The Sunday after the Trinity Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the “Corpus Christi.” The words Corpus Christi mean “Body of Christ” and, for that reason, this liturgical feast is also known as the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. We celebrate the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As the Church teaches, the Eucharist is the “source and summit of Christian life” (Lumen Gentium,11; Catechism of Catholic Church, 1324).

In the Catholic Church we have the tradition of having processions through the streets after the celebration of the Eucharist. We desire to give public witness to the faith of the Christian people and to manifest our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. But the celebration of Corpus Christi is impoverished if we limit ourselves to the adoration or to the procession of the Blessed Sacrament after the Mass. We need to understand the Eucharist in the context of Jesus’ life especially of his suffering and death and what this means to our lives.

In the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper (Mk 14:12-16,22-26), Jesus says: “Take it, this is my body” and “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many”. In the Bible, “body” and “blood” signify and indicate the very life of the person, his very self. Therefore, the bread and wine at the Last Supper are no other than Jesus, He whose body will be broken by suffering and death on Calvary, and whose blood will be poured out in death for the salvation of all.
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The Holy Eucharist is also a source of spirituality in the Verbum Dei. “In the sacrifice and sacrament of the Eucharist, we are given the divine-human love of our God. And we renovate in a graphic and palpable way the real presence of the Trinity in us.” (Statutes VDMF,221) 

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Sir, they said, always give us this bread.
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”
(John 6:32-35)
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Pope Francis says: “The Feast of Corpus Christi is a time for Christians to remember that God will meet their basic needs to eat and to be filled with the joy and amazement of receiving loving nourishment from Jesus Christ.

In the Eucharist, everyone can experience this loving and concrete attention of the Lord. Those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ with faith not only eat, but are satisfied. To eat and to be satisfied: These are two basic necessities that are satisfied in the Eucharist.”
(Feast of Corpus Christi 2022).

Do I present to Him my hunger and thirst with sincerity and purity of heart? Is Jesus’ loving attention and words satisfying my basic needs for love?

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
(Jn 6: 53- 58)

“The person of Christ, Sacrament of the Father, his flesh and blood made bread and wine, is the nutrition with which Jesus has wanted to help the divine life of all mankind, until the end of time.”
(Statutes VDMF, 222)

We are nourished spiritually every time we are fed by Jesus’ love. How do I prepare myself before going to the Eucharist? Do I appreciate the self-giving of Jesus in the Eucharist? Am I attentive to the proclamation of the Word of God, to His self-giving for all? Do I go out from the Eucharist with a concrete commitment for the day?

WEDNESDAY (MAY 29)
John 4: 10; John 10:10​

If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.”
(John 4:10)
 
“I have come in order that you might have life- life in its fullness.”
​(John 10:10)
 
Pope Francis says: “Sometimes there is the risk of confining the Eucharist to a vague, distant dimension, perhaps bright and perfumed with incense, but rather distant from the straits of everyday life. The Lord takes all our needs to heart, beginning with the most basic.

We certainly need to nourish ourselves, but we also need to be satisfied, to know that the nourishment is given to us out of love. In the Body and Blood of Christ, we find his presence, his life given for each of us. He not only gives us help to go forward, but he gives us himself — he makes himself our traveling companion, he enters into our affairs, he visits us when we are lonely, giving us back a sense of enthusiasm.

We are satisfied when the Lord gives meaning to our life, our obscurities, our doubts; he sees the meaning, and this meaning that the Lord gives satisfies us. Everyone is looking for the presence of the Lord, because in the warmth of his presence, our lives change.”
(Feast of Corpus Christi 2022)
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 In front of the Blessed Sacrament we can pray: “Lord, give me that daily bread to go forward. Lord, satisfy me with your presence! 

The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

Pope Francis says: “Jesus Christ’s self-giving presence is key to understanding the Eucharist. The Lord present in the Eucharist is calling us to be citizens of heaven, but at the same time he takes into account the journey we have to face here on earth. If I have hardly any breath in my sack, he knows and takes care of it himself.

