Daily Reflection

June 12, 2017 Monday

10TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)

Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

1^st Reading: 2 Cor 1:1-7

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the church of God in Corinth, and to all the saints in the whole of Achaia. May you receive grace and peace from God, our Father, and from Christ Jesus, the Lord.

Blessed be God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord, the all-merciful Father, and the God of all comfort! He encourages us in all our trials, so that we may also encourage those in any trial, with the same comfort that we receive from God.

For whenever the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, a great comfort also overflows. So, if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we receive comfort it is also for you. You may experience the same comfort when you come to endure the same sufferings we endure. Our hope for you is most firm; just as you share in our sufferings, so shall you also share in our consolation.

Gospel: Mt 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them:
Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted.
Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land.
Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they shall be satisfied.
Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.
Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God.
Fortunate are those who work for peace;
they shall be called children of God.
Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the
cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. For that is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

REFLECTION:

Fortune and misfortune are but matters of perception. Both contain the other. It is rather the meaning attached to them that is more important. And so what may patently seem a misfortune for a world that puts the self as the center becomes a source of blessedness for those who have no choice but to bear the hardships the world imposes upon them because they are the weak, the voiceless and those without power to defend their rights. When everything else fail and there is no one to turn to, trust in God to right the patently wrong. First, He will make it a source of blessing, of a capacity for patient endurance that does not quell the spirit of the person. Rather a resiliency and quiet strength is borne. Secondly, these people purified by their experience will begin to overrun the oppressive structure of society bringing with them the learnings acquired from the experience. Lastly, there will be a new order that comes not from violent revolution but from the transformation that took place in the hearts and minds of God’s own little ones.

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.

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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 11, 2017 Sunday

SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY
Psalter: Proper / (White)

Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
Glory and praise for ever!

1^st Reading: Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9

So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first and, with the two tablets of stone in his hands, Moses went up Mount Sinai in the early morning, as Yahweh has commanded.

And Yahweh came down in a cloud and stood there with him, and Moses called on the name of Yahweh.

Then Yahweh passed in front of him and cried out, “Yahweh, Yahweh is a God full of pity and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in truth and loving kindness.

Moses hastened to bow down to the ground and worshiped. He then said, “If you really look kindly on me, my Lord, please come and walk in our midst and even though we are a stiff necked people, pardon our wickedness and our sin and make us yours.”

2^nd Reading: 2 Cor 13:11-13

Finally, brothers and sisters, be happy, strive to be perfect, have courage, be of one mind and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

The grace of Christ Jesus the Lord, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Gospel: Jn 3:16-18

Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

REFLECTION:

Read: God reveals Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Pauline greeting invokes the Trinitarian essence of God. The gospel proclaims the inexhaustible depths of God’s love that gives away the Son to redeem humanity.

Reflect: The following characteristics of God are revealed through the readings of the day: God = fullness of mercy, abounds in truth and loving kindness; God of love and peace; giver of eternal life and salvation. And if we are created in the image and likeness of this God, how does our life reflect the above characteristics of God?

Pray: Pray for the daily gift of grace, love, and fellowship of the Trinitarian God in your life.

Act: Spend at least 20 minutes in Holy Adoration.

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 10, 2017 Saturday

9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)
Memorial Blessed Virgin Mary

Tb 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

1^st Reading: Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20

When the wedding feast was over, Tobit called Tobias, his son, and said to him, “Be sure you give the wages to the man who accompanied you, and we should add something extra.”

Then Tobias called the angel and said to him, “Please take half of all that you have brought.” The angel took Tobit and Tobias to one side and said to them,

“Bless God, return thanks to him, proclaim his glory and render him thanks before all the living for all he has done for you. It is good to praise God and to exalt his name, by making known in a worthy manner the story of God’s deeds. Do not be slow in giving him thanks. It is good to hide the secrets of kings but to make known publicly the works of God. Do the works of God. Do good, and evil will not harm you. It is a good thing to accompany prayer with fasting, almsgiving and justice. It is better to do a little with honor than much with injustice. It is better to give alms than to treasure up gold. Almsgiving preserves from death; it purifies from all sin. Those people who give alms and act justly will have a long life, but sinners only harm themselves.

I will hide nothing from you. Yes, I have said that it is good to keep the secrets of kings but to make known publicly the glorious works of God. Tobit, when you and your daughter-in-law Sara prayed, I kept the remembrance of your prayer before the Holy One; when you, Tobit, buried the dead, I was with you in the same way; and when you did not hesitate to rise up and leave your meal in order to hide the dead man, your good deed did not go unnoticed because I was with you.

