Daily Reflection

July 14, 2017 Friday

14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
St. Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin

Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

1^st Reading: Gen 46:1-7, 28-30

Israel left with all he owned and reached Beersheba where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions that he had during the night, “Jacob! Jacob!“ “Here I am,“ he said. “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I will go with you to Egypt and I will bring you back again and Joseph’s hand will close your eyes.“

Jacob left Beersheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father with their little children and their wives in the wagons that Joseph had sent to fetch him. They also took their flocks and all that they had acquired in Canaan. And so it was that Jacob came to Egypt and with him all his family, his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters, in short all his children he took with him to Egypt.

Jacob sent Judah ahead to let Joseph know he was coming and that he would soon arrive in the land of Goshen.

Joseph got his chariot ready in order to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself, threw his arms around his father and wept on his shoulder for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, for I have seen your face and know you are alive.“

Gospel: Mt 10:16-23

Look, I send you out like sheep among wolves. You must be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, so that you may witness to them and the pagans.

But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father, speaking through you.

Brother will hand over his brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, you will not have passed through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

REFLECTION:

The gospel reading provides us a glimpse of the challenges the early Christians had to face, at a time when it was dangerous to be Christian. The believers had to practice their faith always at the risk of persecution and martyrdom. The systematic harassment was state-sponsored. The religious establishment labelled them rebels. Their families ridiculed and rejected them. In spite of these they remained firm and steadfast. The Lord was faithful to his promise to send them the Holy Spirit to guide and empower them, to give them the words they had to say.

The challenges to Christian discipleship today are quite different but not less demanding or distressing. They come with different names: secularism, relativism, materialism, hedonism and others more. Jesus’ teachings will necessarily disturb minds and hearts of people who consider them threats to their value-system and comfortable lifestyle. This could fuel hatred, persecution and martyrdom. We need not worry. Take courage. God is on our side. But we need to be wise, exercise caution and prudence.

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

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Readings and Reflections
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July 13, 2017 Thursday

14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
St. Henry, king

Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

1^st Reading: Gen 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5

Judah then went forward and said, “My lord, allow your servant to speak. Do not be angry with your servant, although you are equal to Pharaoh himself. The last time you questioned your servants saying: ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ We said to my lord: ‘We have an aged father who had a child in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only one left of his mother’s children. And his father loves him.’ Then you said to us: ‘Bring him down so that I can see him for myself.’

You then told us that if our youngest brother did not come with us, we would not be admitted to your presence. All this we said to our father on returning there. So when he told us to come back and buy a little food, we said: ‘We cannot go down again unless our youngest brother is with us. We shall not be admitted to the lord’s presence unless our brother is with us.’ Then my father said: ‘You know that my wife had two children. One went away from me and has surely been torn to pieces since I have not seen him anymore. If you take this one from me and something happens to him you will bring my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.’

Now Joseph could no longer control his feelings in the presence of all those standing by and he called out, “Leave my presence, every one!” And only his brothers were with him when Joseph made himself known to them. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard and the news spread through Pharaoh’s house.

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” And his brothers could not answer because they were terrified at seeing him. Joseph said, “Come closer,” and they drew nearer. “I am Joseph your brother, yes, it’s me, the one you sold to the Egyptians. Now don’t grieve and reproach yourselves for selling me, because God has sent me before you to save your lives.

Gospel: Mt 10:7-15

Go, and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a traveling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick: workers deserve to be compensated.

When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave.

When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.

And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.

REFLECTION:

In today’s Gospel text, Jesus gives missionary instructions to the apostles. The Church is by nature missionary. Hence they are instructions for all Christians. In the fulfillment of this task the main focus should be the gospel message. The primary aim is to bring people to salvation through the proclamation of the Good News. We have to make sure that our energies are not diverted to anything that might compromise the message such as greed for possessions, lust for power, fame or popularity. To be effective as missionaries we are to remove anything that would weigh us down physically, psychologically or spiritually. We are not to allow opposition and rejection to bother us.

Missionary work does not always require us to go to foreign lands to proclaim the Gospel. For most of us the “mission place“ is the home, the office or the neighborhood. Usually, the most effective means of proclaiming the Gospel is the witness of a lifestyle that is rooted in the teachings of Jesus. Beyond that, we are challenged to share joyfully the gift of faith to our contemporaries with a “new fervor, new language and new methods.“

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

July 12, 2017 Wednesday

14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

1^st Reading: Gen 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a

When the land of Egypt began to suffer from the famine, the people came to Pharaoh for bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph and do as he tells you.” When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians for the famine was indeed severe over the land. As the famine had worsened throughout the whole world, people came from other countries to buy grain from Joseph.