The miracle of the loaves and fishes does not happen in a spectacular way, but almost secretly, the bread increases as it passes from hand to hand. And as the crowd eats, they realize that Jesus is taking care of everything.

“We can evaluate our Eucharistic Adoration when we take care of our neighbor like Jesus does. There is hunger for food around us, but also for companionship; there is hunger for consolation, friendship, good humor; there is hunger for attention, there is hunger to be evangelized. We find this in the Eucharistic Bread — the attention of Christ to our needs and the invitation to do the same toward those who are beside us. We need to eat and feed others.”
(Feast of Corpus Christi 2022)
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Underline the sentences that struck you more. In what way the prayer and reflection during this week are helping me to connect my love for the Trinity and my love for those around me?

Today we´ll focus our reflection on the Statutes of the Verbum Dei. Through it we can grasp more why the Holy Eucharist is a source of spirituality for those who partake in the Verbum Dei's charism and mission.
 
“The Sacrament is the forge where, in intimate dialogue that transforms us, the genuine personality of the disciples of Christ is forged. It is the Sacrament of the real presence of Christ among us and in us, who unceasingly elaborates the essence and the bond of vital communion of all the Fraternity.”
(Statutes VDMF 227)
 
“We will make the effort so that our intimacy with Jesus and reciprocal hope with him may be long-lasting. We would be going only half way and our dialogue and love would be very mediocre and infantile if we limited ourselves to admiring the Sacrament and the greatness of the love of Jesus, and if we stayed contemplating and admiring. That would be far from the ideal for which Jesus aspires in us in his Eucharistic Sacrifice and in his permanency in the Tabernacles. More than worshipers and admirers, Jesus seeks decided imitators.”
(Statutes VDMF 224)
 
“Our attendance to the Eucharistic Sacrifice should not be as mere spectators. We receive the constant call to be participants in the same offering and consecration, to become the same Eucharistic Love that we receive.”
(Statutes VDMF 225)
 
“Along with the bread and wine, the disciples of Jesus can be consecrated. This can be achieved by uniting in the pure and perfect love of the Lord. Happy with Jesus and living like him, one can live through similar challenges and approach a similar destination. One can surrender one's flesh and blood in a similar way. With Christ, and following Him, our life will follow the steps of the Lamb to cure the sins of the world.”
​(Statutes VDMF 229)
 
As a Verbum Dei disciple, do I participate in the Eucharist with awareness that my identity and mission is forged by the Eucharistic love of Jesus? Do I really appreciate what Jesus is doing in me as His disciple? How can I describe the growth in my discipleship?

One week after Pentecost, we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.

Creation and redemption have their origin in the Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit- one God in three Persons. The Trinity is the origin of humanity´s salvation, each divine Person has a role in the common mission.

Pope Francis writes that our confession of faith asks us “to believe in a Father who loves all men and women with an infinite love… To believe that the Son of God assumed our human flesh… that Jesus shed his blood for us that removes any doubt about the boundless love…to believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in everyone… The very mystery of the Trinity reminds us that we have been created in the image of that divine communion, and so we cannot achieve fulfilment or salvation purely by our own efforts” (Evangelii Gaudium, 178)

In Verbum Dei, the Holy Trinity is a source of our spirituality. “The sources of the Verbum Dei Spirituality, from which we drink and in which we consolidate our self-giving, are: the indwelling of the Trinity in us, the Holy Eucharist, the crucified Christ—the Mystical Body of Christ—and Mary. These sources, objects of our special devotion, are based on the Sacred Scriptures, Tradition and Magisterium of the Church. (Constitutions VDMF, 68)
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“The Three Divine Persons, that give us their own existence and infinite happiness, work together in the creation, redemption and sanctification of mankind” (Statutes VDMF, 213)

MONDAY (20)
Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:6​

Those led by the Spirit are sons and daughters of God. We can address ourselves to our Father God because the Spirit opens our eyes of faith to acknowledge Him as our Creator and Father. It´s the Holy Spirit who internally leads and guides us to enter into dialogue with the Father and with Jesus.

Believe that God´s love can satisfy your deeper thirst! He´s a provider of all our needs because we´re His sons and daughters. His loving presence makes us free from fears and His embrace is the source of security during adversities and uncertainties.

