Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Red)
St. Maria Goretti, virgin & martyr

Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

1^st Reading: Gen 22:1b-19

Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!“ And he answered, “Here I am.“ Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I shall point out to you.“

Abraham rose early next morning and saddled his donkey and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and set out for the place to which God had directed him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance, and he said to the young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship and then we will come back to you.“

 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. He carried in his hand the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, “Father!“ And Abraham replied, “Yes, my son?“ Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?“ Abraham replied, “God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice.“

They went on, the two of them together, until they came to the place to which God had directed them. When Abraham had built the altar and set the wood on it, he bound his son Isaac and laid him on the wood placed on the altar. He then stretched out his hand to seize the knife and slay his son. But the Angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!“

And he said, “Here I am.“ “Do not lay your hand on the boy; do not harm him, for now I know that you fear God, and you have not held back from me your only son.“

Abraham looked around and saw behind him a ram caught by its horns in a bush. He offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place ‘The Lord will provide.’ And the saying has lasted to this day.

And the angel of Yahweh called from heaven a second time, “By myself I have sworn, it is Yahweh who speaks, because you have done this and not held back your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the lands of their enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your descendants because you have obeyed me.”

So Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba and it was there that Abraham stayed.

Gospel: Mt 9:1-8

Jesus got back into the boat, crossed the lake again, and came to his hometown. Here, they brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.“

Some teachers of the law said within themselves, “This man insults God.“ Jesus was aware of what they were thinking; and said, “Why have you such evil thoughts? Which is easier to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? But that you may know, that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,“ he said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up! Take your stretcher and go home!“ The man got up, and went home.

When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe, and praised God for giving such power to human beings.

REFLECTION:

The Jews believed that there is a direct correlation between sin and bodily illness. This was one of the reasons why in the Old Testament sacrifices were offered as peace offerings intended to heal broken relationships with God. By forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man, Jesus intended to restore him to good health physically and spiritually. As someone observed, for Jesus “forgiveness is the key to healing and faith is the key to forgiveness.“ While we cannot conclude that healthy people are necessarily more saintly, it cannot be denied that a sinful lifestyle affects a person’s general well-being. Sinfulness inevitably disturbs our relationships–with ourselves, with other people, with the world and with God. Sin has a tremendous impact on our self-esteem and self-confidence. When we are in sin a sense of shame and guilt affects our relationship with others and with God.

Our personal experiences tell us that some of the blessings of the Sacrament of Penance include serenity, peace of mind and a more positive disposition in our relationship with others. It is in this sacrament that we experience concretely and deeply the mercy and compassion of God.

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

13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)
St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria, priest

Ps 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13
The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

1^st Reading: Gen 21:5, 8-20a

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. The child grew and on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. Sarah saw the child that Hagar, the Egyptian had borne to Abraham, mocking her son and she said to Abraham, “Send this slave girl and her son away; the child of this slave must not share the inheritance with my son, Isaac.“

This matter distressed Abraham because it concerned his son, but God said to him, “Don’t be worried about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to Sarah and do whatever she says, because the race which is called by your name will spring from Isaac. But from the son of your servant I will also form a nation, for he too is your offspring.“ Abraham rose early next morning and gave bread and a skin bag of water to Hagar. He put the child on her back and sent her away. She went off and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When there was no more water in the skin, she pushed the boy under one of the bushes, and then went and sat down about a hundred yards away, for she thought, “I cannot bear to see my son die.“ But as she sat there, the child began to wail. God heard him and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, “What is the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy crying. Get up, pick the boy up and hold him safely, for I will make him into a great nation.“ God then opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the wilderness and became an expert archer.

Gospel: Mt 8:28-34

When Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, he was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have you come here to torment us before the time?“

Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.“ Jesus ordered them, “Go!“ So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned. The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. The whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

REFLECTION:

Today’s Gospel reading tells the story of how Jesus healed two possessed men at the expense of some pigs. The exorcism is meant to accentuate the power of Jesus in his ministry–that he has authority over the Evil One. This power continues to reside in His Church even today and will remain in her until the end of time. It surely is consoling to know that in spite of the abundant evidence of the destructive forces of evil in our world we are not to give in to fear because the power of God is far greater than the power of evil.

