 
General Theme: Means of perseverance General Objective: To appreciate the exercise of humility and of the cross as a means of perseverance Objective of the week: How to practice the exercise of humility and of the cross INTRODUCTION We continue the reflection on our four spiritual exercises that are needed for us to persevere as disciples of Christ. This week we will deepen the exercise of humility and the cross. To be humble is necessary in our relationship with God because we can get closer to Him when we humbly listen to Him through his Word. When we have the tendency to center our prayer more in our needs or personal situations, it is required to exercise the self-denial of not talking so much in order to listen to Jesus. We can practice in this way the exercise of the cross. To love one another as Jesus did is not easy many times but it's not impossible. Acts of love can come out or take place when we consider others worthy of our love. If we are humble, we think that others deserve our concern and our self-giving for them. Is it not a cross to deny ourselves to focus our attention on others? The love among us is possible when we practice to look at others higher than ourselves. To opt to love others more than oneself is a chance to grow in love. We live the mission when we humbly accept the task to evangelize. If we desire to transmit God's love to all, we must be willing to allow the Trinity to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. This transformation is a patient process which implies to carry the cross of getting rid of our “old self” to reproduce Jesus´ life and love. Hebrews 12:1-2 “As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne.” John 3:16-17 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior. From the fullness of this loving union between the Father and the Son we receive grace upon grace (Jn 1:16). This loving union was not broken but was revealed even more strongly through the Passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. The cross of Christ stands at the center of our faith, and from it we draw healing and strength, peace and reconciliation. MONDAY “Do what God pleases” IMVDMFa 73 The Christian life, expression of the baptismal consecration, is characterized by a style of life like that of Jesus, according to the spirit of the beatitudes and the evangelical counsels. Like Jesus we will live a simple life, in purity of heart, in humble search for the will of God and in active obedience to the Holy Spirit. Matthew 26: 36-39 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 23:12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Luke 14:7-11 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Sirach 3:17-21 17 My child, be humble in everything you do, and people will appreciate it more than gifts.[a] 18 The greater you become, the more humble you should be; then the Lord will be pleased with you.[b] 20 The Lord's power is great, and he is honored by those who are humble. 21 Don't try to understand things that are too hard for you, or investigate matters that are beyond your power to know. Romans 6:3-5 3 For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. 4 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life. 5 For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was. Jesus is inviting us to live in simplicity, humility, and purity. These are essentials to win heaven and are basically demonstrated by our actions and practices. Living out these virtues create in us a purity of heart that makes us free from the sin of impure thoughts and actions that weaken our intention to love. It brings us into perfection and fullness of life as we live in the love of Christ without hesitation and pride, but only the joy of doing what is pleasing to Him despite the difficulty of tasks and the busyness of life. Though, we appear to be poor and lowly servants before the eyes of the world, yet are great in the eyes of the Lord because we are trying our best to be obedient to His will and be molded by the Holy Spirit to reproduce Christ through our examples. As Jesus said: "For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (Mt. 23:12)
TUESDAY “The Cross and our daily conversion” VDMD REGULATION 82 The exercise of fraternal love brings with it the cross. As followers of Christ, we see the cross as the way from the "Old" to the "New Creation in Christ", moving from our worldly values to the values of Christ. In taking up the exercise of the cross, we choose to learn from Jesus' example of humility in an attitude of daily conversion. Mark 10:17-18 As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "No one is good except God alone. Colossians 3:1-16 3 You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. 2 Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory! 5 You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry). 6 Because of such things God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him.[a] 7 At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them. 8 But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. 9 Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits 10 and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself. 11 As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all. 12 You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. 14 And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. 15 The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. Fixing our eyes on Jesus on the cross enables us to understand deeper the kind of love that brings us to carry our own cross. Jesus’ humility on the cross helps us face our own concrete situations, our own cross, that calls for us a humble heart which leads to our daily conversion(s) making a new us in Christ. The cross is essential for our daily conversion, without it we will not be able to experience a profound love that changes us from within. Our conversion entails humility, forgiveness towards others, and obedience to the call of the Spirit following a constant path to holiness throughout one’s life. Our conversion is not a one time event, instead it is a continuous and sometimes slow daily process that little by little transforms us into a new us, a new us that pleases the Father and brings about our own salvation in Christ Jesus.
