(John 13:35)        

​“Reviving the gift that is in you”
 
July 5- July 11, 2021

​General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
Objective of the Week:
To embrace in one’s discipleship what it entails to build the Kingdom of God, carrying this mandate of Jesus to love one another 

John 13:34-35 34 
​And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.
 
What is the invitation to me in this time of prayer? What is my reaction to it?

Mt. 9:35-38 35 
​Jesus went around visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. 36 As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 So he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but there are few workers to gather it in. 38 Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest.”
 
What am I concretely invited by Jesus to show my love towards others?

WEDNESDAY
(St. Edelburg)

2 Cor. 6:1
​In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted.
 
Phil2:3-4 3 
​Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. 4 And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.
What quality of love am I invited to show?

1 John 4:7,11-12
​Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. .  Dear friends, if this is how God loved us, then we should love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in union with us, and his love is made perfect in us.
 
How am I seeing this invitation from God to love one another? What is my response?

Luke 6:32-36 32 
​“If you love only the people who love you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners do that! 34 And if you lend only to those from whom you hope to get it back, why should you receive a blessing? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount! 35 No! Love your enemies and do good to them; lend and expect nothing back. You will then have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.
 
Do I see loving as part of my identity as a child of God and also in my discipleship? How am I invited to love to grow in my discipleship?

1 Cor.14:1-4
​It is love, then, that you should strive for. Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message. 2 Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit. 3 But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort. 4 Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church.
 
In my present situation, what is my response of love to Him? 

​1st Reading:    Amos 7:12-15
Resp. Psalm:  Psalm 85:9-14
2nd Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14
Gospel:        Mark 6:7-13

(Luke 11:2b)
         
“Reviving the gift that is in you”
​
June 28-July 4, 2021

General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
Objective of the Week:
To live like Jesus carrying the perspective of the coming of God’s Kingdom

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
​We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No programme accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.
​
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own

Luke 13:18-19 18 
​Jesus asked, “What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? 19 It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and plants it in his field. The plant grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make their nests in its branches.”
 
What is the Kingdom of God for me? How am I encouraged by Jesus in today’s prayer to collaborate with Him in building the Kingdom of God?

Matthew 13:44-45
​“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.
 
What specifically is He telling me to do for the kingdom to be visible?

2 Cor.12:8-108 
​Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. 9 But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me. 10 I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
 
What does He made me to realize in prayer to live for the kingdom?

Mt. 18:1-4
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, asking, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
2 So Jesus called a child to come and stand in front of them, 3 and said, “I assure you that unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of heaven. 4 The greatest in the Kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself and becomes like this child.

Mt.7:13-14 13 
“Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. 14 But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it.
​
What values of the kingdom that He wants me to live? How am I continuously opting for the values of the Kingdom?

Luke 12:3232 
​“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the Kingdom.
 
How am I invited to live in the perspective of God’s kingdom?

​1st Reading:    Ez 2:2-5
Resp. Psalm:  Ps 123:1-4
2nd Reading: 2 Cor 12:7-10
Gospel:           Mark 6:1-6a

(cf..1 John 4:16)
              
“Reviving the gift that is in you”

June 7-13, 2021

​General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
Objective of the Week:
To enter more into the life of Jesus as he lived the vows for the Kingdom, specifically being chaste and be united in his same response of love.

John 10:17-18  
“The Father loves me because I am willing to give up my life, in order that I may receive it back again.  No one takes my life away from me. I give it up of my own free will. I have the right to give it up, and I have the right to take it back. This is what my Father has commanded me to do.”
 
CCC 2348
​All the baptized are called to chastity. the Christian has "put on Christ," the model for all chastity. All Christ's faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.
 
What does it mean for me to live a chaste life?

Song of Songs 8:6
​Close your heart to every love but mine; hold no one in your arms but me. Love is as powerful as death; passion is as strong as death itself. It bursts into flame  and burns like a raging fire.
 
What am I invited today in prayer? Why?

 2 Cor. 11:2 2 
I am jealous for you, just as God is; you are like a pure virgin whom I have promised in marriage to one man only, Christ himself.
 
