Guidelines for prayer: August 22-28, 2016 - The Missionary Zeal to be Jesus in the world of today8/24/2016
General Theme: The Missionary Zeal of Jaime Bonet in the encounter with God and the efficiency of Hacer-hacer General Objective: - To deepen and follow the same missionary zeal of Jaime to encounter God. - To live out the efficiency of ‘hacer-hacer’ Objective of the week: To learn from Jaime how, like Jesus, he was forming apostles. INTRODUCTION
This month, we have been reminded about the real life situation of our founder, Jaime Bonet, how he lived, and how he survived until now as a bearer of God’s Love and Life. Upon witnessing to our brothers and sisters, it is a wakeup call to each one of us to keep the fire of God’s love burning in our hearts. As members of this family, it is our privilege of proclaiming the message of Christ to them. We must exercise what we have received from the community as our way of thanking God for giving us Jaime who taught us how to keep our faith alive and active. We must be grateful to him for his generosity unceasingly forming apostles not only to his own country but to the far-flung countries in the world. “…in my flesh, the Word must become incarnate, it must be expressed. The Word must fuse with my being and my ‘self’ must fuse with the Word. All my being must be voice, announcement, mission, Gospel, Good News. (Jaime Bonet) To speak from the heart means that our hearts must not just be on fire but also enlightened by the fullness of revelation and by the path travelled by God’s Word in the heart of the Church and our faithful people throughout history. (Evangeli Gaudium 144) It is not enough to simply repeat what Jesus did in the past, but to be Jesus in doing these things. “…more than a carrier of a Jesus who is a message, the Evangelizer feels carried and transported by a Jesus who is the messenger, whom they accompany and second, as a loudspeaker to the voice, as an echo or a resonance to the cry – to the Word. (Jaime Bonet) How do you keep your encounter with Christ burning everyday? How do you deepen your missionary zeal? MONDAY Missionary zeal is to head the invitation of the Holy Spirit (Queenship of Mary) Romans 15:1-7 It is for us who are strong to bear with the susceptibilities of the weaker ones, and not please ourselves. 2 Each of us must consider his neighbour's good, so that we support one another. 3 Christ did not indulge his own feelings, either; indeed, as scripture says: The insults of those who insult you fall on me. 4 And all these things which were written so long ago were written so that we, learning perseverance and the encouragement which the scriptures give, should have hope. 5 Now the God of perseverance and encouragement give you all the same purpose, following the example of Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may together give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one heart. 7 Accept one another, then, for the sake of God's glory, as Christ accepted you. Ephesians 5:1-2 As God's dear children, then, take him as your pattern, 2 and follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up for us as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God. The vastness of God’s love speaks of His invitation to be united with Him forever. His grace is at work always and everywhere, yet, who can be God’s instruments to speak for this truth to our brothers and sisters? We have been blessed with Jaime who taught us to encounter Christ everyday. The encounter that he meant is not only in prayer but entails actions and applications so that our faith may flourish and bear much fruit. TUESDAY Missionary zeal is to enjoy the dignity of life as children of God (St. Rose of Lima) 1 Peter 2:21-25 21 This, in fact, is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps. 22 He had done nothing wrong, and had spoken no deceit. 23 He was insulted and did not retaliate with insults; when he was suffering he made no threats but put his trust in the upright judge. 24 He was bearing our sins in his own body on the cross, so that we might die to our sins and live for uprightness; through his bruises you have been healed. 25 You had gone astray like sheep but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. 2 Thessalonians 2:14 14 Through our gospel he called you to this so that you should claim as your own the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jaime Bonet wanted us to live our human dignity of life – to experience with Christ and to live for Christ as God’s children. We are bound to treasure this truth by committing ourselves to spread it to our brothers and sisters and teach them the secret of how to obtain it, for this is also a unique privilege for us to become like Christ. WEDNESDAY Missionary zeal is to learn to establish eternal life (St. Bartholomew - Apostle) Matthew 23:25-28 25 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. 26 Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that it and the outside are both clean. 27 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption. 