Daily Reflections- June 1, 2012

GO BACK TO THE SANCTUARY

 

A priest I met at a seminar in Gabaldon, Nueva Ecija, once said, “Gabaldon used to be a place where people found rest and recreation because of so many trees around. But now, it looks as if the place was raped.” He was really saying the place was desecrated. The once-upon-a-time sanctuary and watershed was no more. How many more mountains, forests and rivers have lost their sense of sanctuary due to illegal logging, mining and pollution?

When Jesus was angry because people turned the Temple into a den of thieves, wasn’t He mourning the loss of sanctuary? Are there other violations, scandals and trespassing that happen at present that desecrate also the temple of our bodies?

The powerful persons during Jesus’ time were so blinded and numbed with their ways that they plotted to kill Jesus because He challenged their ways. In a prophetic gesture, Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers and merchants and lamented, “You have turned the Temple into a den of thieves.”

What was stolen? What was taken away from the Temple? I suppose they lost their center and core values: God, simplicity, compassion.

The Gospel of Mark reminds us that like the barren fig tree, we have not harvested any fruits. Have we become complacent and extravagant to the point of losing our sanctuary? Have we gained the world in exchange for the stolen soul?

The psalmist reminds us: “The Lord comes to judge the earth.” There is a judgment that can challenge us to discern the consequences of our choices. The Spirit of the Lord can challenge our corrupt ways to restore the integrity of our lives.

The Gospel challenges us to go back to the sanctuary of the temple: pray, believe, forgive. Fr. Teodulo P. Gonzales, S.J

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What radical change is Jesus calling you to do? What gifts are you being asked to offer?

 

Lord, like the moneychangers in the Temple, I have sometimes desecrated Your temple. Help me to clean up my mess and restore the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit in my life.

 

Daily Bible Readings - June 1, 2012

1^ST READING

 

God has given us minds by which we can understand the truth of who we are as beings created in His image and likeness. St. Peter reminds us to use our minds soberly when making decisions, that is, not to allow our emotions to overrule them. Our emotions are great servants when put in submission to the truth as we execute or plan our next step of action.

 

1 Peter 4:7-13

7 Beloved: The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and sober-minded so that you will be able to pray. 8 Above all, let your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 11 Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 12 Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 96:10, 11-12, 13

R: The Lord comes to judge the earth.

10 Say among the nations: The Lord is king. He has made the world firm, not to be moved; he governs the peoples with equity. (R) 11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound; 12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then shall all the trees of the forest exult. (R) 13 Before the Lord, for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

The story of the fig tree is a parable about the fruitfulness of our lives. God gives us numerous opportunities to respond to the gift of His grace. However, we will come to a point when we will run out of time. We must respond and show God that we appreciate the gift of salvation He has given us. How? Through the good deeds we perform. They do not save us, but they certainly express our thanks that God has saved us.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I choose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that lasts, says the Lord.

 

Mark 11:11-26

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve. 12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry. 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. 14 And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it. 15 They came to Jerusalem, and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 16 He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. 17 Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written: ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’? But you have made it a den of thieves.” 18 The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city. 20 Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. 23 Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. 25 When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”

 

think: Our good deeds do not save us, but they certainly express our thanks that God has saved us.

 

T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 2 Samuel 5-8  

Daily Reflections- May 31, 2012

BURST OF BLESSINGS

 

The story of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the spirit of today’s liturgy is the exemplification of God’s graciousness. The grace that she received from God is the greatest wish of every Jewish lady: that of being chosen by Yahweh- God to be the mother of the much awaited Messiah. With such experience of God’s goodness, she goes with solicitude to visit Elizabeth, her cousin, to share the news of her unique pregnancy and to assist Elizabeth who was herself gifted with motherhood in her advanced years. The words of Mary’s “Magnificat,” however, underline to us that her visit to her cousin was more than a mere family event. Everything is part of the spiral of blessings that reaches out from her to the generations after her.

