Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7
God is with us.

1^st Reading: Zec 8:20-23

Yahweh, the God of hosts speaks, ”Peoples will come from other nations, people from great cities. The inhabitants of one town will talk with those of another, and, say: ‘Come, let us go and implore the favor of Yahweh, and I, too, will seek Yahweh.‘ Many great peoples and powerful nations will come, seeking Yahweh, God of hosts, in Jerusalem and pray to him.”

Yahweh, the God of hosts assures you, ”In those days, ten men of different languages spoken in various lands, will take hold of a Jew by the hem of his garment and say: We, too, want to go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Gospel: Lk 9:51-56

As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. He sent ahead of him some messengers, who entered a Samaritan village to prepare a lodging for him. But the people would not receive him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. Seeing this, James and John, his disciples, said, ”Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to reduce them to ashes?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village.

REFLECTION:

The First reading taken from the prophet Zechariah speaks so well of God‘s constant desire to gather all peoples into one family under His Fatherhood. A Father of a family or a parish priest will understand by heart this divine desire to have ”one flock under one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). This too is the priestly prayer of Jesus: ”Father may they be one as You and I are one” (Jn 17:20). This theme is also shown in today‘s Gospel reading. Jesus forbade his disciples James and John to retaliate against the Samaritans who did not welcome Him. The unwelcoming actions of the Samaritans are due to the long quarrel between the Jews and Samaritans.

Jesus is not unaware of the conflict. But, He consented to pass that way to Jerusalem. For security and to avoid confrontations, they could have passed through another way. Jesus must have a reason for passing through Samaria. He wanted to reconcile the conflict and to offer friendship and reunite them, as He is faithful to His mission as the ”light to all nations.”

During the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln was criticized for being soft and considerate to his enemies. Many times he was reminded that it was his duty to destroy them. To these, his answer was ”The best way to destroy an enemy is to be friend him. ”Lincoln must have learned it from Jesus. For us Christians, like Jesus, no one is an enemy but only a lost and strayed friend.

Daily Reflection

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
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

26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (White)
The Guardian Angels

Ps 91:1-2, 3-4ab, 4c-6, 10-11
The Lord has put angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways

1^st Reading: Ex 23:20-23

The word of Yahweh, the God of hosts was directed to me in this way, ”I am intensely jealous for Zion, stirred by a burning anger for her sake. Yahweh says: I will return to Zion and live in her midst. Jerusalem shall be called the city of faithfulness and the mountain of holiness.”

Yahweh, God of hosts speaks, ”Old men and women will again sit in the squares, each with a stick in hand on account of their great age. The squares of the city will be filled with girls and boys playing.”

Yahweh, God of hosts declares, ”If that seems impossible in the eyes of those who have returned from exile, will it be impossible for me as well?”—word of Yahweh.

Yahweh, God of hosts says, ”See, I am going to save my people, bringing them from the east and from the west; and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people and I shall be their God, in truth and in justice.”

Gospel: Mt 18:1-5, 10

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, ”Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, ”I assure you, that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in my name, receives me.

See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.

REFLECTION:

We honor today our Guardian Angels. Angels in general are messengers of God, constantly adoring Him and are always ready to serve Him. The Guardian Angels are among them, sent for specific function; ”I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on your way and to bring you to the place I prepared” (Ex. 23:23). Matthew in today‘s gospel speaks of them: ”their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.” Each person has a Guardian Angel. ”From the infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercessions (CCC.36) How God loves us! He never wants us to be separated from Him.

St Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) has a deep love for Guardian Angels and a personal encounter with them. He speaks of them as his guide, defender and messenger. The angels brought the prayers of his spiritual children to him. He exhorts everyone of us: ”Invoke your Guardian Angel, who will enlighten you and guide you. God has given them to you for your protection; therefore you should use him accordingly. The Guardian Angels are 24/7 available to us to guide us to what is good and to avoid falling into sin. They are always at our side.

Angels are not for children alone but for all. Let us recognize them, be them, love them. They are God‘s gift to us.

Daily Reflection

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
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

26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Remember your mercies, O Lord.

