General Theme: “Hacer-hacer in the mind of Jaime Bonet” General Objective: To develop the disciples’ missionary potential. Verbum Dei mission entails assimilation of missionary intentionality. Objective of the week: To awaken in the people the awareness to make other people make new disciples.
Introduction This is another week of thanksgiving to our God who showed us his great love through our discipleship. He is showing his boundless love by expressing himself that he needs our life by committing ourselves as disciples through the VD community. He is telling very clearly that our commitment can make other people to become disciples and in turn they can also make new disciples. As Jesus said “Go and make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and I will be with you till the end of time.” It is a great privilege to become Disciples of Christ; for it is in this kind of life that we can really experience the promise of Jesus that he will be with us till the end of time. Besides, our discipleship is a big opportunity for us to help Jesus build the Kingdom of God while we are still on earth. Our “yes” to him matters for it is the only way to awaken the awareness of people that they too can make new Disciples of Christ. How wonderful that you and I can make others follow Jesus, who is the only true way, real truth and offers the fullness of life. For in this way we can see how useful our life will be. But the most important is to recognize that our discipleship is very beautiful for God, for He himself is the one who chooses us to become his follower and capacitates us to do so, even in the midst of our shortcomings and unfaithfulness. The merciful love of God to us is so amazing to the point of inviting us and encouraging us to say “yes” and to commit ourselves to follow him and bring others to him. How? By recognizing that our discipleship is the concrete embrace of the love of God to our lives. His LOVE is what we need to bring as we journey and make new Disciples of Christ. Your “YES” matters because this will be a stone to make endless ripples of discipleship. MondayGod chooses us to be His DisciplesMark 10:39-40 39 They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised, 40 but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.' Mark 10:43-45 43 Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. 45 For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.' Are you aware of the call of God to you? Have you asked him why He chose you to be his disciple? TuesdayGod chooses us to have Life from His FaithfulnessRomans 4:20-25 20 Counting on the promise of God, he did not doubt or disbelieve, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that whatever God promised he has the power to perform. 22 This is the faith that was reckoned to him as uprightness. 23 And the word 'reckoned' in scripture applies not only to him; 24 it is there for our sake too -- our faith, too, will be 'reckoned' 25 because we believe in him who raised from the dead our Lord Jesus who was handed over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification. Romans 5:16-17 16 Again, there is no comparison between the gift and the offence of one man. One single offence brought condemnation, but now, after many offences, have come the free gift and so acquittal! 17 It was by one man's offence that death came to reign over all, but how much greater the reign in life of those who receive the fullness of grace and the gift of saving justice, through the one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:6 6 And human nature has nothing to look forward to but death, while the Spirit looks forward to life and peace, Do you recognize the faithful love of God in your life? How do you use the life given by God to you? WednesdayGod chooses us to be Free from sin through ChristRomans 6:12-14 12 That is why you must not allow sin to reign over your mortal bodies and make you obey their desires; 13 or give any parts of your bodies over to sin to be used as instruments of evil. Instead, give yourselves to God, as people brought to life from the dead, and give every part of your bodies to God to be instruments of uprightness; 14 and then sin will no longer have any power over you -- you are living not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:21-23 21 and what did you gain from living like that? Experiences of which you are now ashamed, for that sort of behaviour ends in death. 22 But, now you are set free from sin and bound to the service of God, your gain will be sanctification and the end will be eternal life. 23 For the wage paid by sin is death; the gift freely given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. What is eternal life for you? How do you gain eternal life here on earth? What is the connection between fullness of life and eternal life? ThursdayGod chooses us to Help Build His Kingdom Here on EarthLuke 12:16-21 16 Then he told them a parable, 'There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, 17 thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops." 18 Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, 19 and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time." 20 But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?" 21 So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.' We are aware that the preaching of the living Word of God puts people in contact with Christ and that we make disciples of Christ when they “come to know” Him, follow Him and, in turn, make other disciples. Therefore, the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity, with the motto of the first disciples of Jesus, “Orationi et ministerio verbi instants,” and the spirit of the first Christian community, centers its specific mission in the Word of God: to pray with the Word, assimilating it until it becomes our own life, transforming ourselves in it and teaching others to do the same, so that they may pray, live and teach it experientially to others. (Constitutions of the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity #17) What is the richness that God wants you to possess in your life now? How important is your discipleship in order to acquire this richness? Who are the people whom God has entrusted to your care so that they learn to follow Him? Is VD community important to you in learning how to become a real committed disciple of Christ? FridayGod chooses us to Serve Him and become close to HimLuke 12:37-40 37 Blessed those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. In truth I tell you, he will do up his belt, sit them down at table and wait on them. 38 It may be in the second watch that he comes, or in the third, but blessed are those servants if he finds them ready. 39 You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. 40 You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.' Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith. 15 For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, but has been put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin. 16 Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace when we are in need of help. How much do you desire to be close to our God? Where could be the best way to serve him? Is the mission the best way to serve God? Why? SaturdayGod chooses us to Bear Fruit through our Faithful Gardener, JESUSLuke 13:6-19 6 He told this parable, 'A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. 7 He said to his vinedresser, "For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?" 8 "Sir," the man replied, "leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: 9 it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down." ' 10 One Sabbath day he was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and there before him was a woman who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that crippled her; she was bent double and quite unable to stand upright. 12 When Jesus saw her he called her over and said, 'Woman, you are freed from your disability,' 13 and he laid his hands on her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God. 14 But the president of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, and he addressed all those present saying, 'There are six days when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the Sabbath.' 15 But the Lord answered him and said, 'Hypocrites! Is there one of you who does not untie his ox or his donkey from the manger on the Sabbath and take it out for watering? 16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years -- was it not right to untie this bond on the Sabbath day?' 17 When he said this, all his adversaries were covered with confusion, and all the people were overjoyed at all the wonders he worked. 18 He went on to say, 'What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? 19 It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.' Are you glad and the faithfulness of Jesus in your life? Why? Do you desire to payback to Jesus his faithfulness to you? How? Sunday29th Sunday in Ordinary Time1st Reading: Isaiah 53:10-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33 2nd Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16 Gospel: Mark 10:35-45 Comments are closed.
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