So the sons of Israel were among those going to buy grain, for there was famine in Canaan. It was Joseph, as governor of the land, who sold the grain to all the people. When his brothers arrived they bowed before him, with their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers but did not make himself known and, instead, harshly said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they answered, “We come from the land of Canaan to buy grain for food.”

And so he put them all in prison for three days.

On the third day Joseph said to them, “I will help you to save yourselves, for I am a man who fears God. If you are sincere, let one of your brothers remain prisoner in the house of the guard where you now are, and the rest of you take the grain to save your families from famine. Then you will bring back your youngest brother; so the truth of what you say will be proved and your lives spared.” They did as they were ordered and said among themselves, “Alas! We are guilty because of the way we treated our brother when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we didn’t listen. That is why this trouble has come upon us.”

Reuben answered them, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy. But you did not listen and now we are brought to account for his blood.” Now they did not know that Joseph understood them as there was an interpreter between them. As for Joseph, he withdrew and wept. When he came back, he spoke to them and took Simeon and had him bound and put in prison while they looked on.

Gospel: Mt 10:1-7

Jesus called his Twelve disciples to him, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the Twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon, the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, the man who would betray him.

Jesus sent these Twelve on mission, with the instructions: “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go, instead, to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.

Go, and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near.

REFLECTION:

To guarantee success in the realization of their vision and goals, people in the corporate world are quite careful with their choice of officers, the people who comprise the “core-group“ of their companies. More often than not they are “the best and the brightest“ who make it to the list. Jesus’ choice of disciples who would constitute the pillars of the Church is thus a big puzzle. It is definitely not a group of professionals with impressive resumes. The opposite is true. He chose ordinary citizens to carry out the toughest mission in history–the proclamation of the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Most of them were simple fishermen. One was Simon, a troublemaker. Matthew was perceived by many as a corrupt tax collector. This is one way of saying that evangelization is primarily the work of God. But he allows ordinary people like you and me to participate in this important task. This is his way of acknowledging the value of whatever little contribution we can give to advance the cause of the Kingdom.

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

July 11, 2017 Tuesday

14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (White)
St. Benedict, abbot

Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b & 15
In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.

1^st Reading: Gen 32:23-33

He took them and sent them across the stream and likewise everything he had. And Jacob was left alone.

Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not get the better of Jacob, he struck him in the socket of his hip and dislocated it as he wrestled with him.

The man said, “Let me go, for day is breaking.“ But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you have given me your blessing.“ The man then said, “What is your name?“ “Jacob“ was the reply. He answered, “You will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have been strong-with God as you have been with men and have prevailed.“

Then Jacob asked him, “What is your name?“ He answered, “Why do you ask my name?“ And he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Penuel, saying, “I have seen God face to face and survived.“ The sun rose as he passed through Penuel, limping because of his hip.

That is why to this day the Israelites do not eat the sciatic nerve which is in the hip socket because the sciatic nerve in Jacob’s hip had been touched.

Gospel: Mt 9:32-38

As they were going away, some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb, because he was possessed by a demon. When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.“ But the Pharisees said, “He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons.“

Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom; and he cured every sickness and disease. When he saw the crowds, he was moved with pity; for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest.“

REFLECTION:

“The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few….“

There used to be a common misconception that only priests or religious are called to do the work of evangelization. Lay people who try to actively participate in the life and mission of the Church are playfully referred to as pseudo-priests. Lay preaching is often associated with Protestants and Fundamentalists than with Catholicism. Obviously, we seem to have not really taken to heart what the Second Vatican Council said about evangelization as our common vocation–clergy, religious and laypeople alike. “All share a true equality with regard to the dignity and the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ.“ (Lumen Gentium, 32)

Thus when Jesus asked his disciples to pray that “the master of the harvest send more laborers to gather his harvest,“ the call was not addressed just to a few but to all who are baptized Christians. The laity are expected no longer just to say “amen“ and to “pray, pay and obey.“ Thankfully, lay people have assumed a more active role in the Church as shown in their participation in various ministries in Church as well as in Basic Ecclesial Communities, renewal movements and covenanted communities. The fidelity and success of the church depends on its members-clergy, religious and lay people alike.

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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