1^st Reading: Ez 18:25-28

But you say: Yahweh‘s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is my position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong? If the righteous man turns from his righteous deeds, and sins, then he dies, because of his sins. And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he committed, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes; and turned from the sins he had committed.

2^nd Reading: Phil 2:1-11

If I may advise you, in the name of Christ, and if you can hear it, as the voice of love; if we share the same Spirit, and are capable of mercy and compassion, then I beg of you, make me very happy: have one love, one spirit, one feeling, do nothing through rivalry or vain conceit. On the contrary, let each of you gently consider the others, as more important than yourselves. Do not seek your own interest, but, rather, that of others. Your attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ had:

Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness, and, in his appearance, found, as a man,

He humbled himself by being obedient, to death, death on the cross.

That is why God exalted him and gave him the name which outshines all names, so, that, at the name of Jesus all knees should bend in heaven, on earth and among the dead, and all tongues proclaim, that Christ Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel: Mt 21:28-32

Jesus went on to say, ”What do you think of this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said to him, ‘Son, go and work today in my vineyard.‘ And the son answered, ‘I don‘t want to.‘ But later he thought better of it and went. Then the father went to his other son and said the same thing to him. This son replied, ‘I will go, sir,‘ but he did not go.

Which of the two did what the father wanted?” They answered, ”The first.” And Jesus said to them, ”Truly, I say to you: the publicans and the prostitutes are ahead of you on the way to the kingdom of heaven. For John came, to show you the way of goodness, and you did not believe him; but the publicans and the prostitutes did. You were witnesses of this, but you neither repented nor believed him.”

REFLECTION:

Read: God desires and honors the conversion of a sinner. His love for the sinful humanity impels God to the act of kenosis: emptying one‘s self and privileges as God to become like one of us. Jesus gives the parable of the two sons who had a conversion of heart – one towards obedience and the other, disobedience.

Reflect: Cultures across the world have myths relating to the story of killing the dragon or some wild beast. Often such dragon/beast is a symbol of one‘s own ego. Getting rid of one‘s self – ego – is a hard act. But it is easier when one is full of love for the other. It happens in genuine human love relationships: e.g., between mother and child, husband and wife. When one loves the other, the will of the other becomes a sweet command and one delights in realizing it. When we love God with all our being, we joyfully let God increase and our self decrease in us.

Pray: Like Mary, we shall pray: ”May it be done unto me according to your will.”

Act: Recite the Lord‘s Prayer.

Daily Reflection

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
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

25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (White)
St. Jerome, priest & doctor / Memorial of Blessed Virgin Mary
 
Jer 31:10, 11-12ab, 13
The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

1^st Reading: Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a

Raising my eyes again, I saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?“ He answered, “I‘m going to measure Jerusalem, to find its width and its length.“ As the angel who spoke to me came forward, another angel met him and said, “Run and tell this to that young man: ‘Jerusalem will remain unwalled because of its multitude of people and livestock.‘ For this is the word of Yahweh: I, myself, will be around her like a wall of fire, and also within her, in glory.“

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for I am about to come, I shall dwell among you,“ says Yahweh.

“On that day, many nations will join Yahweh and be my people, but my dwelling is among you.“

Gospel: Lk 9:43b-45

While all were amazed at everything Jesus did, he said to his disciples, “Listen, and remember what I tell you now: The Son of Man will be betrayed into hands of men.“ But the disciples didn‘t understand this saying; something prevented them from grasping what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

REFLECTION:

The disciples did not understand what Jesus said or meant. But they were afraid to ask him about it.

That was disappointing. If there was someone who could help them understand, it was Jesus himself. Why were they afraid to ask him what he meant? Had they asked him, they would have been better informed and better prepared for his suffering. They would not have immediately engaged in silly behavior like they did. (Luke goes on to say that an argument broke out among them as to who was the greatest.)

Do you have doubts when you stand before God in prayer? Do you find it difficult to understand what God is communicating to you? If you do, ask Him! To whom else shall we go? For God has the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68). Hasn‘t Jesus said that if we asked, the Father would gladly give us the Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13) who makes everything intelligible to us? (Jn 16:13-15). In our confusions and concerns, let us confidently walk up to God and ask Him.

Daily Reflection

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
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