10/27/2024 0 Comments Guidelines Sheet - Series on the Means of Perseverance (Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2024)![]()
General Theme: Means of perseverance General Objective: That the disciples can participate actively in the mission of Jesus making them missionary disciples that persevere faithfully in their following. Objective of the week: That we can be more aware that the mission for all requires the commitment of all. INTRODUCTION Last October 20 we celebrated World Mission Sunday. We are in the last week of October and we will reflect on the third part of the message of Pope Francis for World Mission Sunday 2024. The reflections for the following days could help us to be more convinced that we, as evangelizers, are indispensable and irreplaceable in the Church and in the world of today. MONDAY "God our Savior Desires Everyone to be Saved" From the message of Pope Francis (World Mission Sunday 2024) The third and last reflection concerns the recipients of the King’s invitation: “everyone.” As I emphasized, “This is the heart of mission: that ‘all,’ excluding no one. Every mission of ours, then, is born from the heart of Christ in order that he may draw all to himself” (Address to the General Assembly of the Pontifical Missionary Societies, 3 June 2023). Today, in a world torn apart by divisions and conflicts, Christ’s Gospel remains the gentle yet firm voice that calls individuals to encounter one another, to recognize that they are brothers and sisters, and to rejoice in harmony amid diversity. “God our Saviour desires everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Let us never forget, then, that in our missionary activities we are asked to preach the Gospel to all: “Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, [we] should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet” (Evangelii Gaudium, 14). Evangelii Gaudium 266 But this conviction has to be sustained by our own constantly renewed experience of savouring Christ’s friendship and his message. It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are convinced from personal experience that it is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it, and not the same thing to contemplate him, to worship him, to find our peace in him, as not to. It is not the same thing to try to build the world with his Gospel as to try to do so by our own lights. We know well that with Jesus’ life becomes richer and that with him it is easier to find meaning in everything. This is why we evangelize. Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Luke 5:12-15 12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.[a] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Luke 4:42-44 42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea. God the Father and King is inviting us to be in His Banquet, telling us, "Come and Enjoy the Banquet of the Lord".(WMS 2024 theme) The love of God is for everyone. This shows us His unconditional love despite our unfaithfulness to Him, yet He remains faithful to us. The very heart of God is meant to reach all the people to be united with Him through all eternity. The fact that the world offers to us other “banquets” remarks an urgent call to respond to the mission. Faithfulness to the mission makes us become holy. Jesus is the model of our life and of selfless love in our mission. Jesus is faithful to the Father as he says to the apostles: "I must preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God in other towns because this is what God sent me to do." (Lk. 4: 43) Let us invite everyone to taste and see the goodness of the Lord in their daily life and be grateful to the Father.
TUESDAY “Jesus’ love for the poor” From the message of Pope Francis (World Mission Sunday 2024) Christ’s missionary disciples have always had a heartfelt concern for all persons, whatever their social or even moral status. The parable of the banquet tells us that, at the king’s orders, the servants gathered “all whom they found, both good and bad” (Mt 22:10). What is more, “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” (Lk 14:21), in a word, the least of our brothers and sisters, those marginalized by society, are the special guests of the king. Evangelii Gaudium 48 If the whole Church takes up this missionary impulse, she has to go forth to everyone without exception. But to whom should she go first? When we read the Gospel, we find a clear indication: not so much our friends and wealthy neighbors, but above all the poor and the sick, those who are usually despised and overlooked, “those who cannot repay you” (Lk 14:14). There can be no room for doubt or for explanations which weaken so clear a message. Today and always, “the poor are the privileged recipients of the Gospel,” and the fact that it is freely preached to them is a sign of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish. We have to state, without mincing words, that there is an inseparable bond between our faith and the poor. May we never abandon them. Matthew 11:2-6 2 When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Matthew 15:22-28 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Jesus embraces all those who come to Him without distinction. He loves all who come to Him. His Sacred Heart has that special place for the poor. In today’s world, the poor are not only those who have no basic needs but also those who are unwanted, unloved, and uncared for which results in them being lonely, despairing, and hopeless. The only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is LOVE. As Mother Theresa said “There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. There is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.” As disciples, we are called to love the poor. This love is inspired by Jesus´concern for the poor.
WEDNESDAY “Our Life as a Reflection of God’s Love" From the message of Pope Francis (World Mission Sunday 2024) The wedding feast of his Son that God has prepared remains always open to all, since his love for each of us is immense and unconditional. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Everyone, every man and every woman, is invited by God to partake of his grace, which transforms and saves. One need simply says “yes” to this gratuitous divine gift, accepting it and allowing oneself be transformed by it, putting it on like a “wedding robe” (cf. Mt 22:12). Evangelii Gaudium 264 The primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him. What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known? If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray insistently that he will once more touch our hearts. We need to implore his grace daily, asking him to open our cold hearts and shake up our lukewarm and superficial existence. Colossians 3:12-15 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4.17 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! Our ‘Yes’ to the mission is how we show Jesus how much we love Him. We are able to say yes to Him because we experience firsthand how much He loves us in return. It is our mission to make Christ be known to all, that they too may experience the wonders of His love. When we live out our life in kindness, humility and patience, we transform our life to be beacons of His love that others may come and seek Him out. It may be difficult to do alone, but with the community to guide and support us, may we all be sheltered by Christ’s love, and be more committed to the works of service.
