Weekly Guidelines
Read this week's guidelines and be nourished as you journey with our Community in Cebu.
 The Holy Trinity within us will make us live the vital warmth of his love and give us new life.August 20-26, 2018 General Theme: Holy Trinity: constitutes and forms the primary home in which God’s children will be born to Life, in the vital warmth of His Love General Objective: To continue building up the VD Family as place of encounter with the Holy Trinity Objective of the week: To experience that living as apostles with the Trinity will give us new life and new hope each day
INTRODUCTION There can be no greater declaration of love than that of our God—one and three—toward humanity. He himself gives his complete friendship and company, trust and intimacy in dialogue which is simple, tender, filial, committed, fraternal, definite, and eternal, like husband and wife. The Holy Trinity within us will make us feel this warmth of His love wherever we are. Our God—one and three—gives us new life and brings us deeper to the ways of love as his apostles (Verbum Dei Statutes 214). How blessed are we to be Verbum Dei apostles. Why? Because the Holy Trinity is always wanting us to experience His living presence within us in order to have a new life and a new hope each day. He is inviting us to taste and see His love, for this is very vital in our apostleship. In this way we can submit our lives to Him to be the bearers of his love. The Holy Trinity is very expressive and demonstrative of his loving. He needs our life so that he can love others, especially those people who are unaware of His presence within them. The Holy Trinity has a missionary heart. It is beautiful and amazing that the Trinity who dwells in us wants to share His life with us. In this way we can learn how to share the Trinitarian love to others. The mystery of the Trinity is something much more to be tasted than to be understood, to be experienced than to grasp, to enjoy rather than to solve. —Father Jaime Bonet How beautiful if we ponder deeply the Holy Trinity dwelling in us and ask this question: Does our love and devotion for the Blessed Trinity lead us to a greater love for humanity and more commitment to the mission? That is why we are greatly encouraged by Fr. Jaime to taste, experience, and enjoy the presence of the Holy Trinity within us, especially in our apostleship, so that we can easily understand that the true devotion to the Trinity is missionary because God the Father sent the Son to save us and we were given the Holy Spirit to help us in our task and mission as apostles. What is this task and mission as apostle? This is to continue the saving power of God to be experienced by the “many others” who are close to us. MONDAY A love that is filial Hosea 11:1 The Lord says, “When Israel was a child I loved him And called him out of Egypt as my son.” Col 3:12 “You are the people of God, he loved you and chose you for his own.” Today is a moment of thanksgiving to God for making us valuable to Him by owning us as his children. We are precious in the eyes of the Holy Trinity. That is why he chose to be with us and live in us. We are the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity, therefore we are given the chance to enjoy the warmth of his love, for this can help in renewing our life each day as an apostle. How are you as an apostle? Are you aware that as an apostle the Holy Trinity is within you? How often are you experiencing his presence in your apostleship? TUESDAY A love that is fraternal Psalm 133:1-3 How wonderful it is, how pleasant for God’s people to live together in harmony! It is like the precious anointing oil running down from Aaron’s head and beard, down to the collar of his robes. It is like the dew on Mount Hermon, falling on the hills of Zion. That where the Lord has promised his blessing-life that never ends. The Holy Trinity has a big desire to live in harmony with us, as God’s people. How beautiful that we also accept that loving desire of the Holy Trinity in order that we can also live in communion with Him. In this way we can also live in perfect harmony with the people around us as one big family of God. Is your apostleship living in communion with the Holy Trinity? Are you sensitive of his presence within you as an apostle? How do you connect with the Holy Trinity? How often do you receive new life from Him as an apostle? WEDNESDAY Committed for one and only obligation: to love Rom 13:8-10 Be under obligation to no one – the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not commit murder, do not steal; do not desire what belongs to someone else” – all these, and any other besides, are summed up in the one command, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself. If you love others, you will never do them wrong; to love then, is to obey the whole law. We are reminded of our commitment as apostles of God, especially our commitment as Verbum Dei apostle. How beautiful to realize that our commitment is not just ordinary but a commitment of love. A love that is forever, for it is the Holy Trinity who commits himself to us. In this way we will be able to commune with him in perfect harmony. How is your commitment as an apostle? Is it out of love? In what way can you submit your apostleship to the Holy Trinity in order to attain a perfect harmony? THURSDAY A love that is servicial Romans 12:9-13 Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as Christians and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. It is very clear that the concrete expression of love is to serve. Let us examine ourselves as we listen attentively to the words of God as we pray today. The Holy Trinity wants us to be sincere in our loving in order that we can also serve wholeheartedly. Let us thank the Holy Trinity for His sincere love to us. He is inviting us to savor the warmth of His love. This is what we need in order to become more sincere in our apostleship How is your prayer life as an apostle? Are you enthusiastic to serve by bringing the love of the Holy Trinity to others through your life as an apostle? Why? How? FRIDAY A love that is spousal Eph 5:21-25 Submit yourselves to one another because your revence to Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, His body. And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submit itself to Christ. We are taught by the Holy Trinity to be in communion in diversity, where there is respect and trust in our individual differences as members of the Verbum Dei Missionary Family. We need to recognize that each one is unique and irreplaceable. Nobody can replace you where you are in our community. Each member is needed and we are not competitive instead we complement each other. This is what is meant of the love of the Holy Trinity which is spousal, where two become one. This is how we put our apostleship to the Holy Trinity: to be one in Him in perfect unity and solidarity. How do you consider yourself as a member of our community? Is your apostleship Trinitarian, centered, or individualistic? How can you make your apostleship be one to the Holy Trinity? SATURDAY A love that is eternal 1 Cor 13:8 Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tounges but they will cease; there is knowledge but it will pass. Our apostleship needs to be in union with the Holy Trinity because His love will give us the energy to make our life as the bearer of His love. Especially to the places where the Holy Trinity wanted to love through our life. He needs our life where He can perform His ways of loving that the world cannot give, for His love brings eternal life. Are you willing to accept the offer of the Holy Trinity in your life as an apostle? Who are the people close to you that needs the love of the Holy Trinity? Are you willing to bring the Trinitarian love of God to your home, neighbors, friends, and people in your workplace? When? SUNDAY
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading Jos 24:1-2a,15-17,18b Psalm Psalm 34 2nd Reading Eph 5:21-32 Gospel John 6:60-69 |
Archives
July 2021
Categories |
||||||
RSS Feed