This has always been God’s way — that His grace burst out from the one He calls to the generations after. With Abraham, He promised blessings to the descendants after him. With Jacob, He blessed the 12 tribes that will form the chosen nation of Israel. With Moses, God opened His gift of liberation for all of Moses’ people, no matter how stubborn and stiff-necked they were. In David, Yahweh-God extended the blessings of a kingdom to generations after, until around 525 B.C. In the course of His three-year ministry, Jesus Himself used the figure of the sun to illustrate how the Heavenly Father spreads His benevolence to all, even to the good and the bad, the just and the unjust. In fact, during the evening meal that marked His last night with the disciples, Jesus ended the meal with a prayer of intercession for His disciples and for all those who will come to believe because of them.

Human memory works in a similar pattern. Good deeds done by an ancestor are remembered by others and they become a benediction for their children and their children’s children. The descendants reap the harvest of goodness long after the well-appreciated forefather is laid to rest.

It is no wonder then that grace is described in songs as a river flowing. Grace flows on and on — it bursts its way through. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Look into your own family line. Identify each member’s contribution to your life of blessings as a family. In what way can you also contribute to the burst of goodness and blessings in your family and the future generations?

 

Thank You, Lord, for my family. Use me to bless them even more, Lord.

Daily Bible Readings - May 31, 2012

1^ST READING

 

Mary goes to visit Elizabeth in order to do what she can to help the latter in her pregnancy. It is highly likely that she needs help as she was way past childbearing years when she became pregnant. First, it is Mary’s obedience to God that attracts our attention to her and now, it is her selflessness. Any study of her life is like a course in how to live as a Christian — Class 101.

 

Zephaniah 3:14-18 (or Romans 12:9-16)

14 Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies; the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. 16 On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged! 17 The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; he will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, he will sing joyfully because of you, 18 as one sings at festivals.

 

P S A L M

 

Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

R: Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

2 God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. 3 With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation. (R) 4 Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name. (R) 5 Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth. 6 Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel! (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

Mary’s role in the work of salvation is unique. No one will ever bear the Son of God in their womb again. Yet, we are all called to bear the Son of God to the world through the lives we live — wherever we are, whatever we do and however we do it. Let us seek to grow in our understanding of the mission God has for each one of us so that we can fulfill it.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.

 

Luke 1:39-56

39 Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 46 And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: 49 the Mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. 50 He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. 51 He has shown strength of his arm, he has scatteredthe proud in their conceit. 52 He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has come to help his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy, 55 the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and to his children forever.” 56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

READING 2nd READING

TODAY’S

BLESSING

LIST

think: We are all called to bear the Son of God to the world through the lives we live — wherever we are, whatever we do and however we do it.

 

T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 2 Samuel 1-4  

Daily Reflections- May 30, 2012

THE ONE WHO DRANK THE CUP OF JESUS

 

Jesus challenged James and John that if they are to sit with Him in glory, to His right or to His left, they ought to be able to “drink the cup” that He Himself will drink. This expression of Jesus refers to His saving Passion and Death in Jerusalem (cf. Mark 14:36). The Lord corrects the popular thought among many Israelites who held the belief that the coming Messiah will be a Son of David who will continue the tradition of freeing the nation by political and military might. Also, among the circle of the Twelve Apostles, Jesus would like to underline that triumphalism is never His way. Instead, grace and blessings will flow through hardships and through the mystery of the Cross.

While preparing my talks and reflections that I wanted to share to various groups seeking retreats and recollections during the Lenten Season of 2011, I came to understand that Jesus’ words about the way of perfect discipleship were realized to the letter by the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was the one who was able to really “drink the cup” of Jesus’ Passion and Death. She did this when she stood calmly and faithfully at the foot of the Cross of Jesus in Calvary. She was not just there as a true mother to her Son Jesus. She was there, united with Jesus in her suffering, for the salvation of the world. She was there to immolate herself as Jesus also immolated Himself. Hence, a well-known theologian in the Church once said that next to Jesus, Mary was and is the only creature who understood not the theology of the Cross but the reality of the Cross.