Do I experience security and freedom in His love? Teach us, Holy Spirit, to dwell in His love.

“One will not benefit from the Love of the Trinity unless one tries to drink from that inexhaustible spring of infinite love of God that enters in us, in a gratuitous way. They come on their own initiative, and long for us to invite them in. They long to eat with us, and they invite us to a dinner without end”
​(Statutes VDMF, 217)

“The Verbum Dei spirituality is deeply rooted in the personal experience of God's love that leads us to love as He loved us; it is centered in Christ, the one sent by the Father, and is a way of identification with Him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, where our way of living, praying, and carrying out the mission is determined”
(Identity and Mission of the Verbum Dei Missionary Family, 60)

Our Lord Jesus has experienced all kind of situations we are passing through, even death. Jesus understood death as “going back to the Father.” Every human being when facing difficult and scary moments prefers to be with somebody close to them.

Jesus foresaw that His close ones, His disciples, would not be with Him during His Passion.  Who was with Jesus during the darkest hours of His earthly life? His Father.  Many times, we are alone facing hardships and problematic situations. Who is accompanying us? Our Father in heaven.  When we believe that the Trinity is within us, we are never alone.

“There is no bigger declaration of love than that of our God for mankind. The Trinity offers us their total friendship and coexistence, trust, and intimacy, in a simple, tender, committed, fraternal, spousal, and eternal relationship”
(Statutes VDMF, 214)

“Indwelling of the Trinity: we are aware that the Holy Trinity lives within us. With our diverse realities, we seek to live in missionary communion with Them. We desire to reveal the close and familiar face of the Trinity in our way of relating with others”
(Regulation of VDMDs, 71,1)
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In my daily life, do I search for the companionship of the Trinity? How do I dialogue with the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Do I consider them to be my best friends who are always there for me?

Reading these passages, we realize that the Father and Jesus were very one in carrying  out their salvific mission for the whole humanity to the point that Jesus says: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father”(Jn 14:9);  “I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has commanded me what I must say and speak”(Jn 12:49); “the Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does” (Jn 5:19).

During His earthly life, Jesus was depending on the Father´s will. He supported faithfully God´s plan of salvation and He couldn´t do what He wanted or to speak in whatever way. Being the Son in filial submission to the Father, He perceived the call to be witness of unity with the Father. How was Jesus able to do so? With the help from the Holy Spirit who guided Him to oneness with the Father.
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“Transformed by the Spirit and inhabited by Him, we spontaneously irradiate his same love, joy, and peace. Faithful to the Spirit, our life opens like Jesus' side so that many may be born to the Life of God” (Constitutions VDMF, 71)
Do I identify the concrete moments or situations in which I can also say that whoever sees me sees also the Father?

We need the Holy Spirit to live our Christian life and our discipleship in accordance to God´s will. Jesus couldn´t be faithful to God´s saving plan without the Spirit and we can´t pray and live out Jesus´ teachings and mission without the Holy Spirit.

How often do we ask to the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit? Many times, we pray for good health, financial stability, prosperous future… because we prioritize these needs. We may not be aware of the essential role of the Spirit in our lives. “If you only knew what God gives…you would ask Him…” (Jn 4:10). In this passage Jesus is reminding us: "The Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Let us ask for the Holy Spirit. To start our daily prayer: Holy Spirit, I need you today.

“The Holy Spirit comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray” (Rom 8:26). “Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants. To be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace” (Rom 8:5-6)
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How do I allow the Spirit to control my thoughts, feelings, reactions and my way of living?

This passage presents the great commissioning of the apostles by the risen Christ. During his public ministry, Jesus sent his disciples to the towns and villages of Israel with the authority to preach the Good News, to cure the sick, to raise the dead and to drive out demons (Mt 10:5-8). Now, at the close of the gospel of Mathew, they are sent to all nations, making disciples of them, and baptizing them “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” After Jesus´ resurrection, which establishes Him as the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness (Rom1:4), the believers are baptized no longer “in the name of Jesus” but in the name and power of the Trinity.