28 In just the same way, from the outside you look upright, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Colossians 3:1-4 Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God's right hand. 2 Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth, 3 because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. 4 But when Christ is revealed -- and he is your life-you, too, will be revealed with him in glory. Looking at our society, a lot of people are living in accordance to the standards of the world. Many of whom are enslaved from selfishness and live in excessive desire of earthly goods and riches. What’s the use of all these when our hearts remain deaf and blind to God’s love. How did you invest your life? Did you spend it according to the world’s standards? Did you find time to seek the kingdom of God before anything else? THURSDAY Missionary zeal is to be generous in time and talent. (St. Louis and St. Joseph Calasanz) Ephesians 4:22-24 22 You were to put aside your old self, which belongs to your old way of life and is corrupted by following illusory desires. 23 Your mind was to be renewed in spirit 24 so that you could put on the New Man that has been created on God's principles, in the uprightness and holiness of the truth. 1 Thessalonians 4:1&10 Finally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus; we instructed you how to live in the way that pleases God, and you are so living; but make more progress still… 10 and in fact this is how you treat all the brothers throughout the whole of Macedonia. However, we do urge you, brothers, to go on making even greater progress Living in an old self is a kind of life without direction. While living in a new life is a kind of life that lives with a purpose and a life that invests in heaven or eternal life. One thing that helps us gain heaven is to establish a small group in a community or workplace and hold a regular mini encounter with Jesus through SOW. However, our missionary zeal is not only meant for prayer but also to teach others to communicate with Christ until they can learn to live their prayer all by themselves. This is what the Lord wanted to reveal to us through Jaime Bonet. FRIDAY Missionary zeal is to learn to be like Christ. John 1:45-49 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' 46 Nathanael said to him, 'From Nazareth? Can anything good come from that place?' Philip replied, 'Come and see.' 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, 'There, truly, is an Israelite in whom there is no deception.' 48 Nathanael asked, 'How do you know me?' Jesus replied, 'Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig tree.' 49 Nathanael answered, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.' Philippians 3:14-17 14 I am racing towards the finishing-point to win the prize of God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. 15 So this is the way in which all of us who are mature should be thinking, and if you are still thinking differently in any way, then God has yet to make this matter clear to you. 16 Meanwhile, let us go forward from the point we have each attained. 17 Brothers, be united in imitating me. Keep your eyes fixed on those who act according to the example you have from me. The love of God cannot be contained in one heart because it is not meant for a few. He wanted every person to experience the real joy which the world cannot offer. If some people only knew the real joy with Jesus, they would not have been selfish and insecure. So the invitation to the VD Disiciples is very strong. We need to share with them the joy that we have experienced with Jesus. It is a unique experience of carrying out Jesus’ name yet this privilege also includes the responsibility of living an upright manner. SATURDAY Missionary zeal is to commune with Christ. (St. Monica) Dialogue is much more than the communication of a truth. It arises from the enjoyment of speaking and it enriches those who express their love for one another through the medium of words… This is an enrichment which does not consist in objects but in persons who share themselves in dialogue… truth goes hand in hand with beauty and goodness… it communicates the beauty of the images used byt eh Lord to encourage the practice of good… wondrous things done by God. Their hearts growing in hope from the joyful and practical exercise of the love which they have received, will sense that each word of Scripture is a gift before it is a demand. (Evangelii Gaudium 142) Dialogue with Jesus is very essential for us VD. It is a tool to increase our personal encounter with him. It is also a tool to experience the real joy and the real freedom. A privilege to express and exchange our thoughts and emotions with Him. It is an opportunity to emit his holiness and exercise our missionary zeal. Therefore, let us continue the mission which Jesus has started but let us become Jesus. Let us make the word become flesh in us. SUNDAY 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 68 2nd Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24 Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14 Comments are closed.
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