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.
4/14/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 14, 2018April 14, 2018/ Saturday Gospel: Jn 6:16-21 ”It is I, don’t be afraid.”When we are confronted by turbulence and trials, Jesus comes to us to strengthen our faith and draw us nearer to Him. As long as we are here on earth, we will have our never-ending trials to undertake, one after another, like riding a roller-coaster. That’s why we need an anchor to hold onto, as we plunge into the valley of despair, and ride up to seek for Christ’s light.
We come out of these trials with more resolve, purified and more humbled as we feel God’s love. We seek our Mother’s hand in ours, seek comfort in her closeness, knowing that the Lord will listen to His Mother to answer our pleas. We are forged through whatever challenges we find on our way.
4/13/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 13, 2018April 13, 2018/ Friday Gospel: Jn 6:1-15 ”How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?”It only means that we do whatever we can, even if it is little. Our Lord multiplies it a thousandfold. Sometimes Jesus makes us see how big the problem is, and how little we can do to resolve it. We are tested on where we place our trust: will it be on Him, or on our own efforts?
He still wants to see how much effort we exert and how we act during trying times. Passivity is also not for Him; he wants us to take action too. And not be overtaken by fear, doubt and negativity. Do your sowing now, don’t put it off til later. He blesses our efforts and multiplies them. Fully depending on God is certainly tempting Him; do your 100%, and God will give His 100%.
4/12/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 12, 2018April 12, 2018/ Thursday Gospel: Jn 3:31-36 “He who comes from above is above all...”All earthly existence has to be directed by God. It is our obligation to exercise a critical role in our institutions, and communities to correspond with Christian morality. We would normally obey the law, but when it is not moral anymore, we act according to our conscience.
We therefore aspire for consistency and unity in our beliefs and values. Our faith provides us with the guidance and firmness as we integrate these Christian beliefs into our daily lives. When given a choice, how do we decide? What will we be our criteria for making a decision? Without thinking, we know where we stand, always on the right. When called for, we make heroic decisions, even on little things. We stand for what we believe in, on where our convictions lie, based on Divine law.
4/11/2018
Daily Guidelines: April 11, 2018April 11, 2018/ Wednesday Gospel: Jn 3:16-21 ”Whoever lives in the truth, lives in the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”When we sin, we hide in darkness. When we lie, we hide behind a facade, a fake front; we cover up lie after lie after lie. But once we experience conversion, as we emerge from the darkness, we are able to speak the truth with courage. By being one with the Lord, we walk in the light.
Conversion starts perhaps as a restlessness, or tickling of the conscience. It may be a yearning for more peace, or for more clarity in life’s meaning or purpose. As we continue to search, God works on our actuations and motivations, making these more aligned to His plan. We pray that we find holiness in the midst of earthly realities.
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. |
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