“Through this habitual coexistence with the Trinity, the Kingdom of God is within us.”
(Statutes VDMF, 220)
 
“The Holy Spirit can transform each one into Jesus, and into a living member of his Body, forming of all people with Jesus, the total fullness of Christ. Brought to life with Christ, we may form the true Kingdom of God on earth. This was the objective of the life of Jesus in the world, and is the objective of the call of Jesus to each one of us to preach the gospel to all creature.”
​(Statutes VDMF, 162)
 
Do I hear Jesus calling me to announce that the Trinity lives in each one of us? How to make it clear to those around us?

Father, you who create and sustain all things with your love, we ask you to make us artisans of communion, so that as we journey towards the Congress we may know how to welcome the diversity that characterises us as the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.
 
Jesus, human face of God, consecrate us to your Word so that the Congress may be prepared and carried out in profound fidelity to your voice, listening to each one of us and to the signs of the times.
 
Holy Spirit, you who open rivers in the desert, guide us in this time of discernment and decision, so that we may live, embody and offer our charism ever more fully, so that all the baptised may participate in the mission of Jesus entrusted to the Church.
 
Accompany us, Mary, with your loving motherly presence and intercession, so that this Congress may be a channel of hope in which God transforms us and makes all things new. Amen.

In the past four weeks, we have prayed on the different experiences of the early Christians – experiences that are no different from ours in the present time. As we continue to draw from their examples of perseverance, we also recognize that in all the ups and downs of their missionary journey, it was not by their own strength that their mission of evangelization and creation of evangelizing communities had become fruitful, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

As we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost, we can continue to deepen on the role of the Holy Spirit in our personal and communitarian journey as the lead and protagonist of our life of faith and mission. 

“But it is the word of the Spirit, the strength of the Spirit that bears them onward to change the world. The proclamation of the Gospel, therefore, is only realized in the power of the Spirit, who precedes the missionaries and prepares hearts: He is “the engine of evangelization”. (Pope Francis)

MONDAY (MAY 13)
2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Now, “the Lord” in this passage is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.
​(2 Corinthians 3:18)

The Holy Spirit configures us in the image of Christ. While it is true that our transformation in Christ is a grace from Him, we also need perseverance and fidelity to the means given to us. It is always a collaborative effort.

The configuration of the VDMD with Christ is a process that the Holy Spirit carries out with each person in a singular and particular way.
(VDMD Regulations no. 37)

 As Verbum Dei, what are the concrete means that we are encouraged to live in the daily life to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ? In VDMD Regulations no. 75, it says:

The VDMFa has the Four Exercises as a means for us to live out our spirituality and mission. These are:

• exercise of prayer
• exercise of fraternal love
• exercise of the cross and humility
• exercise of mission

The four exercises have their foundation in the life of Jesus. He taught His disciples to pray, love, and evangelise based on a foundation of humility. Through these exercises, the Holy Spirit forms and transforms the disciple into Christ.
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How is my practice of these four exercises? How is it helping me in my becoming Christ every day? What are the challenges and temptations I experience in trying to practice these exercises?

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
​(John 14:26)

Jesus was very clear of the “reminding role” of the Holy Spirit in our life of faith. The Spirit who inspired and reminded the evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) of the life of Jesus to write the Gospels that we have now is the same Spirit who continues to facilitate our encounter with God in prayer.

As Verbum Dei, we receive guidelines, retreats, formations, and recollections, etc.. Yet, there could be moments that all what we receive, when not assimilated and lived out, coud just pass us by without allowing it to affect us. In those times, we can count on the Holy Spirit to help us understand the Word of God and to recall our experiences with Him.
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Today, in our prayer, we can ask the Holy Spirit, to give us the gift of memory: to help us remember or recall experience/s of prayer and mission that could encourage us to rekindle the fire in our journey of discipleship this time.

WEDNESDAY (MAY 15)
1 Corinthians 12​

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. The Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all.
​(1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

St. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, describes the different charisms and ministries gifted and inspired by the Holy Spirit -- all at the service of giving life to the Body of Christ. No charism is greater than the other because what each one has is valuable and necessary.

