Reflections of Faith
Read and be inspired by a reflection based on today's Gospel made by members of the Verbum Dei Family in Manila.
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1/19/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 19, 2019 January 19, 2018 - Saturday
Gospel: Mark 2:13-17 "I did come to call the righteous but the sinners." Today's Gospel speaks about the tax collector who during that time are considered traitors for they serve and work for a foreign power. Jesus did not condemn them but chose one of them to be His apostle. Today, Jesus invites us to stop discriminating and judging people whether they are bad or good. Though God sees whether a person is living righteously or not, whether we are good or bad, or rich or poor, He does not judge us unfairly and He will never withhold His love, mercy and salvation for those who welcome it and is open to change and be better.
1/18/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 18, 2019 January 18, 2019 - Friday
Gospel: Mark 2:1-12 Carrying the one in need Today's Gospel shows us that it was the paralytic's companion that brought healing to the sick. It was the effort of paralytic's community of friends that made His healing possible. Like the paralyzed man carried by His friends, people need a community to carry them where they need to go. As Jesus' disciples, we are calles to be a community who brings others to the presence of God, enabling our faith to carry those who cannot carry themselves. It may be cause of healing of others. May our faith be a source of strength for those who are paralyzed by physical illness, too much worries, fears, hatred, bitterness, being unable to forgive, selfishness and sinfulness. May we be an instrument of their healing.
1/17/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 17, 2019 January 17, 2019 - Thursday
Gospel: Mark 1:40-45 Touch of Compassion Today's Gospel is about Jesus' meeting with a leper and His response to His request to be made clean. Moved with compassion, He stretched out His hand and touched Him. He knew that what He was doing was risky, for that time no one would dare to touch or go near anyone who suffered with this kind of sickness - an aunclean and defiled as this leper. But Jesus did touch him as He was motivated by deep feeling of compassion and pity for the leper. Aa followers of Christ, we are also called to extend our hands of compassion to our brothers and sisters. As He identifies Himself with the least among them. As we respond to their needs, we also respond to Jesus. And in touching them, we also touch Jesus.
1/16/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 16, 2019 January 16, 2019 - Wednesday
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39 Come away and pray! Today's Gospel tells us that in the midst of Jesus' hectic schedule of healing the sick and preaching, He always finds time to pray - to communicate with God. The Lord is constantly inviting us to rest a while taking a time off for us to regain our perspective and to recharge our spirit. Like Jesus, we must realize the importance of the deserted place in our lives. A place where we could speak with God heart to heart, where we can deepen our relationship with Him, where we can listen, discern, know His will for us, and get the strength to follow. A place where we can rest our tired bodies, heal our wounds and broken hearts and recharge our spirits.
1/15/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 15, 2019 January 15, 2019 - Tuesday
Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 I know who you are! Today's Gospel tells us more about Jesus by showing His power over unclean spirits - demons. It also shows that it was the demon who recognized Jesus as the Holy One of God while the people in the crowd had no idea who he was. We encounter different spirits everyday and it is important for us to know what kind they are that we accept - whether they are good or bad, holy or not. This spirits often guide our emotions and way of life. It is by our faith that we know whether it is the Holy Spirit that we choose to accept. The Gospel today invites us to be prayerful in accepting the Spirit that we have in our daily lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in knowing more about Jesus - the holy one of God.
1/14/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 14, 2019 January 14, 2019 - Monday
Gospel: Mark 1:14-20 "Come after me, I will make you fishers of men." Jesus came not only for us to put our faith unto Him but also to go for us to go fishing with Him. The water is full of fish but sometimes we fish at the wrong lake. We are called to follow Jesus and for us to follow Him, we have to leave something behind. How often do we let our inhibitions, doubts, and reservations hinder our desire to follow Jesus. Like the first disciples of Jesus, may we learn to seize the moment and follow Him leaving everything behind. #PrayVD
1/10/2019
Daily Guidelines: January 10, 2019 January 10, 2019 - Thursday
Gospel: Luke 4:14-22 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me..” We are still in the season of Christmas liturgically and today God reveals to us that the child born for us is the “anointed one”. We see Jesus in the flesh, grown-up as the fulfillment of a prophecy long told in the Old Testament. In our midst is Christ, our prophet, priest and king still bringing the good news to all the ends of the earth each in every day. As Christians, we share in this special anointing. How timely it is as we begin a new year to ask God for fresh anointing that we may have the clarity to carry out and share in his specific purpose for us.  January 9, 2019 - Wednesday
Gospel: Mark 6:45-52 “There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives away fear” At the end of a long day, Jesus climbs to the mountain to pray. And this connection to God is the source of his strength . Likewise, the disciples were privileged to have an intimate encounter with Jesus. “God is love. The ones who lives in love, lives in God and God in him.” Do you know that we too have the privilege to enjoy this connection with God? However, circumstances most often prevents us from fully receiving him in our hearts. Doubt, panic, fear limited our capacity to love. Thus, Jesus enters into our circumstance and assures us saying , “courage! It is I, don’t be afraid.”  January 8, 2019 Tuesday
Gospel: Mark 6:34-44 “You, yourselves give them something to eat” Pope Francis in his 2015 visit to Florence and Prato told mayors that they must go to those on the margins of their communities in order to learn how to best serve the common good, including the needs of the poor, unemployed, immigrants and refugees. These challenges can be appreciated & overcome through a personal encounter with the people. Look around you and be mindful. Are you willing to take on the first step to a renewed world that “smells of heaven”? Human society can only survive if each one of us make a stand and come together in solidarity. If we take on this invitation of Jesus, God’s goodness and tenderness becomes tangible in this time. Let us pray to the Holy Trinity for the gift of prudence, courage and compassion to reach out to the people in the periphery.  January 7, 2019 Monday
Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17,23-25 “The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light” Early on in Jesus ministry, he made his home in Capernaum where people never heard of God. He went about the region teaching, proclaiming the good news and curing all kinds of sickness and disease. Such is the desire of God for us his people, is that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another. As you begin another year, any darkness hovering your situation right now? STAY with Jesus. OPEN your self to the healing light of Jesus. PRAY to Jesus. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”2Cor 3:17 |
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