"May they be in us" (John 17:21b)Jubilee Year 50 years in Your Word January 14-20, 2013 Objective of the Week: To become builders of communion wherever we may be, participating in the building of the Kingdom Verbum Dei Foundation (Jan. 17) - Happy Anniversary! Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan. 18-25) Download the printable version:
IntroductionIn this baptism of Jesus, His public ministry started. He called people to faith, to join him in his mission. We, too, sharing in His same mission desire to live with the same spirit of the twelve apostles and of the first Christian community. We are the continuity of the group whom Jesus called personally to live in communion with himself and with the other disciples and be a credible sign of the life and communion. We are to propagate to the world that this is the vocation of man and the only guarantee of the unity in every family and of every fraternal community. Thus, we are called to propagate the kingdom of God through the community of disciples that are generating this communion with all. Love is what builds communion. The living out and living together of the Trinitarian love makes present the Kingdom among us, making us One in Him. The mutual love of the Holy Trinity makes it possible to present to the world, in a credible way, the project of love of the Father with the mutual acceptance, welcoming, forgiveness and reconciliation, mutual commitment, etc. Mutual fraternal love makes visible and concrete the meaning of being a family of faith: a family that expresses common roots, sense of identity, belongingness and warm relationship. It’s an atmosphere of trust where each one can grow as a person and as a follower of Jesus, where each person’s gift is being enjoyed. It’s possible to live in communion in the midst of diversity of ministries in the service of our charism. These ministries are at the same time ways of carrying out the mission and are means in which we are being nourished in our life of faith, as well as, proposing to others this growing in the love of God and neighbor. Verbum Dei is not a ghetto. Our life of mutual charity must never permit us to fall into a ‘clique’ or closed circle within a Branch, a community or group of people. Rather we must always be in function of the greatest apostolic effectiveness and should favor it to the utmost. (cf.CFMVD 142) The Verbum Dei family is to be a network of support, a homely environment that lives totally immersed in the world where Christian identity is getting lost in the globalized atmosphere. Let us continue in our journey with the same spirit for which our founder has as we “go to all peoples everywhere” creating His kingdom. MondayBe generators of the Kingdom “ I pray that they may all be one” This is the supreme ideal globally considered. An authentic family grows from this union with God. To be ferment of the Kingdom is to live a quality of love that embraces multitude. In doing so, we make the kingdom to be present and visible. We are, with our specific charism and as part of the universal church, participating in the construction of the Kingdom, illuminating its dynamism and proposing it for the salvation of the world. “God, thinking in many, calls a few.” (Helder Camara) Jesus said to them, "Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people." (Mark 1:17) I, the LORD, have called you and given you power to see that justice is done on earth. Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples; through you I will bring light to the nations. (Isaiah 42:6) TuesdayBe experts in communion “I pray for those you gave me, for they belong to you” As our founder Fr.Jaime Bonet says, to be experts in communion is to be experts in our mission… to live in family and spread the same warmth of home around us. It is to live the spirituality of communion as witnesses and builders of the project of communion that God wishes for the whole humanity. So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now fellow-citizens with God's people and members of the family of God. You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself. He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22) Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds. (1 Corinthians 3:10) WednesdayBe passionate for the communion that God desires “May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you” (Jn 17:21) Being a missionary family we are placed in an ever open dynamism that is passionate for the world; looking towards to what is not yet…but enjoying what already is. It’s to commit ourselves to bring the desire of God into reality. It’s to be a living sign of the universal love of Jesus towards all brothers and sisters of the world, without any discrimination or favoritism. My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ. Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement! You have cheered the hearts of all God's people. So I make a request to you on behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ; … At one time he was of no use to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short time so that you might have him back for all time. And now he is not just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a dear brother in Christ. How much he means to me! And how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave and as a brother in the Lord! So, if you think of me as your partner, welcome him back just as you would welcome me. (Philemon) ThursdayExtend more the Kingdom of Love (Verbum Dei Anniversary) “I pray not only for them but also for those who believe in me because of their message” (Jn.17:20) Along these 50 years, moved by a profound love for the Church, we create fraternal homes that live and propagate this love, becoming a network of support for the bigger family. Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts, praising God, and enjoying the good will of all the people. And every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47) So you became an example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. (1 Thessalonians 1:7-10) What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3) FridayCreate the kingdom! Create communion! “ that they may they be one, just as you and I are one” It’s not only the ideal and the goal that binds the ecclesial community but, above all, is our specific mission: to create the kingdom. Communion is for this. In this sense, the kingdom is the strength of communion. Let us keep on sowing unceasingly and generously the universal love and solidarity. “I made myself all things to all people” (1 Corinthians 9:19) God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to your fellow-Christians. Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true. We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who believe and are patient, and so receive what God has promised. (Hebrews 6:10-12) SaturdayCultivate communion for the mission“that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me” We can’t deny that our journey towards effective unity has constantly been characterized by a tension, often painful. Let us walk together as a community with Mary, our mother who can help us to configure our communities to the model of “her” family in Nazareth, since there the Gospel of communion and fraternity was lived in a superb way. She is the one to cultivate this sense of family in order for each one to work for its building up. The “variety” we can find can enrich us and equip us for every good work. It’s for our life to be ferment of Christian fraternities in the world. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: I sowed the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. The one who sows and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow. There is no difference between the one who sows and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done. For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. (1 Corinthians 3:5b-9) SundayFeast of Sto. Niño1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97:1-6 2nd Reading: Ephesians 1:3-18 Gospel: Luke 2:41-52 Comments are closed.
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