"The Holy Spirit also enriches the entire evangelizing Church with different charisms. These gifts are meant to renew and build up the Church. They are not an inheritance, safely secured and entrusted to a small group for safekeeping; rather they are gifts of the Spirit integrated into the body of the Church, drawn to the center which is Christ and then channeled into an evangelizing impulse 
(Evangelii Gaudium no. 130).

As disciples of Christ, we have received the gift of being Verbum Dei. What does it mean for me? Am I aware of the gifts I have that I can contribute to the mission of evangelization through the different ministry and committee that we have in te community?  How do I also value the gifts of others and encourage one another to put it at the service of God and His people?
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We want to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit. We support the Spirit's work in the world, in the Church and the VDMFa. We are conscious of the Spirit's trust in us, shown by the personal talents given us and by sending us on mission. On this mission, we assume the ministries, services, and mission fields entrusted to us.
(VDMD Regulations no.124)

What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. 
(Galatians 5:16)
 
As disciples of Christ, we cannot be naive of the different temptations that may hinder us in our following. St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, reminds us that we can only overcome them when we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives. We will know that it is the Holy Spirit leading our life when we are experiencing His fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
 
And so, when we are experiencing the opposite -- hatred, sadness, fear, impatience, lack of self-control and all that may hinder us from loving God and others and cause us to sin, we know that it is not the Holy Spirit leading our life. In recognizing it, we are encouraged to seek forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation and to ask the Holy Spirit to renew our hearts.
 
Living our vocation as VDMDs in the light of the Holy Spirit, we cannot but be aware of our failings. Hence, we gratefully seek the sacrament of Reconciliation, where we will experience anew the merciful embrace of the Father, who constantly heals and frees us, to continue our journey in communion with our brothers and sisters, following in the footsteps of Jesus.
​(VDMD Regulations no. 90)

Above all else, however, remember that none of us can explain by ourselves a prophecy in the Scriptures.  For no prophetic message ever came just from the human will, but people were under the control of the Holy Spirit as they spoke the message that came from God.
(2 Peter 1:21)

As Verbum Dei, we are called to preach the Word  of God through the different ways and means. Sometimes,  when we give guidelines or talks, we are concerned if our preaching is enough or if our preaching helps the listeners. Today, we are being reminded that the transforming power of God’s Word  does not come from our own, but from the Holy Spirit. When we are faithful in listening to the Him in our prayer and preparation, it surely will reach the hearts of people.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us confidence to proclaim God’s Word not only when we preach, but in the reality where we are. Even in the simple dialogue with people, we can transmit the Word of God.

​Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray.
O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Father, you who create and sustain all things with your love, we ask you to make us artisans of communion, so that as we journey towards the Congress we may know how to welcome the diversity that characterizes us as the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.
 
Jesus, human face of God, consecrate us to your Word so that the Congress may be prepared and carried out in profound fidelity to your voice, listening to each one of us and to the signs of the times.
 
Holy Spirit, you who open rivers in the desert, guide us in this time of discernment and decision, so that we may live, embody and offer our charism ever more fully, so that all the baptised may participate in the mission of Jesus entrusted to the Church.
 
Accompany us, Mary, with your loving motherly presence and intercession, so that this Congress may be a channel of hope in which God transforms us and makes all things new. Amen.
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This week, we will pray on the third missionary journey of Paul where he spent most of his time in Ephesus before going to Jerusalem. In this journey, Paul continued to experience threats and plots against his life. Yet, with God's provision and his willingness to suffer for the sake of Christ, the communities continue to grow in number and in faith.

MONDAY (MAY 6)
Acts 19​

After revisiting some communities in Chapter 18, Paul started his 3rd missionary in Ephesus where he baptized the believers with the Holy Spirit and continued preaching the Word of God. There, a certain riot happened initiated by a certain silversmith named Demetrius whose business was crafting hand-made gods. Threatened by the preaching of St. Paul about the true God, he gathered the workers and those in his same business and caused an uproar or a mob in their area.

