Guidelines Sheet - Series on the Verbum Dei Sources of Spirituality: 24-28 June, 2024

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Last week we discovered that “the reality is the Mystical Body of Christ” (cf. Col 2:17), and out of love and mercy that He totally assumed and inserted us in His Body up to the point that “nothing and nobody can ever separate us from Him even our own miseries and death” (cf. Rom 8:39). Our life now is a life hidden in the Mystical Body of Christ (Col. 3:3)
 
This week we will continue to deepen on this reality of the Mystical Body of Christ and to see the great influence that we can do in His Body.  As Verbum Dei Disciples, we have an irreplaceable function in building up His broken body today. 
           
As in St. Paul says, “In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. What is that gift that God has given to us as Verbum Dei Community?  If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have.” (1 Cor 12:4-6)
 
God has given us the grace to be prophets and evangelizers in our contemporary world. This is our irrepleable function in the Body of Christ He needs us to bring the good news to His people. And that is why, "Let love make us serve one another" (Gal. 5:13) because only love can help build up the suffering Body of Christ today.
 
As an active member, it is our joys to take part in our own flesh the sufferings of Christ, for in this way, that we complete in our own body what is still lacking in the Body of Christ. (cf. Col.1:24)
 
Yet, our desire, to be responsible and committed life-giving members in His Body is a fruit from our sincere love and profound gratitude to Him. We say yes freely, consciously and voluntarily to this concrete function “to prophesied to the valley of dry bones and announce to them the Word of Life” (Ez 37) in order to quench the thirst of Christ in our brothers and sisters and such task entails for us to become a grain of wheat, as Jesus says to His disciples “I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. (Jn 12: 24) We need to die to our little and, at times, unnecessary suffering realities in order to give way to the great suffering reality, the reality of Christ. 

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MONDAY (JUNE 24)​

Our sincere and profound gratitude to the Father, who out of love gave us His only Son until death which was a death on the cross so that we may have eternal life, and the love of Christ, who loved us and gave His life for us as victim of our sins, move us to apply to Him all our flesh and blood that are turned into pain and love in His own open wounds by us in His Mystical Body…” (VDS 248)
       
It is this crucified Christ of today that polarizes, monopolizes, enchains, squeezes, and presses out our lives crucified with Him, without time nor tasks nor interests nor likes nor thoughts nor ways nor objectives of our own…“If we live, it is for the Lord that we live; if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (VDS 249)
 
We are the hands and feet of Jesus today, are we open to offer our total self-giving to Jesus so others can receive eternal life through us?

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TUESDAY (JUNE 25)

​And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you. We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.                 
(1 Cor 12:3-8)
 
All of us has something to offer for the mission. St John Paul once said: nobody is so poor he has nothing to give and nobody is so rich he has nothing to receive. Our missionary intentionality will always bear fruit no matter how small or irrelevant our part may seems, as long as it is done because of love.
 
What talents and abilities can you offer for the sake of the mission?

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WEDNESDAY (JUNE 26)

​Who will accuse God's chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty! Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right-hand side of God, pleading with him for us! Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? As the scripture says,
    "For your sake we are in danger of
         death at all times;
    we are treated like sheep that are
         going to be slaughtered."
    No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Rom 8:33-38)
 
United in the mystical body of Christ, we become vulnerable to sacrifices, disappointments and persecution in the mission. But we are reminded not to give up, for the love of Jesus and our love for our brothers and sisters will keep us going. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God” indeed.
 
What challenges in the mission that made you want to give up? We are reminded today that love conquers all. This is an invitation to go continue with the mission in face of challenges.

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THURSDAY (JUNE 27)

​“And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my suffering I am helping to complete what remains of Christ sufferings on behalf of his body, the church.”
(Col.1:24)
 
“I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.”
(Jn 12: 24)
 
All of us has a story to tell on the challenges of the mission such as difficulty of inviting others or accompanying others, test of humility in relationships with our co-disciples or missionaries, giving up our comfort zones and many others. Jesus reminds us that this is the way to become a true missionary disciple, to die to oneself so we can bear more fruits.
 
In what aspect of your being missionary disciple, Jesus is asking you to “die” so you can bear much fruit?

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FRIDAY (JUNE 28)

​I felt the powerful presence of the LORD, and his spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered with bones. He led me all round the valley, and I could see that there were very many bones and that they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal man, can these bones come back to life?"
    I replied, "Sovereign LORD, only you can answer that!"
    He said, "Prophesy to the bones. Tell these dry bones to listen to the word of the LORD. Tell them that I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. I will give you sinews and muscles, and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you and bring you back to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD."
    So I prophesied as I had been told. While I was speaking, I heard a rattling noise, and the bones began to join together. While I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then with skin. But there was no breath in the bodies.
    God said to me, "Mortal man, prophesy to the wind. Tell the wind that the Sovereign LORD commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life."
    So I prophesied as I had been told. Breath entered the bodies, and they came to life and stood up. There were enough of them to form an army.  
 (Ezekiel 37:1-10)
 
`Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.'
    "The righteous will then answer him, `When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' The King will reply, `I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!'
    "Then he will say to those on his left, `Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.'
    "Then they will answer him, `When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and would not help you?’ The King will reply, `I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.' These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life."
(Matthew 25:35-46)
 
The greatest gift that the a Verbum Dei Missionary disciple can offer to the church and to the mission as a whole is through our charism, that is, to share the Word of God to the four corners of the Earth. There are many “dry bones” in our world today that need to be prophesied so life can come back: the dry bones of isolation, consumerism, greed, suicide, divorce and many others. Let us offer ourselves to tirelessly preach and live the Word of God so others can live. And Jesus will tell to come as partakers of His kingdom as a reward.
 
What compels you to tirelessly preach the Word of God to others?

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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.