Weekly Guidelines
Read this week's guidelines and be nourished as you journey with our Community in Cebu.
 Love Goes Out to Meet YouMarch 4-10, 2019 General Objective: To be led to the source of this love we’re looking for and discover our genuine identity as a Child of God To discover the heart of God as our Father , recognizing His unconditional love for all His children Objective of the week: To recognize God as our Father and enter into this loving relationship with Him
INTRODUCTION We have been reflecting on this truth of faith that our life is meant for love. In God did we find this fatherly love , who is the source of this life and love. As we begin this month’s prayer, let us bear in our hearts that God has a face, that face of love of a Father who goes out to our encounter to meet us. As Christian believer , we address God by calling him above all ‘Father.’ Pope Francis in his catechesis on God as our Father invites us that we can stay all the time in prayer with that word alone: ‘Father’ and to find the richness of having a father: not a master or a stepfather as we focus on the depth of His personal love for each person found within God’s fatherhood. This coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten Season. It is a time for greater love, time to acknowledge once more that God is our Father who knows our every prayer and sees our every action. He loves us for who we really are. We experience walking away from Him along our journey because we think that we do not need Him. Yet, He waits until we come to our senses and take the steps to walk back to Him.Lent is a time for us to take steps as He does to us, to return to Him, not by fear or by force as the situation calls us to do so, but out of love. Doing penance, praying and fasting are external actions that must be done, yet not for superficial reasons but with the desire to know and love God, our Father. Let us look deeper into our lives and see how God as our Father has and continues to show us his love. Let us meet and learn to walk with the Father and experience a deeper encounter of love renewed in every encounter with Him each day. MONDAY A Father who Welcomes Us Lk 15:18,20 I will get up and go to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you”…So he got up and started back to his father. “ He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. God as our father longs for our presence and for a deeper relationship with Him. He doesn’t want us to be separated with Him. Who is God for me at this point of my faith journey?How do I find Him as my father?What is my attitude towards Him? TUESDAY A Father who Owns us 1 Jn 3:1 See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children—and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God. Think of how much God loves us by calling us his own children. Many have experienced being disowned by their own family. Yet our identity as God’s children does not change regardless of what kind of person we are nor which family we come from. Even if we stray far away from His teachings, He will welcome us with open arms when we realize our mistakes and come home to Him out of love. We can show the world how God became a father to us by the way we live our life. Do I see myself as a child of God? How am I grateful to him?where does it lead me this reality of my being His child? WEDNESDAY (Ash Wednesday) A Father who leads us closer to His Heart Mt.6:6 But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you. In front of God, we are assured that we have a father who is always there to listen, who knows us well, who accepts and loves us for who we are. Our values are cultivated deep within our way of life. What we do in the absence of our peers show us who we really are, and every deed that is pleasing in the eyes of God will be rewarded. In what experiences have I witnessed God as a father to me? What am I asking God for in my life? Do I come to him with a sincere heart? THURSDAY A Father who Saves Us Is 63:16 You are our father. Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob do not acknowledge us, but you, Lord, are our father, the one who has always rescued us. Mt. 7:11b How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Trust nowadays is easily broken in relationships with family and friends. But in our struggles and brokenness, we have a Father who comes to us, shows us his love and saves us from complete distress, through the people we meet and the situations we are in. Behind the heart of every helpful person is the hand of God guiding their hearts and minds to help us in any way. Were there times when I find myself incapable of surpassing a very challenging situation? Do I ask the Father to help me receive the grace I need to overcome this situation? FRIDAY A Father who Forms Us Is 64:8 But you are our father, Lord. We are like clay, and you are like the potter. You created us. God as the Father who created us gently molds us in his hands forming us into his very own image and likeness. He knew well the purpose of our lives. We have our own dreams, but God also has a dream for us. How do I see my life now? Do I find God’s dream for my life vital for my growth? SATURDAY A Father who Walks with Us Deut 1:30-31 “But I told you, ‘Don't be afraid of those people. The Lord your God will lead you, and he will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt and in the desert. You saw how he brought you safely all the way to this place, just as a father would carry his son.’ In every challenge we have faced and every trial we have conquered in our life, God was there - carrying us even when we felt like giving up. His loves gives off a sense of security as we go about our daily life. As a father, it makes Him happy when we have lived our lives in the fullness of His love. How can I be more faithful in my prayer? In what way can I lovingly offer to the Father my acts of mercy and love? SUNDAY 1ST Sunday of LENT Readings:
1st Reading: Deut 26:4-10; Resp Psalm: Ps 91:1-15; 2nd Reading: Rom 10:8-13; Gospel: Luke 4:1-13 |
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