Well, God sent me to cure you and also to cure Sara, your daughter-in-law. I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of holy people and who stand before the glory of God.” Now bless and give thanks to God, because I am returning to the One who sent me. Write down in a book all that has happened.”

Gospel: Mk 12:38-44

As Jesus was teaching, he also said to them, “Beware of those teachers of the law, who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace; and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues; and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods, while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”

Jesus sat down opposite the temple treasury, and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings. But a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.

Then, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty; but she gave from her poverty, and put in everything she had, her very living.”

REFLECTION:

The battle lines are slowly being drawn. There is Jesus and His followers on the one side, and the Pharisees and the teachers of the law on the other. It is bound to happen. Tension after tension escalated between them whenever Jesus does His public ministry. And so swipes are made of each other. Jesus criticized the favorite past time of the teachers of the law, that is, to play pious all holy. Jesus seeks to tear down their pretensions. For there is no greater spiritual danger than that coming from someone convinced of his or her contrived holiness. And so Jesus directs the gaze of His listeners to the nobility and greatness of small things done with a sincere heart. The offering of the poor widow that is small in worth but big in generosity trumped all the big offerings of the rich who gave from surplus in contrast to her generosity amidst want. This is where true greatness lie. It is unpretentious and not conscious of itself.

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 9, 2017 Friday

9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 4 / (Green/White)
St. Ephrem of Syria, deacon & doctor

Ps 146:1b-2, 6c-7, 8-9a, 9bc-10
Praise the Lord, my soul!

1^st Reading: Tb 11:5-17

Now Anna was sitting there, scanning the road along which her son should return. She saw Tobias and Raphael coming in the distance and said to the father of Tobias, “Your son is coming with the man who accompanied him.” While Tobias and Raphael were still going along the road, Raphael said to Tobias, “I am sure that your father will regain his sight. Rub his eyes with the fish gall and when he feels his eyes itching, he will rub them and the film will come away like scales from his eyes. He will regain his sight and see the light.”

Anna ran to meet Tobias and threw her arms around his neck saying, “At last I have seen you again, my child. Now I can die!” And both of them began to cry. Tobit also got up and, stumbling, arrived at the door of the courtyard. Tobias ran to him with the fish gall in his hand. He breathed on his father’s eyes, embraced him and said, “Father, have confidence!” Then he spread the fish gall on Tobit’s eyes. Tobias waited. When his eyes began to itch, Tobit rubbed them and with both hands scaled off the film from the corners of his eyes. When Tobit saw his son he threw his arms around Tobias’ neck and began to weep. He said, “Blessed be you, O God. Blessed be your Name forever. Blessed be your holy angels. You have punished me, but you have taken pity on me, and now I can see my son, Tobias.” Tobias was very happy. After entering the house he told his father about the important things that had happened in Media. He told his father about the successful outcome of his journey, how he got the money, and how he married Sara, daughter of Ragouel, who just then was approaching the gates of Nineveh.

Tobit, happy and praising God, went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gates of Nineveh. All those who saw him, walking alone and unaided, were amazed that he could see. Tobit proclaimed to them that God had taken pity on him and cured him. Then he went to Sara and blessed her saying, “Welcome, daughter! May God be blessed for having brought you to us and may your father and mother also be blessed.”

It was a day of great rejoicing for all Tobit’s relatives who lived in Nineveh.

Gospel: Mk 12:35-37

As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “The teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the Son of David. How can that be? For David, himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared: The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet!’ If David, himself, calls him Lord, in what way can he be his Son?”

Many people came to Jesus, and listened to him gladly.

REFLECTION:

Jesus is being fought by the established religious authority all along the way. They argue with Him on every point and made His every teaching activity a contest of wits and wills. A lesser person would have given up, abandon his dreams and choose a less troublesome life. But not Jesus who works not only for a job but for a mission. He collided with the religious authorities head on, earning their ire at the same moment. On a positive note, the people who were once kept in the dark by the same religious authorities because they themselves have kept their heart blind from what God wants, are now seeing the light. We see an inverse movement between these two audiences of the Lord. As the teachers of the law become stuck in the mire of their ignorance, the people are more and more gaining enlightenment.

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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