Weekly Guidelines
Read this week's guidelines and be nourished as you journey with our Community in Cebu.
The Father chose me and sent me into the world(John 10:36) “Reviving the gift that is in you” April 26-May 2, 2021 General Objective: To grow as a Verbum Dei family in the missionary, prophetic, itinerant and expansive spirit so that we can form joyfully, apostles of Christ and evangelizing communities. Objective of the Week: To be able to respond with the help of St. Joseph in doing the will of the Father in His call to serve through our specific charism
MONDAY (St. Paschasius Radbertus) IMVDFa#105. In the Church, all Christians, through Baptism, are called to an adherence to the program of life that Jesus proposes. Such adhesion only becomes concrete through the participation and committed belonging in a community of the faithful. The members of the VDMFa concretize our response to the call of God, our belonging to the Church, our listening, acceptance and assimilation of the Gospel through the living out, announcement and expression of the "Verbum Dei" charism in community. Isaiah 43:1-5 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you.. What is my attitude before this calling of God to me? How do I take it? TUESDAY (St. Zita) 1 Sam 16:7 But the Lord said to him, “Pay no attention to how tall and handsome he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” How do I recognize His choice of me? WEDNESDAY (St. Peter Chanel & St. Louis Mary de Montfort) 1 Cor.1:27 God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. “In the Gospels, St. Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.” (Pope Francis) How do I see myself before this choice of God? THURSDAY (St. Catherine of Siena) IMVDFa#104. The vocation in the VDMFa is born from the response of each one to the personal call of God to be “Verbum Dei,” for it is He who calls us and gathers us in one and the same missionary family. Pope’s Message from the 58th World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2021 Amid all these upheavals, he (St. Joseph) found the courage to follow God’s will. So too in a vocation: God’s call always urges us to take a first step, to give ourselves, to press forward. There can be no faith without risk. Only by abandoning ourselves confidently to grace, setting aside our own programmes and comforts, can we truly say “yes” to God. And every “yes” bears fruit because it becomes part of a larger design, of which we glimpse only details, but which the divine Artist knows and carries out, making of every life a masterpiece. In this regard, Saint Joseph is an outstanding example of acceptance of God’s plans. Yet his was an active acceptance: never reluctant or resigned. Joseph was “certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive” (Patris Corde, 4). Am I willing to give my generous response as well like those who have gone ahead of me? What stops me from taking a step? FRIDAY (St. Pius V) Jonah 1:1-12,17 One day the Lord spoke to Jonah son of Amittai. 2 He said, “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it; I am aware of how wicked its people are.” 3 Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the Lord. He went to Joppa, where he found a ship about to go to Spain. He paid his fare and went aboard with the crew to sail to Spain, where he would be away from the Lord.4 But the Lord sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up. 5 The sailors were terrified and cried out for help, each one to his own god. Then, in order to lessen the danger, they threw the cargo overboard. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone below and was lying in the ship's hold, sound asleep.6 The captain found him there and said to him, “What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help. Maybe he will feel sorry for us and spare our lives.”7 The sailors said to each other, “Let's draw lots and find out who is to blame for getting us into this danger.” They did so, and Jonah's name was drawn. 8 So they said to him, “Now, then, tell us! Who is to blame for this? What are you doing here? What country do you come from? What is your nationality?”9 “I am a Hebrew,” Jonah answered. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made land and sea.” 10 Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the Lord. The sailors were terrified, and said to him, “That was an awful thing to do!”11 The storm was getting worse all the time, so the sailors asked him, “What should we do to you to stop the storm?”12 Jonah answered, “Throw me into the sea, and it will calm down. I know it is my fault that you are caught in this violent storm.”..15 Then they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and it calmed down at once. 16 This made the sailors so afraid of the Lord that they offered a sacrifice and promised to serve him.17 At the Lord's command a large fish swallowed Jonah, and he was inside the fish for three days and three nights. Where is God further calling me? Am I willing to obey Him? SATURDAY (St.Joseph the Worker) Matthew 1:19-20,24 Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately. 20 While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived…24 So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to. How am I invited to be like St. Joseph in his response to God? 5th Sunday of Easter 1st Reading: Acts 9:26-31
Resp. Psalm: Psalm 22:26-32 2nd Reading: 1 John 3:18-24 Gospel: John 15:1-8 |
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