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.
3/11/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 11, 2021March 11, 2021 Thursday
Luke 11:14-23 "The Kingdom of Heaven is upon you." In today's gospel, God worked miracles through Jesus by casting out a demon and healing a mute man. The crowd, even if they have witnessed it with their own eyes, refused to believe that it is really God working through Jesus. God continues to work miracles in our lives every day. Are we attentive to it? Do we take a moment to recognize and enjoy how He extends His love to us through these little miracles he shows us every day? Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, harden not our hearts as we receive your love through the great and little wonders you continue to show us every day. Amen. #PrayVD
3/10/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 10, 2021March 10, 2021 Wednesday
Matthew 5:17-19 “Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Today's gospel shows us how God has gifted us with His commandments to guide us in our journey towards eternity. Through His commandments, He shows to us the direction towards an everlasting life with Him, a life freedom and in all its fullness. How are we following the path God has set for us? Are we on the right track? And as we move forward, do we bring others with us? Lord, thank you for always guiding us in our way to You through your commandments. Help us to be faithful in following them and as we lead others in drawing closer to you. Amen. #PrayVD
3/9/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 9, 2021March 9, 2021 Tuesday
Matthew 18:21-25 "I say to you, not seven times but seventy seven times." In today's gospel, Peter approached Jesus and asked "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sinned against me? Up to seven times?" He might have though he has given an exceptional answer but Jesus said to him, "not seven times, but seventy seven times." Jesus invites us to have a forgiving attitude each time we are hurt, simply because He desires for us nothing else but freedom and happiness. As imperfect people living in an imperfect world, we all make mistakes.. And isn't it beautiful to know that Jesus forgives us not just seven times, but seventy seven times? Jesus forgives us forever. Dearest Father, grant us humility to receive the gift of your everyday and through this mercy that we receive, may we be able to show mercy to others as well. Amen. #PrayVD
3/8/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 8, 2021March 8, 2021 Monday
Luke 4:24-30 "He passed through in the midst of them and went away" In our modern world, we have this so called "cancel culture" wherein people cast out people for doing or saying things that are unacceptable. Have you ever been rejected or cancelled by the people around you, even by the people closest to you, because you have spoken or done something uncomfortable for them? Jesus knows how you feel, He'd been there. He Himself experienced being cancelled by the people of his hometown for speaking of his hometown for speaking truths that they find unacceptable. And as response, "he passed through in the midst of them and went away." Jesus, in today's gospel, invites us to be courageous and bold in our loving by speaking the truth in love, regardless of how others will receive it. Dearest Jesus, help us to receive God's truths with an open heart, especially those which we find uncomfortable. May we be as courageous as you are in proclaiming them to others. Amen. #PrayVD
3/7/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 Sunday
Gospel: John 2:13–25 “He drove all of them out of the Temple.” (cf. John 2:15) In today’s Gospel, we see how Jesus cleansed the Temple of God by driving out those who desecrate it. It is safe to say that inside our heart lies the foundation of our humanity in which we believe that the things we say and do are mostly motivated by its beatings. And our heart takes the toll of our daily endeavors; be it spent with joy or anxiety; our heart reflects the outcome of our day. And today, we may see how Jesus ardently wants to be in our hearts that He wants to cleanse it from anxieties – he wants to purify it. Let us open our hearts today to Jesus, ready to be cleansed and purified by Him. #PrayVD
3/6/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 6, 2021March 6, 2021 Saturday
Gospel: Luke 15:1–3, 11–32 The Father’s Loving Embrace When two people embrace, their hearts are in the closest distance it could reach, letting them feel the beat of each other’s hearts – enabling them to express the depth of their love. This scene in today’s Gospel shows to us how our Heavenly Father yearns to express His love for us and for those who have lost their way. He wants us to feel the beat of His heart ready to love us in our every decision and deed. As we go our way in our day-to-day lives, may we always find our way back home to the Father in giving a moment to pray and reflect with the love He continuously express to us. #PrayVD
3/5/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 5, 2021March 5, 2021 Friday
Gospel: Matthew 21:33–43, 45–46 The Kingdom of God given In today’s Gospel, Jesus likened the Kingdom of God to that of a vineyard leased by a landowner to his tenants, and these tenants leasing the vineyard took it as their own disregarding the landowner’s rights to his property. Like the tenants in the Gospel, God also entrusts to us His Kingdom through the Word of God and He want us not to keep it only for ourselves but for us to bear its fruits by praying with it and sharing it to His people. #PrayVD
3/4/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 4, 2021March 4, 2021 Thursday
Gospel: Luke 16:19–31 “At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man.” (cf. Luke 16:20) In the eyes of men, prominent are those that earned the riches of the world but not in the eyes of God, who distinguishes those that obtained their places in His Kingdom. This is undeniably shown in our Gospel today which has given a name to a poor man rather than that to a rich man. Out there in our society, there are many people like Lazarus needing to be known and served. And as followers of Christ, let today’s Gospel challenge us to familiarize ourselves more with the poor as we serve in the peripheries. #PrayVD
3/3/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Wednesday
Gospel: Matthew 20:17–28 “Be like the Son of Man who came, not to be served but to serve.” (cf. Matthew 20:28) It is such a wonder how there is always a kind of “chair” that ambitious people want to “sit” onto and be regarded high and absolute. Such reality has been touched by Jesus in our Gospel today as two of His disciples aimed to be seated at His right and left in His Kingdom. As Christians, we should not aim to just sit onto our comforts not stressing out on our conveniences, watching how life could easily be for us but to walk into the peripheries reaching out to the burdened, easing life for them. May we be like St. Katharine Drexel, a philanthropist who chose to inherit not the fortune of the world but the richness of the Kingdom of God. #PrayVD
3/2/2021
Daily Guidelines: March 2, 2021March 2, 2021 Tuesday
Gospel: Matthew 23:1–12 Great yet Humble Greatness is not about how much one is being admired by many but how much one has dedicated his life to humble service for many. The admiration that every one of us must aspire should be the one coming from God and not from the people, for the humblest services dedicated are those not seen by many but witnessed by the One who sees everything. Today Jesus is inviting us into a great life aspiring purely of God’s delight and not of people’s awe. #PrayVD |
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August 2021
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