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.
5/19/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 19, 2018May 19, 2018 Saturday
Gospel: John 21:20-25 ”You must follow me”(cf. Jn 21:22) Peter, in today’s Gospel, asked Jesus on what would happen to the disciple whom he loved. As a response, Jesus told him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”
Truthfully speaking, we have our own concerns in following Jesus. Though he has done many things in our lives, it is still inevitable for us to have our own concerns. For this, the response of Jesus is straight-forward and sincere: we must follow him. Follow him no matter what would happen, follow him no matter where we would be – words that are easy to say yet hard to commit to. Let us be firm in our commitment to follow him, even if we feel pressed by our own concerns. Our faith can make our hearts firm to our commitment.
5/18/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 18, 2018May 18, 2018 Friday
Gospel: John 21:15-19 ”Do you love me?... Feed my sheep.”(cf. Jn 21:17) In today’s Gospel, Jesus confirmes the quality of love of Peter to Him and as he accepts Peter’s loving responses He calls him to take charge of his sheep.
Mission is the way to proclaim the word. Though most of us proclaim our love to Jesus, some of us don’t really understand how to show it concretely. Is it enough to pray for the poor and eat in excess even when we’re not hungry anymore? Is it enough to symphatize with the burdened and enjoy life with as much ease as we can? Talk is cheap, but action is priceless. Jesus knows our love for Him, what He wants to know is where could our love for Him bring us. Today’s Gospel invites us to let our words be actions and our prayers be a mission.
5/17/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 Thursday
Gospel: John 17:20-26 "I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."(cf. Jn 17:26)
Jesus always speak to us about God the Father and in today’s Gospel, he prays so that we may know Him – so that his love may be in us.
How much do we know about God the Father? Do we acknowledge his presence in our lives? Do we feel his love? As Jesus calls us brothers and sisters, he also made us know about the Father. He even taught us how to pray to our Father. Jesus’ prayer in today’s Gospel inspires us to deepen our relationship with the Father. Pray more to Him, acknowledge and accept one another as brothers and sisters so that we would live in love as a family.
5/16/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 16, 2018May 16, 2018 Wednesday
Gospel: John 17:11b-19 ”Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”(cf. Jn 17:17) In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues to pray for us, theat we may be safe in the truth – the word of God the Father.
Truth would indeed set one free, but what is it that keeps others from living the truth? The answer is discontentment – the inability to fulfill one’s desires. Today’s Gospel calls us to preach to all the peoples, for us to fulfill their deepest thirst with the word of God. We can start our with our own lives and be a “living Bible” for them so when they encounter us they would know Jesus. Live out the word of God, live the truth.
5/15/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 15, 2018May 15, 2018 Tuesday
Gospel: John 17:1-11a ”All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.”(cf. Jn 17:10) Has anyone told you, “I prayed for you.” It is nice indeed to be in someone’s prayer. And in today’s Gospel, we are one in the prayer of Jesus – he prays for us.
He has us as much as we have him and he is one with us as much as we are one with him. This is the good news of Jesus being glorified not only because of him being the Son of God but also him being one with us. He knows us and he knows what to pray for us. Today’s Gospel invites us to be one with Jesus. Being one with him means being one with our brothers and sisters. We are invited to acknowledge his presence in the peripheries – reach out to them and pray for them. #PrayVD
5/14/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 14, 2018May 14, 2018 Monday Gospel: John 15:9-17 ”Love one another.”(cf. Jn 15:17) Jesus in today’s Gospel commanded his apostles to love one another. So as for them to remain in his love, he encourage them to keep his commandment. The commandment of Jesus to love one another is timeless. It is a never-ending need for humanity.
Corruption, terrorism, poverty – with the humanity dramatically losing its morality, love is still somewhere to find in every one’s hearts. Beyond morality—principles concerning the distinction between good and bad behaviour—is love, yet love could also be before morality. The challenge of today’s Gospel is the act of loving until morality is restored. If one could love another, then the other could also do the same to another and so on and so forth. Just always choose to love. #PrayVD
5/13/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 13, 2018May 13, 2018 - Sunday
Jn 17:11B-19 Jesus is the name of the Living WordJesus lifted His eyes to heaven and prayed asking the Father to keep and protect us in his name; Jesus shared his joy to us completely and was sent in the world for us to be consecrated in the truth.
“Jesus” is the name of the living Word. Jesus is the fulfilment of the scripture. Jesus is The Word itself. The gospel is describing how powerful the Word of God is. The Word makes us one with God, the Word protects, the Word gives us complete joy and it also tells us the truth about our lives. That is how powerful and beautiful the word of God is! Just as the Father has sent his Son to make the Word alive, Jesus is sending us to spread and be his living Word in the world of today. We are invited to pray deeper and see the beauty of the Word, and to experience the complete joy of Jesus. Let us allow that joy overflow in our hearts in such a way that it may fill the world through our lives by living and preaching the Word of God.
5/12/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 12, 2018May 12, 2018 - Saturday
Jn 16:23B-28 Your Joy will be completeJesus said to His disciples “Whatever you ask the Father in My name he will give you. Until now you haven’t asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete”.
Have we asked Jesus for joy? We might have asked but, did we listen to Jesus as he speaks to us about a greater joy to desire? Worldly things may give us joy but only a temporary and incomplete one. In the gospel Jesus tells us that the Father himself loves us and the complete joy comes from his love. Let us go deeper in our relationship and love with Jesus because only his love will complete our joy. Ask and listen to him. We are also invited to show to others the source of true joy. Share to others the love we experienced from Jesus and let their hearts be filled with complete joy!
5/11/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 11, 2018May 11, 2018 – Friday
Jn 16:20-23 I will see you again and your hearts will rejoiceIn today's Gospel, Jesus talks about a woman in labor. We can compare our lives with this woman… especially when we are trying to live and preach the word of God. We are faced with our weaknesses--shyness and superficiality for example, while the world rejoices.
Indeed, trying to be faithful to the word of God will sometimes entail pain and sufferings, like pangs of childbirth. But despite the sufferings and weaknesses, if we live the word faithfully then our sufferings and weaknesses will become joy, the joy of being fruitful. The child that has been born into the world makes the woman joyful; we will also become joyful if through us Jesus is born in our world today. Through our weaknesses we are able to grow; through our sufferings we are able to understand the suffering of others. Jesus said that he will see us again and all of our sufferings will become joy. He is inviting us to be connected to him for he will give us strength amidst our sufferings, so we may bear fruit and rejoice on seeing him be born in the world today.
5/10/2018
Daily Guidelines: May 10, 2018May 10, 2018 – Thursday
Jn 16:16-20 A little while later you will see MeJesus said to His disciples “A little while longer you will no longer see me and again a little while later and you will see me”. Then some of his disciples are asking one another what Jesus meant on what he said. He knew what the disciples wanted to ask him, and asked them if they were discussing with one another about what he told them.
Jesus is inviting us to listen and dialogue with him and not to just listen and then discuss with one another. God can speak to us in a deeper manner that sometimes we cannot grasp the first time we read his word. We are invited to go deeper in our prayer with the word of God and to listen only to God. Ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of Wisdom as we go deeper in our prayer to understand his personal message for us. His word is so powerful that it can change the world. Let us us live, preach and believe in his word. His word will reveal Jesus to us and we will see him in action through our lives. |
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