CCC 2349
​"People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are married or single." Married people are called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence: There are three forms of the virtue of chastity: the first is that of spouses, the second that of widows, and the third that of virgins. We do not praise any one of them to the exclusion of the others.... This is what makes for the richness of the discipline of the Church.
 
In what way am I invited to live a chaste love? How do I see it?

Song of Songs 2:16,3:1-4
My lover is mine, and I am his.
He feeds his flock among the lilies. Asleep on my bed, night after night I dreamed of the one I love; I was looking for him, but couldn't find him.2 I went wandering through the city, through its streets and alleys. I looked for the one I love.
    I looked, but couldn't find him.
3 The sentries patrolling the city saw me.  I asked them, “Have you found my lover?”4 As soon as I left them, I found him. I held him and wouldn't let him go until I took him to my mother's house, to the room where I was born.
 
Luke 2:49
​He answered them, “Why did you have to look for me? Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?”
 
How do I see my belongingness in Him?

Jeremiah 2:1-3
The Lord told me 2 to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.
“I remember how faithful you were when you were young, how you loved me when we were first married; you followed me through the desert, through a land that had not been planted.3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;   you were my sacred possession. I sent suffering and disaster on everyone who hurt you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
 
Hosea 11:8
​“How can I give you up, Israel? How can I abandon you?
Could I ever destroy you as I did Admah, or treat you as I did Zeboiim? My heart will not let me do it!   My love for you is too strong.
 
What is my experience today of the love of God? Where does it lead me?

1 John 4:16, 18-19
And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them. There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment. 19 We love because God first loved us.
 
IMFaMVD#74.
​Our consecration and following of Christ will lead us to tirelessly seek to discover in detail the will of God - what is good, pleasing, and perfect, and to fulfill it with all fidelity. Like Jesus and Mary, our highest aspiration will be to pronounce with our lives a sincere and total yes to the project of God.
 
What is my response before this love of God? How the life of Jesus and Mary aspire me?

​1st Reading:    Ez 17:22-24
Resp. Psalm:  Ps 92:2-3,13-16
2nd Reading: 2 Cor 5:6-10
Gospel:           Mark 4:26-34

“Reviving the gift that is in you”
 
May 17-23, 2021

General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
Objective of the Week:
To prepare oneself in receiving the Holy Spirit as the gift of the Father to us, and to be filled by Him that He can use us as instruments of His love

John 15:26  
“The Helper will come—the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God and who comes from the Father. I will send him to you from the Father, and he will speak about me.
 
Pope St. John Paul II Apostolic Letter
Dies Domini #28
The outpouring of the Spirit was the great gift of the Risen Lord to his disciples on Easter Sunday. It was again Sunday when, fifty days after the Resurrection, the Spirit descended in power, as "a mighty wind" and "fire" (Acts 2:2-3), upon the Apostles gathered with Mary. Pentecost is not only the founding event of the Church, but is also the mystery which for ever gives life to the Church.(34) Such an event has its own powerful liturgical moment in the annual celebration which concludes "the great Sunday",(35) but it also remains a part of the deep meaning of every Sunday, because of its intimate bond with the Paschal Mystery. The "weekly Easter" thus becomes, in a sense, the "weekly Pentecost", when Christians relive the Apostles' joyful encounter with the Risen Lord and receive the life-giving breath of his Spirit.
 
What does it bring to me God’s promise? Where does it lead me?

John 16:7
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
 
John 14:26 
​But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
 
How do I take what Jesus is telling me today in prayer?

John 15:26  16 
​You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.
 
What am I invited to live especially in  moments I sense myself walking through fear and uncertainty?

John 16:15
All that my Father has is mine; that is why I said that the Spirit will take what I give him and tell it to you.
 
Ezekiel 36:27-28 27 
​I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
 
How do I take what the Spirit is telling me?

John 16:12-13
I have much more to tell you, but now it would be too much for you to bear. 13 When, however, the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak of what he hears and will tell you of things to come.

Romans 8:12-15 12 
So then, my friends, we have an obligation, but it is not to live as our human nature wants us to. 13 For if you live according to your human nature, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live. 14 Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children. 15 For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, “Father! my Father!”
​
What is the truth I received today in prayer? How am I invited to live it?

