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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3/21/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 21, 2018 March 21, 2018 - Wednesday Gospel: Jn 8:31-42 Make SpaceJesus continues to face conflicts and misunderstandings with courage and determination. Today's confrontation is with those who had believed in Him. He asks from them a step of maturity and invites them to not only render lip service, but to show their faith in truth and with deeds: “Do what you've heard from the Father.” Then he confronts them with these words, “My word has no room among you.”
Let us take the place of those believers today and allow Jesus to challenge us to take a step of maturity in our following of him. In what areas of your life do you see that you need to take a step of coherence? What are the areas wherein your life can be more gospel-like? Holy Spirit, guide us in our prayer, for without you we cannot make space for God's word in our lives. Amen.
3/20/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 20, 2018 March 20, 2018 - Tuesday Gospel: Jn 8:21-30 Who Are You?We are entering in the last week of Lent. The readings prepare the setting for us to understand what will be the core of the celebrations to come on Holy Week. We will witness these days the conflict between Jesus and his own people.
Today's Gospel portraits his misunderstanding with the Pharisees. They asked him a question that they were not yet ready to understand, “Who are you?” It's amazing how, even knowing that he will not be understood, Jesus takes time to answer, “I am the one who does nothing on his own, but does only what is pleasing to the one who sent me.” As the most important days of our faith draw closer, let us ask Jesus the same question, “Lord, who are you?” Grant me the grace of openness so that I may experience personally the extreme of your love. Amen.
3/19/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 19, 2018 March 19, 2018 - Monday Gospel: Mt 1:26, 18-21, 24a the Loudest SileNceToday is the feast day of Saint Joseph. He is one of the most important persons in the life of Jesus, yet he doesn't say a word in any of the gospels. It is his life which speaks the loudest.
There are many situations that we face wherein we would like to shout and make our voices heard: injustice at work, corruption, violence, abuses of all kinds . . . And many times we get discouraged because even if we’d shout or loudest, nothing would change. Saint Joseph teaches us today that perhaps what is needed are persons that, like him, welcome and live faithfully the will of God in their lives--silent witnesses that do what is right, and doing so open ways for God's word to take flesh in the world. Saint Joseph, help us to be, like you, faithful doers of the will of God. Amen.
3/18/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 18, 2018 March 18, 2018 Sunday Gospel: John 12:20-33 “Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit”(c.f. Jn 12:24) In today’s Gospel, Jesus is telling His disciples that He has to be persecuted to fulfill His mission, comparing Himself to a grain of wheat that needs to die in order for it to bear fruit. The Gospel also prepares us as the Holy Week approaches our liturgical calendar making it’s way to the culminating celebration of our faith – the resurrection of Christ.
Jesus calls us to forget our worldly selves willingly offering our lives to Him in order for us to follow His ways and walk in the light with Him; and to serve and live for Him. And the grace for all of this is the Father’s honor to those who would accept the call.
3/17/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 17, 2018 March 17, 2018 Saturday Gospel: John 7:40-53 “Courage ‘means speaking the truth openly and without compromise.’”These are some of the words Pope Francis said in one of his homilies at Santa Marta. Encouraging the people to speak the truth of their faith.
Jesus, in today’s Gospel, has experienced being rejected by the people whom He has spoken of the truth. But despite this rejections He still stood tall proclaiming it, unfazed of the consequence of openly speaking the truth. Today’s Gospel invites us to courageously stand for the truth as we speak of it. Though we may be contradicted as we stand for the truth, it will always be worth standing for.
3/16/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 16 2018 March 16, 2018 Friday Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 “The Christian religion, though scattered and abroad, will in the end gather itself together at the foot of the cross.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Today’s Gospel narrates us the scene of the people of Jerusalem being confused about Jesus. With their own thoughts, they’ve had a commotion about His identity and mission. And upon seeing this, Jesus effectively cut through their commotion in telling that He “was sent by the One who is true” (cf. Jn 7:28) This scenario is not different with what is currently happening in our society. Frustrations, controversies, contradicting perspectives and beliefs – all create an image of a flock of scattered sheep trying to find their true shepherd. As people grasp for truth, they also are in need of sincerity. The Gospel invites us to live and speak the truth – the Word of God. So with this, others would witness and believe in the purity of our faith.
3/15/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 15, 2018 March 15, 2018 Thursday
Gospel: John 5:31-4 Are we living a life testifying about Jesus?In the Bible, prophets who have testified to the truth have been persecuted by people. Jesus Himself died on the cross testifying about the love of God the Father. And we Christians believe in Him who has been resurrected from death saving the world from its sins. Though this is the truth that we believe, other people are still skeptical and choose not to believe. How is it so?
Faith, hope and love. When a person lacks any or all of this three, the connection to Jesus becomes weak eventually leading him into becoming estranged to Jesus and ultimately, to God. Faith is what drives us to believe in the truthfulness of testimonies about Jesus. Hope is the spirit that enables us to live the words of life from Jesus. And love is the personal experience that confirms our authentic relationship with Jesus. Today’s Gospel calls us to believe and testify to the truth sharing to the people our faith, hope and love so they would know and believe in the truth about Jesus.
3/14/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 14, 2018 March 14, 2018 Wednesday Gospel: John 5:17-30 When the world has experienced the compassionate love of Jesus, it also has experienced the unconditional love of God the Father.
Jesus is the way to the Father and His gesture of calling everyone as brothers and sisters is the affirmation of truth that we are all God’s children. Upon telling “as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself” (cf. Jn 5:26), He invites everyone to come to Him and live in Him – the source of life from the Father. The Gospel invites us to have faith in Jesus who Himself is loving as God the Father. His words affirm us that being connected to Him is also being connected to the Father. It also calls us to help other people to come to Him and live in Him.
3/13/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 13, 2018 “Do you want to be healed?”(cf. Jn 5:6) Out of mercy and compassion, Jesus offered this words to a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years showing his love to burdened people like him. The Gospel inspires us to freely give this kind of merciful and compassionate love to our brothers and sisters offering them our availability to console and heal burdened hearts.
Pope Francis once said, “The task of the church is not to make dogmatic and moral pronouncements but to heal wounds and warm the hearts of people.” This message exactly expresses the invitation of the Gospel that Christianity is not only about believing that Christ has died, He has risen and He will come again in glory but also for us to be instruments and proof of the healing love that Jesus is offering to humanity.
3/12/2018
Daily Guidelines: Mar. 12, 2018 March 12, 2018 Monday Gospel: John 4:43-54 Testify to the signs and wonders that Jesus has done in your life! It’s not wrong to grasp for certainty before you believe but such isn’t the case about having faith in miracles. In today’s Gospel, Jesus said to a certain official, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe!” (cf. Jn 4:48). This words enabled him to have faith in Jesus’ miraculous words of healing for his son.
Sometimes we only believe in what our eyes could see compromising our own faith. And sometimes when we pray, we put our faith into test. Unless our prayers were favorably answered, we just leave our faith hanging with words. Today’s Gospel invites us to have faith in Jesus. And having faith means to trust His ever-presence and unfailing works in our lives. It also calls us to testify to the signs and wonders that Jesus has done in our lives so others would then believe and have faith in Him. |
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