There can be no complete picture of Christianity then without Mary. The Blessed Mother is not just the necessary conduit through whom the Mystery of Jesus’ Incarnation had to happen. The Blessed Mother is one with Jesus in His entire mission of doing the Heavenly Father’s will. Therefore, in His papal coat of arms, Pope John Paul II summarized Mary’s dignity not in terms of the story of Bethlehem but with consideration of her role during the Passion. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Is the Blessed Virgin Mary part of your own prayer and spirituality? Pray to her today for the grace to be able to “drink the cup” of Jesus.

 

Lord Jesus, thank Your for giving us the Blessed Virgin Mary to be our Mother, too. Grant me the grace to imitate her example of faithfulness and generosity in following Your will.

Daily Bible Readings - May 30, 2012

1^ST READING

 

Peter reminds us that a ransom was paid to free us from sin. It was Christ’s life that was given for this reason. This image of a ransom to make us understand the work of salvation helps to some degree, but we must remember that all images fall short of the full truth of the matter. In this case, the image does not provide an answer to the question, “Who was paid?” God is certainly not paying the devil.

 

1 Peter 1:18-25

18 Beloved: Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold 19 but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. 20 He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, 21 who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another intensely from a pure heart. 23 You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God, 24 for: “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts; 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

 

P S A L M

Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

R: Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

12 Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. 13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. (R) 14 He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you. 15 He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! (R) 19 He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. 20 He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

Seeking places of honor in the Kingdom of God is anathema to Jesus. James and John, or at least their mother, ought to have known this. However, what can you do with a mother’s aspiration for greatness for her children? Let us learn from this story the need to be humble if we are going to pursue a life of holiness. That we are on the way to heaven will be sufficient for us; we do not need to aspire to

particular places at the feast of eternal life.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The Son of Man came to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

Mark 10:32-45

32 The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles 34 who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” 37 They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42 Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44 whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

READING 2nd READING

TODAY’S

BLESSING

LIST

think: We need to be humble if we are going to pursue a life of holiness.

 

 

1st READING 2nd READING

T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

 

_______________________________________________________

 

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Samuel 29-31 

Daily Reflections- May 24, 2012

ONENESS IS GODLINESS

 

This part of the long Last Supper story of Jesus according to St. John is called “the Priestly Prayer.” Jesus, exercising His role as mediator between the Heavenly Father and us, offers intercessory prayers in the manner of a priest — first for the Twelve Apostles, then for all of us. Above all things, Jesus prays for the grace of oneness for all believers in the same way that He and the Heavenly Father are one.

         Oneness is not a simple virtue in building relationships, like any other virtue in community. Oneness is part of a supernatural anointing for persons in a relationship, whether it is in a family or in a community. In the conferences for the Marriage Encounter Weekend, when the dynamics of the weekend come into the aspect of discussing marriage as a story about “You, I and God,” the presentation develops the following progressive flow of teachings:

1. Marriage is not just a human decision to love but a divine call. It is God who made man and He willed that man be male and female. God did so because it is not good for the male to be alone. In marriage, the man and the woman complete each other.

2. The divine call is first a call to be image and likeness of God. God is love, and a man and a woman in a relationship, more so in marriage, are called to be the image of love for one another. In fact, the creation of woman was brought about by God’s loving desire for man to be happy. Woman is then essentially the highest expression of God’s love for the man.

3. The divine call is secondly a call to be a community of oneness. God is love, and this essential nature of the divinity is manifested in two manners: first, in God’s being a community of Three Persons in one God, and second, in God’s care and oneness with humanity. Jesus communicated the Oneness of God to us by becoming truly human like us. The gift of oneness and unity is not just a human ideal then, but a true mark of godliness!Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: In what ways do you foster unity in mind and heart between you and your community members? In what ways do you experience personally the truth that Oneness is godliness?

 

Lord Jesus, teach me to be one with You, and may this unity flow to my relationship with others.