John 16:23-28
On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”

John 20:21-22 21 
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 
​
How do I see the love of God behind the actions He’s doing in our daily life? What does it bring to me?

(John 8:16b)
         
“Reviving the gift that is in you”
 
May 3-9, 2021

General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
​
Objective of the Week:
To go further in the relationship that Jesus builds with the Father 

Jeremiah 1:4-8  
The Lord said to me, 5 “I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.”6 I answered, “Sovereign Lord, I don't know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”9 Then the Lord reached out, touched my lips, and said to me, “Listen, I am giving you the words you must speak. 10 Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
​
How do I rely more on the one who called me?

Exodus 33:12-17 
Moses said to the Lord, “It is true that you have told me to lead these people to that land, but you did not tell me whom you would send with me. You have said that you know me well and are pleased with me. 13 Now if you are, tell me your plans, so that I may serve you and continue to please you. Remember also that you have chosen this nation to be your own.”
14 The Lord said, “I will go with you, and I will give you victory.”
15 Moses replied, “If you do not go with us, don't make us leave this place. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with your people and with me if you do not go with us? Your presence with us will distinguish us from any other people on earth.”
17 The Lord said to Moses, “I will do just as you have asked, because I know you very well and I am pleased with you.”
​
How am I aware that the one who called me is journeying with me?

John 8:29 
​And he who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.”
 
What is my experience of doing what pleases the Father?

John 16:32
​The time is coming, and is already here, when all of you will be scattered, each of you to your own home, and I will be left all alone. But I am not really alone, because the Father is with me.
 
What does it bring to me certain experiences in life? Does it lead me to be identified with Jesus’ attitude in facing them?

John 8:15-16
You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me.
 
What am I invited by Jesus today in prayer?

John 15:4  
Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me.
​
How do I see the importance of remaining in union with the Father as Jesus did?

​1st Reading:    Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48
Resp. Psalm:  Psalm 98:1-4
2nd Reading: 1 John 4:7-10
Gospel:        John 15:9-17

(John 10:36)
 
“Reviving the gift that is in you”
 
April 26-May 2, 2021

General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
​
Objective of the Week:
To be able to respond with the help of St. Joseph in doing the will of the Father in His call to serve through our specific charism 

IMVDFa#105.
In the Church, all Christians, through Baptism, are called to an adherence to the program of life that Jesus proposes. Such adhesion only becomes concrete through the participation and committed belonging in a community of the faithful. The members of the VDMFa concretize our response to the call of God, our belonging to the Church, our listening, acceptance and assimilation of the Gospel through the living out, announcement and expression of the "Verbum Dei" charism in community.
 
Isaiah 43:1-5
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.  Because you are precious in my sight,
 and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you..

What is my attitude before this calling of God to me? How do I take it?

 1 Sam 16:7  
​But the Lord said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.”
 
How do I recognize His choice of me?

1 Cor.1:27
God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful.
 
“In the Gospels, St. Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.”                        
​(Pope Francis)
 
How do I see myself before this choice of God?

IMVDFa#104.
​The vocation in the VDMFa is born from the response of each one to the personal call of God to be “Verbum Dei,” for it is He who calls us and gathers us in one and the same missionary family.
 
Pope’s Message from the 58th World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2021
Amid all these upheavals, he (St. Joseph) found the courage to follow God’s will. So too in a vocation: God’s call always urges us to take a first step, to give ourselves, to press forward. There can be no faith without risk. Only by abandoning ourselves confidently to grace, setting aside our own programmes and comforts, can we truly say “yes” to God. And every “yes” bears fruit because it becomes part of a larger design, of which we glimpse only details, but which the divine Artist knows and carries out, making of every life a masterpiece. In this regard, Saint Joseph is an outstanding example of acceptance of God’s plans. Yet his was an active acceptance: never reluctant or resigned. Joseph was “certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive” (Patris Corde, 4).
 
Am I willing to give my generous response as well like those who have gone ahead of me? What stops me from taking a step?