WEDNESDAY “Listening to the voice of the Spirit” VDMD REGULATION 83 We will try to be humble and renounce ourselves in order to follow Jesus. We will examine ourselves before God to see how we react when we feel humiliated by people or events. This will depend on how sensitive and responsive we are to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The fruit of this daily exercise is the inner freedom of a child of God. It is also a test to see how faith is integrated into our life. James 4:1-12 Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions[b] that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Adulterers! Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose that the scripture speaks without meaning when it says, “The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy”? But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor? James 3:13-18 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace. Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” To follow Jesus, there is a need for us to examine ourselves, our intentions, attitude and desires. For we cannot call ourselves followers of Christ if our life does not reflect the values of Christ. This exercise of humility and transparency allows us to be guided by the Spirit as we carry our cross every day. When we allow the Spirit of God to guide us in our life, we are molded into His image and likeness.
THURSDAY “A call of humility” VDMD REGULATION 83 We will try to be humble and renounce ourselves in order to follow Jesus. We will examine ourselves before God to see how we react when we feel humiliated by people or events. This will depend on how sensitive and responsive we are to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. The fruit of this daily exercise is the inner freedom of a child of God. It is also a test to see how faith is integrated into our life. John 16:12-15 12 “I have much more to tell you, but you would not be able to bear it now.13 But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but he will speak what he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are coming.14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and communicate it to you.15 Everything that the Father has is mine. That is why I said that he will take what is mine and communicate it to you.16 “In a little while you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again.” Galatians 5:13-26 Brethren, you were called to freedom. However, make sure that you do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Instead, serve one another in love. 14 For the entire Law can be summed up in a single commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you continue biting and tearing one another to pieces, at least be on your guard lest you be consumed by one another. 16 Hence, I advise you to be guided by the Spirit, so that you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit, and those of the Spirit are opposed to the flesh. They are in conflict with one another, so that you cannot do what you want. 18 But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.19 [d]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you previously, that no one who does such things will inherit the kingdom of God. 22 In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Being a VDMD is a call of humility before God. Each day is a call for a conversion to be open to the Holy Spirit to renounce what pleases us-the call of the flesh. Renouncing oneself and being open to what pleases God rather than what pleases us is an exercise of the cross. It is truly difficult to be humble before others but it is not impossible, when we fix our eyes on Jesus who exemplified humility. This is truly a missionary call to “take up His cross and follow Him”. The path to be Christ, is the journey of the cross, and there is no other path to follow Him but through the cross. Let us trust the process of the cross as it says in Heb. 12:7 Endure the trials you receive as a form of discipline. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there who is not disciplined by his father? It is only through this cross that we will bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let us be open to Jesus who shows us the way to follow Him through the cross on our daily life
FRIDAY “We Can Pass From Death To Life By Listening To The Words Of Love... Our God” VDMD REGULATION 84 Each person's cross comes in different shapes and sizes. The charism we share as VDMFa strengthens us and helps us face our cross, knowing that we are never alone. By the grace of God, we pass from death to life in the ordinary and extraordinary settings of life. In a world that seeks to avoid pain and suffering, our quiet dying and rising again with Christ is an eloquent witness to the faith we profess. The words of Christ come true in our lives, "When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself." John 3:1-8 There was a Jewish leader named Nicodemus, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. 2 One night he went to Jesus and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent by God. No one could perform the miracles you are doing unless God were with him.” 3 Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”[a] 4 “How can a grown man be born again?” Nicodemus asked. “He certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time!” 5 “I am telling you the truth,” replied Jesus, “that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. 7 Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again.[b] 8 The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 1 Peter 1:3-4.13-16.22-25 3 Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, 4 and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away 13 So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. 15 Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. 16 The scripture says, “Be holy because I am holy.” 22 Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for other believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart.[b] 23 For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal. 24 As the scripture says, “All human beings are like grass, and all their glory is like wild flowers. The grass withers, and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” This word is the Good News that was proclaimed to you. The question that Nicodemus addresses to Jesus is so beautiful and a challenging one, "How can I be born again as a grown up person?" As we encounter Jesus in our prayer, we too can ask a similar question which we ardently want to hear from Him. Does it mean to pass from death to life? How wonderful it would be if we could leave our old life and begin to live a new life! Like a person who once unloving became a loving individual, who forgets himself upon seeing others in need. All of us are called to be born again to live and to love like Christ, but we cannot do it alone; we need the power of the Holy Spirit to fix our eyes in Jesus most especially His passion, death, and resurrection - the tremendous evidence of His great love in each one of us. It is only through Jesus that we will be born again by constant listening to His Word. His Word will never pass away and brings transformation from death to life, from sin to redemption.
SUNDAY 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Gn 2:18-24
Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 2nd Reading: Heb 2:9-11 Gospel: Mk 10:2-16 or 10:2-12
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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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