THURSDAY “Mission is a commitment to dedicate our lives to spread the Good News” From the message of the Pope (World Mission Sunday 2024) The mission for all requires the commitment of all. We need to continue our journey towards a fully synodal and missionary Church in the service of the Gospel. Synodality is essentially missionary and, vice versa, mission is always synodal. Consequently, close missionary cooperation is today all the more urgent and necessary, both in the universal Church and in the particular Churches. In the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council and my Predecessors, I recommend to all dioceses throughout the world the service of the Pontifical Mission Societies. They represent the primary means “by which Catholics are imbued from infancy with a truly universal and missionary outlook and [are] also a means for instituting an effective collecting of funds for all the missions, each according to its needs” (Ad Gentes, 38). For this reason, the collections of World Mission Day in all the local Churches are entirely destined to the universal fund of solidarity that the Pontifical Society of the Propagation of the Faith then distributes in the Pope’s name for the needs of all the Church’s missions. Let us pray that the Lord may guide us and help us to be a more synodal and a more missionary Church (cf. Homily for the Concluding Mass of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 29 October 2023). Evangelii Gaudium 273 My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an “extra” or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing. Luke 10:25-37 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” 1 John 3:14-18 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. As Verbum Dei Missionary disciples, all of us are sent as servants of the Word of God in this present time. During the recently concluded World Mission Sunday, all of us are convinced of the urgency to preach the Word of God in all places. We are invited to continue to be missionaries by heart, at all times, as this is our specific place in the Catholic church. Missionaries of the Word of God by heart require full commitment to dedicate our lives for the mission. As Pope Francis (WMS 2024) says the mission for all requires the commitment of all. In Evangelii Gaudium 273 it says, I am a mission on this earth. We are called to be Good Samaritans (Lk 10:25-37), transmitters of eternal life to those who are spiritually needy because of the harsh and difficult challenges many are facing. As VDMD, this is our commitment.
FRIDAY “Mother Mary: Her Maternal Intercession is the Guiding Star for Every Missionary disciple” From the message of the Pope (World Mission Sunday 2024) Finally, let us lift our gaze to Mary, who asked Jesus to perform his first miracle precisely at a wedding feast, in Cana of Galilee (cf. Jn 2:1-12). The Lord offered to the newlyweds and all the guests an abundance of new wine, as a foreshadowing of the nuptial banquet that God is preparing for all at the end of time. Let us implore her maternal intercession for the evangelizing mission of Christ’s disciples in our own time. With the joy and loving concern of our Mother, with the strength born of tenderness and affection (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 288), let us go forth to bring to everyone the invitation of the King, our Savior. Holy Mary, Star of Evangelization, pray for us! Evangelii Gaudium 286 She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. Evangelii Gaudium 266 A true missionary, who never ceases to be a disciple, knows that Jesus walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, works with him. He senses Jesus alive with him in the midst of the missionary enterprise. Unless we see him present at the heart of our missionary commitment, our enthusiasm soon wanes and we are no longer sure of what it is that we are handing on; we lack vigor and passion. A person who is not convinced, enthusiastic, certain and in love, will convince nobody. John 2:1-12 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days. Acts 1:12-14 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[a] from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Pope Francis in his message (WMS 2024), is inviting us to focus our gaze on Mother Mary. For she is the great light that can guide us to become real disciples of Christ Jesus. Mary,"the Morning Star", has the important role as our mother in faith. She is very willing to walk with us and be our guiding light as evangelizers of this present time. As missionary disciples we are encouraged in Evangelii Gaudium 288 that says," Let us go forth to bring to everyone the invitation of the King our Savior. Holy Mary, Star of Evangelization. Pray for us." Here we can learn the importance of Mother Mary in our discipleship. How good it would be if we can always recognize the very presence of Mary and always ask her maternal intercession in the midst of the challenges we meet in our daily life and in the mission. For she is our mother in faith and she knows what is best for all of us, her children. Evangelii Gaudium 286 is inviting us to look at Mother Mary and listen to her as the servants in John 2:5. When the servants obeyed her motherly instruction, Jesus was able to perform his first miracle. Today Mother Mary is also telling each one of us the same words she uttered to the servants “do whatever He tells you”. Mother Mary is a mother who can teach us on how to live in the very presence of Jesus in our day to day life. For she is very generous in sharing her personal experiences of her son Jesus (John 2:12). Mother Mary emphasizes that to live with Jesus is to listen to him everyday and make him the center of our lives as evangelizers of today (Evangelii Gaudium 266). We are again reminded about the importance of our prayer life as Verbum Dei disciples. For this is one of the important nourishments to be and act as committed missionary disciples of Christ Jesus (Acts 1:14). Let us lift our gaze to Mother Mary, our guiding light in order for us to continue the works of Jesus here on earth. Jesus needs us to bring everyone to the great banquet he is preparing for all of us.
SUNDAY
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
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About the Guidelines SheetThe Guidelines sheet is a prayer guide with the Word of God to help us journey together and be one in our weekly prayer as one community. This contains daily passages from scriptures together with reflections focused on a common theme and intention for the week. Archives
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