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.
4/10/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 10, 2018April 10, 2018/ Tuesday Gospel: Jn 3:7b-15 ”You Must Be Born Again from Above”“The wind blows where it pleases”....Of the three Divine Persons, the Holy Spirit is the most unknown, yet we call on It the most times aside from Jesus. When we ask God “to send forth Your Spirit”, when we open our hearts, we feel it entering our whole being entirely. The peace that we experience, the joy that lifts our hearts and minds, and the serenity that overcome us despite the difficulties: these are the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Let us continually pray for Divine intervention in all our challenges; it may surprise us how and when these will come. We may not see an immediate solution to our needs, then lo and behold, it just appears perhaps through other people or something we see or hear.
4/9/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 9, 2018April 9, 2018 / Monday
Gospel: Lk 1:26-38 ”Let It Be Done To Me According to Your Word.”This total surrender of Mary at such a young age will be her permanent attitude in the years to come. She will experience things she could not understand , “and she kept all these in her heart.”
When God chose Mary to be the “Mother of God”, He chose her, a pure womb to bear the Son of God. And this is the ultimate praise we can give her – Mother of God. God became man through her, she is thus a partner in the Redemption and salvation of mankind. Her whole life was a fiat. Mother Mary, pray that we too, may be able to follow your example and say “Fiat” to things that are happening, and will happen in our lives. May we accept and never doubt in God’s Holy Will, to not be afraid.
4/8/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 8, 2018April 8, 2018 – Sunday Gospel: John 20:19-31 “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21) This is the mercy of God – that even if we are sometimes skeptical on His presence, He chooses to give us His peace and even entrusts to us a mission.
As we celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday, we are invited to taste the gift of His everlasting mercy in confession. If we are still staying behind the locked doors of impatience, unforgiving heart, insensitivity, and indifference, Jesus is inviting us to come to Him that we may receive the peace that comes from Him – the peace that He desires to give us. Lord, as I receive your peace today, may I also be a channel of peace to the people I encounter and to the places I go.
4/7/2018
Prayer Buddies - 4/7/2018"Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."(Acts 4:19)
Whose voice am I listening everyday? Do I hear the voice of God & allow it to transcend in me or I only listen to my selfish interests? We act & say what we want. How about the desire of God in you and for other people? Let us constantly revive the spirit we have received from Easter in order not to easily judge others.
VERBUM DEI PRAYER BUDDIES
4/7/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 7, 2018April 7, 2018 – Saturday Gospel: Mark 16:9-15 Missionaries For AllToday’s gospel summarizes the way Jesus reveals Himself to the people which we have read in the gospel these past days. As we see, Jesus has been very persistent in making His disciples believe in His resurrection. Not to only leave them astounded on the mystery of resurrection but to entrust them a mission that is more than to go and proclaim in Galilee but “to go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”
Today, Jesus entrusts to us the same mission. He calls us to be missionaries for all and in all - for all people including the last, the least, and the lost and in all places where the light of Jesus is much needed. How are you trying to live the mission God has placed in your hands? Lord, grant me the courage and strength to respond and live out your invitation to preach and live the Gospel in the daily options I choose and make in life.
4/6/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 6, 2018April 6, 2018 – Friday Gospel: John 21:1-14 Cast On The Other Side“Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” (John 21:6)
In today’s gospel, we see Peter and the disciples fishing all night at the Sea of Tiberias only to catch nothing. Not until Jesus came and these disciples did what He told them to do. They cast their net on the other side and got a big catch without the net getting torn! Perhaps this is what resurrection could mean for us – moving from one side to another. From emptiness to abundance, death to life, pain to joy, doubt to hope, impossibilities to miracles – all brought about by the presence of Christ in our midst. What are the areas of your life Jesus is asking you to cast on the other side? It could be an unforgiving and impatient heart to a loving and patient one, hard ways to gentle ones in dealing with people, etc. Lord, may the miracle of the big catch and the untorn net move me to cast my net on the side where You want me to.
4/5/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 5, 2018April 5, 2018 – Thursday Gospel: Luke 24:35-48 Dare to WitnessPerhaps it is not the first time we get an invitation to be witnesses of Christ. But how often we take this calling seriously? To witness is not only to see and experience the works of God in our lives, but also to let others know and see it through the way we live.
What hinders you from witnessing Christ? Shame? Fear? Indifference? Today, hear Him say, “Peace be with you.” Holy Spirit, grant me the courage and strength to be a witness each day.
4/4/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 4, 2018April 4, 2018 – Wednesday Gospel: Luke 24:13-35 Broken Yet Life-GiverJesus must have been Israel’s “the one that got away.” For the one that they hoped would redeem them was crucified. This is the sentiment of two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And perhaps, their hope was a bit shattered that’s why they failed to recognize Jesus at their sight…. Not until Jesus broke the bread in front of them.
Jesus has been very consistent in the simple and humble ways with which he reveals himself – from being born in a manger and now to breaking of the bread. This not only invites us to have the eyes of hope that recognize Jesus in the simple things but calls us, as his followers, to strive even in the simple ways to reveal him to other people – on the way we talk, we approach, we act. Lord, whenever we receive you in the Eucharist as a broken bread, You only not give us physical food to eat. You give us Your very self, Your love, Your hope, Your mercy. May we be ready to be the same for others – broken yet life-givers.
4/3/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 – Tuesday Gospel: John 20:11-18 Have You Seen the Lord?When our heart is pierced with grief and pain because of losing a person, an important thing, a dream job, or an opportunity, we oftentimes become blind of what is in front of us. The same happened when Mary found the tomb of Jesus empty! She was in such a loss that she was not able to recognize at first that the one in front of her is the one she has been looking for. Not until Jesus calls her name, “Mary.”
Are you weeping over a loss? A death? A broken relationship? A tragic event? Be still and allow the gaze of Jesus to rest on you. Listen to Him calling you by your name. He knows your heart… so well. Trust in that. Lord, may I not allow my emotions blind me from seeing your presence. Help me to see you through the people that I encounter each day. And may others see You in me.
4/2/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 – Monday
Gospel: Matthew 28:8-15 What’s Next?We made it through Lent. Christ has risen. But, what’s next?
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” After this encounter with the Risen Christ, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were going back to Galilee. Not only with knowledge, but with a concrete plan – to go and tell the Good News to the people: Jesus is meeting them. Lent was a journey of going within ourselves, and this season of Easter, we are invited to go and step out like these women--to be sharers of Christ’s resurrection bringing His presence, hope, and love to our brothers and sisters. Does your life reflect the hope of the Risen Christ? How can you share God’s love to someone today? Lord, may my life be a testimony of hope that your resurrection brings. #VDDailyGuidelines |
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