Reflecting on our journey, do we also have 'little' and 'false' gods that replace the true God in our life? Sometimes, without realising it, we could allow power, fame, authority, richness to take control over our life. Our priorities could become be that of defending our worldly possessions than nourishing our relationship with God and loving our brothers and sisters.
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Today, let us take a moment to examine our priorities in life. What are the priorities I have? Do they help me grow closer to God? Does my priority include growing in integration of prayer in my daily life?

TUESDAY (MAY 7)
Acts 20​

In this chapter, Paul continued to encourage and perform miracle. In the last part (Acts 20:17-38), he gave his farewell message to the elders of Ephesus. In his speech, he described his own journey of preaching the Good News and creating evangelizing communities, emphasizing the need for humility, selflessness, boldness, fidelity, commitment, generosity and hardwork as an apostle of Christ. He reminded them of their responsibility of taking care their own life of faith and that of the others. He commended them to the care of God and blessed them with his prayers.
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Today, take time to read slowly the farewell message of St. Paul. Imagine yourself at his place, and looking at your own life, how would you describe your own missionary journey of being an apostle of Jesus as a parent, child, sibling, co-worker, Verbum Dei disicple, etc.? What attitudes of St. Paul you could see you are living or trying to live out? Where do you think you need to grow more?

In this chapter, Paul went to Jerusalem. But before that, some believers begged him not to go to Jerusalem and warned him of the danger that he might encounter there. Yet with conviction, Paul told them, "What are you doing, crying like this and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:13) Not being able to be convinced by anybody, he pushed through going to Jerusalem.

In the missionary journey of Paul so far, we have seen how he indeed embraced death, not physically, but death to his own convenience, safety, comfort and preference in order to allow God's Word to be transmitted to all. And through this 'deaths,' many received the gift of faith in Christ.
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What about us? How do we embrace the 'deaths' that it entails from us to incarnate the life of Christ in the reality where we are? Do we embrace it with conviction and consistency as well like St. Paul? What is it that needs to die in us to allow God to work in us and through us? It could be attitudes or habits that take us away from God and the mission He calls us to live.

Accused of betraying Israel, Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and a mob was trying to kill him. With the permission of the Roman commander, Paul spoke in front of the people to defend himself by sharing his conversion story. His experience of conversion indeed gave him a solid reason and motivated him to transmit God's life and love despite the persecutions. He held on to that fundamental experience of encountering Jesus and receiving the call to preach to the Gentiles.
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What about you? Do you still remember your own conversion story? What convictions do you have after that encounter with Jesus? What are the fundamental experiences you have that really made you persevere in your following up until now?

In this chapter, Paul was brought before the council for questioning. He was able to delay the investigation by creating an argument between the Pharisees and Saducees. There was also a plot against his life planned by some Jews that was disrupted because his nephew heard about it and alerted the commander regarding the plan.

Paul experienced God's protection and provision on that very moment. This had been his experience all throughout His missionary journey being faced by many oppositions as he preached Jesus as the Messiah wherever He went.
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This, too, is our confidence in our personal and communal following of Jesus. We can always rely on God's provision and protection. Indeed, when He calls, He gives us necessary graces to fulfill whatever mission He entrusted to us in our family, workplace, community, etc.

What graces do you want to ask God for in this time? Why?

PRAYER FOR THE CONGRESS
To be held in Loeches, Spain from August 30 – September 27, 2024
 
“Communion, Consecration and Participation in the Mission

Father, you who create and sustain all things with your love, we ask you to make us artisans of communion, so that as we journey towards the Congress we may know how to welcome the diversity that characterises us as the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.
 
Jesus, human face of God, consecrate us to your Word so that the Congress may be prepared and carried out in profound fidelity to your voice, listening to each one of us and to the signs of the times.
 
Holy Spirit, you who open rivers in the desert, guide us in this time of discernment and decision, so that we may live, embody and offer our charism ever more fully, so that all the baptised may participate in the mission of Jesus entrusted to the Church.
 
Accompany us, Mary, with your loving motherly presence and intercession, so that this Congress may be a channel of hope in which God transforms us and makes all things new. Amen.