Jonah 1:1-12,17
​One day the Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. 2 He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are.” 3 Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord. He went to Joppa, where he found a ship about to go to Spain. He paid his fare and went aboard with the crew to sail to Spain, where he would be away from the Lord.4 But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up. 5 The sailors were terrified and cried out for help, each one to his own god. Then, in order to lessen the danger, they threw the cargo overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone below and was lying in the ship's hold, sound asleep.6 The captain found him there and said to him, “What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.”7 The sailors said to each other, “Let's draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger.” They did so, and Jonah's name was drawn. 8 So they said to him, “Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?”9 “I am a Hebrew,” Jonah answered. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea.” 10 Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the Lord. The sailors were terrified, and said to him, “That was an awful thing to do!”11 The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, “What should we do to you to stop the storm?”12 Jonah answered, “Throw me into the sea, and it will calm down. I know it is my fault that you are caught in this violent storm.”..15 Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and it calmed down at once. 16 This made the sailors so afraid of the Lord that they offered a sacrifice and promised to serve him.17 At the Lord's command a large fish swallowed Jonah, and he was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
 
Where is God further calling me? Am I willing to obey Him?

Matthew 1:19-20,24   
​Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately. 20 While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived…24 So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to.
 
How am I invited to be like St. Joseph in his response to God?

​1st Reading:    Acts 9:26-31
Resp. Psalm:  Psalm 22:26-32
2nd Reading: 1 John 3:18-24
Gospel:        John 15:1-8

“Reviving the gift that is in you”

April 19-25, 2021

​General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
 
Objective of the Week: To see the importance of transmitting to others what we have seen and heard in prayer

1 John 1:2-4
2 When this life became visible, we saw it; so we speak of it and tell you about the eternal life which was with the Father and was made known to us. 3 What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We write this in order that our joy may be complete.
 
What is it that I can share with the people God gave me along my journey?

John 3:31-34
​He who comes from above is greater than all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly matters, but he who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He tells what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his message. 33 But whoever accepts his message confirms by this that God is truthful. 34 The one whom God has sent speaks God's words, because God gives him the fullness of his Spirit.
 
What is it that I have also seen and heard that I want to share to others?

Psalm 66:5-9
​Come and see what God has done, his wonderful acts among people.6 He changed the sea into dry land; our ancestors crossed the river on foot. There we rejoiced because of what he did.7 He rules forever by his might and keeps his eyes on the nations.  Let no rebels rise against him. 8 Praise our God, all nations; let your praise be heard.9 He has kept us alive and has not allowed us to fall.
 
What wonderful acts I have seen that God has been doing with His people? How can I make others realize about it?

Acts 5:27-28
​They brought the apostles in, made them stand before the Council, and the High Priest questioned them. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in the name of this man,” he said; “but see what you have done! You have spread your teaching all over Jerusalem, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”
 
Am I willing to face the consequence in having proclaim Him to others? Do I see the importance of doing so?

Luke 8:9-10  9 
Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10 He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’
 
Luke 10:23-24 23 
​Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
 
Do I value what Jesus made me to realized in prayer? What am I invited to do in the lights I received in prayer?

Acts 26:15-18 15 
​‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. And the Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute. 16 But get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant. You are to tell others what you have seen of me today and what I will show you in the future. 17 I will rescue you from the people of Israel and from the Gentiles to whom I will send you. 18 You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.’
 
How do I take with responsibility what He has entrusted to me? How am I committing myself in participating in His mission?
 
How can Jesus’ living presence be a more permanent reality in my life?

​1st Reading:    Acts 4:8-12
Resp. Psalm: 
Psalm 118:1,8-9,21-23,26,28-29
2nd Reading: 1 John 3:1-2
Gospel:           John 10:11-18

(Luke 24:48)
         
“Reviving the gift that is in you”
 
April 12-18, 2021

General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
​
Objective of the Week:
As believers of the Risen Lord, it’s to give witness with our life what we have witnessed of Him 

Luke 24:44-48 44 
Then he said to them, “These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.”45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, 47 and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.

CCC 642  
Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. the faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles.
 
In what am I invited to give witness of the Risen Lord?​

John 6:28-29
So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?”29 Jesus answered, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.”
 
‘The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake. (Basil Hume)
​
Do I sense that Jesus is calling me to have more trust in Him? What is He asking me?

