Theme for the month: Our Missionary intentionality in putting solid foundations (priority on formations) General Objective of the month: To value our formation as disciples of Christ so we can be apostles capable to respond to the call of the mission of evangelization in forming the life of Christ in others. Objective of the week: To realize that as we value our formation as disciples of Christ, we will clearly discover our own vocation and the greater willingness to live it, so as to fulfill one's mission.
IntroductionLast week’s objective was to realize the great desire of God for our growth and maturation as apostles in order that we may bear much fruit and we recognize once again that apart from him we cannot bear good fruit; the fruit that will last. Throughout the whole month, our intention is to put solid formation for each member of the family according to each member’s needs. This week, we are called to give value to these formations that the Church has been feeding us in order to clearly realize our vocation that Christ wants to reveal to us and to willfully live it out to fulfill one’s mission. According to the Christian formation of the Laity and lay missionary efforts in Asia, REV.MSGR.JOSEPH ÐÌNH DUC DAO said that “The missionary commitment is the culmination of the long process of the Christian formation. The fundamental objective of the formation of the lay faithful is an ever-clearer discovery of one's vocation and the ever-greater willingness to live it out so as to fulfill one's mission. God calls me and sends me forth as a laborer in his vineyard. In fact, from eternity, God has thought of us and has loved us as unique individuals. Every one of us he called by name, as the Good Shepherd "calls his sheep by name" (John 10:3). Therefore, in the life of each member of the lay faithful there are particularly significant and decisive moments for discerning God's call and embracing the mission entrusted by Him.” PRAYING WITH THE WORD
DYNAMISM OF THE WORD MondayWe are meant to learn God’s saving justice Truly, no one who is still living on milk can digest the doctrine of saving justice, being still a baby. Solid food is for adults with minds trained by practice to distinguish between good and bad. (Hebrews 5:13 - 6:1) It is a gradual process; in a certain sense, one that happens day by day. To be able to discover the actual will of the Lord in our lives. (Christifideles Laici no. 58) Our daily life experiences with constant discernment, plays an important role in the formation of our character and is by par of great essence when learned in constant assimilation and living out with fairness and justice. Are we learning God’s Justice each day? Do we value God’s working hands in our daily experiences? TuesdayWe are meant to know Jesus and to understand HIS waysUntil we all reach unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God and form the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself (Ephesians 4:13) As an apostle, knowing and understanding Jesus is the ultimate basis of our maturity thus, we have to value each moment and every encounter and learning from Jesus. Most of the truth and ways of Jesus are opposite to what the world has foreseen. These can be seen in the teachings of Jesus like… “I must be poor in order for you to become rich”, “The first will be the last and the last will be the first”, “Love your enemy”, “if anyone wishes to follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me” Do we know and understand something from Jesus that somehow increased our faith? WednesdayWe need to be receptive in listening to the word of GodThen we shall no longer be children, or tossed one way and another, and carried hither and thither by every new gust of teaching, at the mercy of all the tricks people play and their unscrupulousness in deliberate deception. (Ephesians 4:14) The fundamental and continuous attitude of the disciple should be one of vigilance and a conscious attentiveness to the voice of God. (Christifideles Laici no. 58) God has something to tell each one of us in the moment of each day. We just have to be open, to have a listening heart and put into practice accordingly what we have listened to and experienced in life transformation and gratification otherwise we tend to be complacent, relaxed and easily annoyed by the invitation and the tricks of the world. Are we listening and opening enough so that we can be formed accordingly? ThursdayWe need to be humble to understand the purpose of our existence27 John replied: 'No one can have anything except what is given him from heaven. 28 'You yourselves can bear me out. I said, "I am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent to go in front of him." 29 'It is the bridegroom who has the bride; and yet the bridegroom's friend, who stands there and listens to him, is filled with joy at the bridegroom's voice. This is the joy I feel, and it is complete. 30 He must grow greater, I must grow less. (John 3:27-30) Humility is the foundation of all our virtues. The moment we acknowledge God over us and let his love and mercy reign on us, then surely we will gradually be enlightened and see clearly the direction of our life and we become more aware of our identity and our real home. We will come to our senses that we are just pilgrims and we will be coming home to the abode of our father. Make the most out of your journey and be humble in anyway. Are we willing enough to be formed so that Christ become greater and us becoming lesser within ourselves? FridayWe can grow in faith through prayer and the nourishment of the Church When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways. (1 Corinthians 13:11) The marvelous yet demanding task awaiting all the lay faithful and all Christians at every moment: to grow always in the knowledge of the richness of Baptism and faith as well as to live it more fully. (Christifideles Laici no. 58) There are a lot of available resources in our Church today that will help us grow integrally, to mention some like, Familiares Consortio, Christifideles Laici, Evangelli Gaudium, Cathechism of the Catholic Church, Life of the Saints and more. As we are nourished and grown with the relationship that we have with Christ and all the formations He has been providing us, we are called to grow and be more oriented to what Jesus has been inviting us when HE said I am the way, the Truth and the Life no one comes to the Father except through me. This simply means living out our baptismal promises. Are we willing enough to leave our old ways and renew our lives? What holds us back in living anew? SaturdayWe can happily live our life to the way God wants us to be18 In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.' (John 21:18) It is not a question of simply knowing what God wants from each of us in the various situations of life. The individual must do what God wants, as we are reminded in the words that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, addressed to the servants at Cana: "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). (Christifideles Laici no. 58) Christ’s desire for us is to embrace each one as he embraces us, which gives us the fullness of happiness. For the knowledge and love of him gives us inspiration to live happily in the life he had already lived. But the moment we reached maturity with Christ undeniably we become more argumentative with our very own self. Though the clarity of our vocation and the willingness to fulfill our mission is already engraved in us yet we tend to step back and go back to our old life. Like the experience of St. Paul, He knew that at some point of his life he is doing exactly what he is not supposed to do and acknowledges that he is at some point weak but he is proud of his weakness; because the more he is weak the more he needed God. Like St. Paul, When Christ lives in us we need not to worry because he is suffices and HE is just the one that we need. And we have the assurance from Jesus when HE Said “Go make disciples of all Nations and I will be with you till the end of age. Are we aware that when we mature spiritually, God will send us to the place where we dare not go and to the situations we dare not imagine? Sunday28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10A
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5-6 2nd Reading: Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14
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