown, though we are well known; as dead, and yet we live. Punishments come upon us, but we have not, as yet, been put to death. We appear to be afflicted, yet always joyful; we seem to be poor, but we enrich many; we have nothing, but we possess everything!

Gospel: Mt 5:38-42

You have heard, that it was said: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this: do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.

REFLECTION:

Vindictiveness and vengefulness, these are the kind of feelings that contributes to the escalation of violence. This may look perfectly alright in a society that is fiercely jealous of its possession. When something is exacted, a corresponding value must be paid. It has no room for forgiveness. The peace that ensues from such rigid possession rest uneasy and insecure.

This may be the reason why Jesus proposes a new way of seeing and evaluating what justice means. He wants us to embrace the violence of others and transform it with our meekness and gentleness. Now this calls for a real strength of the spirit and extraordinary self-discipline. Violence coming from violent people if faced head on with violence will not solve the problem. It will only postpone it to erupt again at a later time. Whereas violence can be transformed if the violent heart finds understanding and the willingness to suffer for his or her transformation. And once they forsake violence, we multiply the presence of people with goodwill. Let this be our silent revolution to rid the world of violence. Let our strength lie not in force but in love.

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

June 18, 2017 Sunday

SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
Psalter: Proper / (White)

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

1^st Reading: Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a

Remember how Yahweh, your God, brought you through the desert for forty years. He humbled you, to test you and know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He made you experience want, he made you experience hunger, but he gave you manna to eat which neither you nor your fathers had known, to show you that one does not live on bread alone, but also by everything that comes from the mouth of God.

Then do not let your heart become proud and do not forget Yahweh, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery. It is he who has led you across this great and terrible desert, full of fiery serpents and scorpions, an arid land where there is no water. But for you he made water gush forth from the hardest rock.

2^nd Reading: 1 Cor 10:16-17

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion with the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, is it not a communion with the body of Christ? The bread is one, and so we, though many, form one body, sharing the one bread.

Gospel: Jn 6:51-58

I am the living bread from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh, and I will give it for the life of the world.”

The Jews were arguing among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

"My flesh is really food, and my blood is truly drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood, live in me, and I in them. Just as the Father, who is life, sent me, and I have life from the Father, so whoever eats me will have life from me. This is the bread from heaven; not like that of your ancestors, who ate and later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

REFLECTION:

Read: The first reading recalls how God led the Israelites through the desert and provided for their needs. Paul invites us to link our eucharistic fellowship with the memory of Christ. Jesus speaks of his body and blood as the food for the world.

Reflect: The first reading begins with the imperative, “Remember!” Without remembrance, our life is a mere collection of fragments of events that have no connectedness, significance, or relevance. Spiritual Alzheimer’s makes our hearts grow cold and proud. In remembrance, we re-member people and events into our lives and heart finds gratitude, love, and mercy. A good place to keep memory of God’s self-gift and interventions is the Eucharist. How “memory-filled” is our Eucharistic celebration?

Pray: Pray for a heart that remembers the goodness of the Lord.

Act: Recall an event of God’s intervention in your life and make an act of thanksgiving.

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

June 17, 2017 Saturday

10TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
Memorial Blessed Virgin Mary

Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
The Lord is kind and merciful.

1^st Reading: 2 Cor 5:14-21

Indeed, the love of Christ holds us, and we realize, that, if he died for all, all have died. He died for all, so, that, those who live, may live no longer for themselves, but for him, who died, and rose again for them. And so, from now on, we do not regard anyone from a human point of view; and even if we once knew Christ personally, we should now regard him in another way.

For that same reason, the one who is in Christ is a new creature. For him, the old things have passed away; a new world has come. All this is the work of God, who, in Christ, reconciled us to himself, and who entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Because, in Christ, God reconciled the world with himself, no longer taking into account their trespasses, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

So we present ourselves as ambassadors, in the name of Christ, as if God, himself, makes an appeal to you, through us. Let God reconcile you; this, we ask you, in the name of Christ. He had no sin, but God made him bear our sin, so, that, in him, we might share the holiness of God.

Gospel: Mt 5:33-37

You have also heard that people were told in the past: Do not break your oath; an oath sworn to the Lord must be kept. But I tell you this: do not take oaths. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God’s throne; nor by the earth, because it is his foot stool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything else you say comes from the evil one.

REFLECTION:

Our words should have weight because our faithfulness to our spoken words and our commitment to keep them shows others the kind of person we are. Either we can be trusted or not depending on how we keep our word. And so Jesus cautions us not make an elaborate display of oath and swearing in rituals to assure others of our trustworthiness. For on the contrary, only those whose words cannot be trusted need this kind of elaboration.

And so, we need to practice to mean what we say and do what we say we should do. This needs a formation that has to go with time. You cannot have trustworthiness at once. It has to be a series of repeated acts where we affirm the trust of others to our words. In short, there are trusts that are earned through time. May we cultivate this wonderful virtue and be like Jesus Christ who is trustworthy in words and deeds.

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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