John 6:37-39
​Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me, 38 because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day.
 
Like Jesus, how am I embracing with love and responsibility what is asked from me to take care?

1 John 1:1
​We write to you about the
Word of life, which has existed from the very beginning. We have heard it, and we have seen it with our eyes; yes, we have seen it, and our hands have touched it. 
 
How willing am I in continuing to allow Jesus to work through me?

“A Christian who doesn’t give witness is unfathomable ...We are not a religion of ideas, of pure theology, of beautiful things and commandments…No, we are a people who follow Jesus Christ and give witness – that is, want to give witness to Jesus Christ – and this witness sometimes ends up giving one’s life.   (Pope Francis) 
 
 Acts 5:29-32 ` 29 
​Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not men. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross. 31 God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven. 32 We are witnesses to these things—we and the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him.”                                    
 
How can I continue bearing witness to Jesus in the midst of the different challenges we are facing? 

1 Cor 15:1-5
And now I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm. 2 That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it—unless it was for nothing that you believed.3 I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; 4 that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; 5 that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles.
​
What is my experience of Christ’ resurrection? Am I eager to share it to others especially those who may still oppose to this Good News?

​1st Reading:    Acts 3:13-15,17-19
Resp. Psalm:  Psalm 4:2,4,7-9
2nd Reading: 1 John 2:1-5
Gospel:        Luke 24:35-48

(cf. 1 Tim 2:3)

“Reviving the gift that is in you”
​
April 5-11, 2021

​General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
Objective of the Week:
To be able to collaborate with God in His desire by continuously participating in His mission, giving witness of the Risen Lord in our daily life.

Acts 2:14,22-24, 29-33
​Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. 22 “Listen to these words, fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you. 23 In accordance with his own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; and you killed him by letting sinful men crucify him. 24 But God raised him from death, setting him free from its power, because it was impossible that death should hold him prisoner…My brothers, I must speak to you plainly about our famous ancestor King David. 30 He was a prophet, and he knew what God had promised him: God had made a vow that he would make one of David's descendants a king, just as David was. 31 David saw what God was going to do in the future, and so he spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah when he said, ‘He was not abandoned in the world of the dead; his body did not rot in the grave.’32 God has raised this very Jesus from death, and we are all witnesses to this fact. 33 He has been raised to the right side of God, his Father, and has received from him the Holy Spirit, as he had promised. What you now see and hear is his gift that he has poured out on us.
 
How am I convinced of the mission that the Risen
Christ has for me? Am I aware of the need to give witness of Him today?

John 20:16-18 16 
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”She turned toward him and said in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (This means “Teacher.”)17 “Do not hold on to me,” Jesus told her, “because I have not yet gone back up to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am returning to him who is my Father and their Father, my God and their God.”18 So Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and related to them what he had told her.

IMFaMVD # 28.
​Jesus calls us to follow him with the specific dynamism of his very same life and mission. This means to be with Him until our entire life is united to God, to understand and love what we learn and experience from Him to announce it to others. Our announcement carries the missionary intentionality that persons to whom we teach will teach others creating, among all, Christian communities, ferment of the Gospel, in the midst of the world.
 
Am I ready to go and proclaim to others that Jesus is alive? What is it that He is inviting me to proclaim with my life?

Luke 24:25-29 25 
​Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! 26 Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?” 27 And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.28 As they came near the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther; 29 but they held him back, saying, “Stay with us; the day is almost over and it is getting dark.” So he went in to stay with them. 
 
In what way am I invited to keep my faith alive especially during this time?

John 21:1-8
​After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together. 3 Simon Peter said to the others, “I am going fishing.” “We will come with you,” they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing. 4 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water's edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then he asked them, “Young men, haven't you caught anything?”“Not a thing,” they answered.6 He said to them, “Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some.” So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish.7 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away. 
 
In what path am I invited today by the Risen Lord to take and give witness to?