Surprisingly, this demonstration of power in exorcising the demons that possessed the two men did not elicit faith among the people. They were scared of Jesus and saw him as a threat to their local economy. They wanted him to leave their locality because they are angry at the loss of their pigs. Apparently they preferred the demons and swine to the presence of Jesus. They did not recognize what a big blunder in failing to recognize that for Jesus the lives and well-being of two people are more important than a thousand pigs.

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

 13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)
St. Elizabeth of Portugal, married woman, queen

Ps 26:2-3, 9-10, 11-12
O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.

1^st Reading: Gen 19:15-29

At daybreak the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and two daughters who are here, lest they perish because of the sin of the town.“ As he hesitated, the men took him by the hand and his wife and two daughters with him, because Yahweh had mercy on him. And they led him outside the town.

When they were outside, the visitors said to him, “Flee for your life and don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountain lest you perish.“

But Lot replied, “My lords, your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains for fear the disaster will overtake me and I die. See, there is a town near enough for me to flee to and it’s a small one. Let me flee there: it is very small (that is why the town is called Zoar). So I will be safe.“ And the angel answered, “I grant you this favor as well by not destroying the town you speak of. But flee fast for I can do nothing until you arrive there.“

The sun had risen on the earth when Lot reached Zoar. Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur out of the heavens from Yahweh, and he completely destroyed those towns and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the towns and everything that grew there.

Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.

Early next morning Abraham returned to the place where he had stood before Yahweh. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and towards all the land of the valley and he saw smoke rising from the earth like the smoke from a furnace.

So when God destroyed the towns of the plain he remembered Abraham and made Lot escape from the catastrophe while he destroyed the cities where Lot had lived.

Gospel: Mt 8:23-27

Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a fierce storm burst upon the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep.

The disciples woke him up and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!“ But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?“ Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm.

The disciples were astonished. They said, “What kind of man is he? Even the winds and the sea obey him.“

REFLECTION:

The story about Jesus calming the storm at sea reminds us of an important truth. Following Jesus does not guarantee a life that is free from crises or “storms“. Nevertheless, we are assured that Jesus Our Lord is present in the various storms of our lives. More often than not we interpret the crises, difficulties or problems we face as manifestations of God’s disfavor. What the Gospel tells us can give us a lot of comfort: He is neither absent nor uncaring; the Lord Jesus is with us right in the middle of the storm. He will not allow us to perish. He has all the power to calm the storms of our lives if we approach Him in faith, seeking his divine assistance.

The boat is often taken as a symbol of the Church that is tossed about by the waves of crises. But, as he promised to Simon Peter, the Lord Jesus is always with his Church. Even when he seems asleep, he “will never allow the powers of evil to prevail against it“ (Matthew 16:18)

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

FEAST OF ST. THOMAS, APOSTLE
Psalter: Proper / (Red)

Ps 117:1bc, 2
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

1^st Reading: Eph 2:19-22

Now, you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people: you are of the household of God. You are the house, whose foundations are the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In him, the whole structure is joined together, and rises, to be a holy temple, in the Lord. In him, you, too, are being built, to become the spiritual Sanctuary of God.

Gospel: Jn 20:24-29

Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.“ But he replied, “Until I have seen in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.“

Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!“ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe!“

Thomas said, “You are my Lord and my God.“ Jesus replied, “You believe because you see me, don’t you? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.“

REFLECTION:

It is a pity and quite unfair that the nickname “Doubting Thomas“ will forever be stuck with the apostle whose feast we celebrate today. Such a moniker has glossed over his heroism in bringing Christianity to many places as far as Kerala in southern India (according to an old tradition).

In another sense, however, there is also a good side to that. Thomas makes the apostles seem more real, more human like the rest of us. His experience tells us that it is normal to have doubts, once in a while. Thomas was just being honest when he expressed his hesitations and fears. Going back to his experience will certainly help us in moments of uncertainty, in moments when we lose our self-confidence, in moments of suffering, disappointment, failure or even the loss of a loved one. At such moments Thomas is a comfort to us because his experience is an acknowledgment that believing is no easy task. It is a risky venture which demands a lot of courage and trust because we hardly have any evidence that what we believe in is true. We can see ourselves in Thomas the skeptic and cynic.

His personal encounter with the Risen Lord, however, transformed him. His doubts, fears and uncertainties disappeared. We may not encounter the Risen Lord in exactly the same manner that Thomas and the other apostles did but we do encounter him in various ways especially through the sacraments. Unlocking our hearts to him would allow us to receive the gift of faith that would drive away our fears, doubts and uncertainties.

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