Acts 10: 34-43 4 
​Peter began to speak: “I now realize that it is true that God treats everyone on the same basis. 35 Those who fear him and do what is right are acceptable to him, no matter what race they belong to. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know of the great event that took place throughout the land of Israel, beginning in Galilee after John preached his message of baptism. 38 You know about Jesus of Nazareth and how God poured out on him the Holy Spirit and power. He went everywhere, doing good and healing all who were under the power of the Devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses of everything that he did in the land of Israel and in Jerusalem. Then they put him to death by nailing him to a cross. 40 But God raised him from death three days later and caused him to appear, 41 not to everyone, but only to the witnesses that God had already chosen, that is, to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from death. 42 And he commanded us to preach the gospel to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God has appointed judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets spoke about him, saying that all who believe in him will have their sins forgiven through the power of his name.
 
How can I share the peace and joy of the Risen Lord to others?

Acts 4:13-14,18-20 13 
​The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education. They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus. 14 But there was nothing that they could say, because they saw the man who had been healed standing there with Peter and John. . 18 So they called them back in and told them that under no condition were they to speak or to teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “You yourselves judge which is right in God's sight—to obey you or to obey God. 20 For we cannot stop speaking of what we ourselves have seen and heard.” 
 
Where am I invited by Jesus to live the mission?

​1st Reading:     Acts 4:32-35
Resp. Psalm:    Psalm 118:2-4,13-15,22-24
2nd Reading:  1 John 5:1-6
Gospel:         John 20:19-31

(Isaiah 52:13)

“Reviving the gift that is in you”
​
March 29-April 4, 2021

General Objective:
To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities.
 
 
Objective of the Week:
To accompany Jesus in His paschal mystery, learning from Him to be an active Christian who choose to follow the path of Jesus, trusting the will of the Father.

Isaiah 42: 1-4
The Lord says,
“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen— the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased. I have filled him with my Spirit, and he will bring justice to every nation.2 He will not shout or raise his voice or make loud speeches in the streets.3 He will not break off a bent reed nor put out a flickering lamp. He will bring lasting justice to all.4 He will not lose hope or courage; he will establish justice on the earth. Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching.”​

Today, how can I be a “servant”? In what way am I invited to serve?

Isaiah 49:1-3
​Listen to me, distant nations, you people who live far away!
Before I was born, the Lord chose me
and appointed me to be his servant.
2 He made my words as sharp as a sword.
With his own hand he protected me.
He made me like an arrow, sharp and ready for use.3 He said to me, “Israel, you are my servant; because of you, people will praise me.”
 
How can I express my love for Jesus today?

Isaiah 50:4-5
​The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say, so that I can strengthen the weary. Every morning he makes me eager to hear what he is going to teach me.5 The Lord has given me understanding, and I have not rebelled or turned away from him.
 
What do I see that stops me to be an agent of evangelization or a disciple of Jesus?

John 13:1-5
​Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 
 
What does it provoked in me as I contemplate on this self-giving of Jesus? What is His invitation to me?

Isaiah 52:13, 53:2-10
 
The Lord says,
“My servant will succeed in his task;
he will be highly honored. It was the will of the Lord that his servant grow like a plant taking root in dry ground. He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing that would draw us to him.
3 We despised him and rejected him;
he endured suffering and pain. No one would even look at him— we ignored him as if he were nothing.4 “But he endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent by God.5 But because of our sins he was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received.6  All of us were like sheep that were lost,  each of us going his own way. But the Lord made the punishment fall on him, the punishment all of us deserved.7 “He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; he never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, he never said a word.8 He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die, and no one cared about his fate. He was put to death for the sins of our people.9 He was placed in a grave with those who are evil, he was buried with the rich, even though he had never committed a crime or ever told a lie.”
10 The Lord says,
“It was my will that he should suffer;
his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness. And so he will see his descendants; he will live a long life, and through him my purpose will succeed.
 
Do I dare to follow Jesus even in the face of opposition? Am I firm enough to stand up for my faith?

Isaiah 42:6-9
​“I, the Lord, have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth. Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples; through you I will bring light to the nations.7 You will open the eyes of the blind and set free those who sit in dark prisons.8 “I alone am the Lord your God. No other god may share my glory; I will not let idols share my praise. 9 The things I predicted have now come true. Now I will tell you of new things even before they begin to happen.”
 
How can I put my faith into action today?