Theme for the month: Our Missionary intentionality in our organizing. General Objective of the month: To help in the development of our Family and sustain our Family. Each member is important and have a place. For this reason, we are called to help each one to find his/her place of collaboration. September 1-7, 2014 Objective of the week: To make us grow in consciousness that as we commune with the missionary perspective of God in prayer, we are moved to help in sustaining the development of our community as a missionary family.
IntroductionThe identity of the Verbum Dei Missionary Family is expressed in its own name: to be ‘family’, profoundly ‘missionary’ at the service of announcing the “Word of God”… (VDMFa statutes 3) We are a Missionary Family. This is our identity and we are all called this week to help her development as missionary, united in the same missionary perspective of God. We can only do this through prayer. What are we called to develop? As the Family grows, we need to develop our organization and structure like any human family. We are moved to help in her development and in sustaining her. But more than that, we are called to build our organization and structure in the Family with the same missionary intention of Jesus. This will be our prayer for this month. We all know that the Family normally is a place of growth and development. But these can only happen when there are spaces intended for these. Organization and structure then is very important; an organization that has a missionary perspective; an organization and structure wherein everyone, every member has a part to play in order to sustain this kind of growth and development in the Family. DYNAMISM OF THE WORD MondayWiden the space of your tent Shout for joy, barren one who has borne no children! Break into cries and shouts of joy, you who were never in labour! For the children of the forsaken one are more in number than the children of the wedded wife, says Yahweh. 2 Widen the space of your tent, extend the curtains of your home, do not hold back! Lengthen your ropes, make your tent-pegs firm, 3 for you will burst out to right and to left, your race will dispossess the nations and repopulate deserted towns. (Isaiah 54:1-3) 20 The children whom you had lost shall yet say to you, "This place is too small for me, make room for me to live in." (Isaiah 49:20) We are invited today to organize and structure ourselves in a way that we widen our minds and hearts to the same intention of Jesus in order that we can provide spaces for people to live and encounter God freely, voluntarily and give of themselves to him joyfully. Does our organization and structure contain the missionary intention of Jesus? Do they help each member to grow as missionaries in the world of today? TuesdayMake way for My holy people 10 Pass through, pass through the gates. Clear a way for my people! Level up, level up the highway, remove the stones! Hoist a signal to the peoples! 11 This is what Yahweh has proclaimed to the remotest part of earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Look, your salvation is coming; with him comes his reward, his achievement precedes him!' 12 They will be called 'The Holy People', 'Yahweh's Redeemed', while you will be called 'Sought-after', 'City-not-forsaken'. (Isaiah 62:10-12) 7 these I shall lead to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Isaiah 56:7) We pray that our community may be open doors for whoever wants to encounter Jesus and to follow Him more closely. We open the doors and pave the way for people to reach salvation regardless of whoever he/she may be because our house is a house of prayer for all peoples. WednesdayProphesy to my people and bring them to lifeThe hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley, a valley full of bones. 2 He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There were vast quantities of these bones on the floor of the valley; and they were completely dry. 3 He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?' I said, 'You know, Lord Yahweh.' 4 He said, 'Prophesy over these bones. Say, "Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh. 5 The Lord Yahweh says this to these bones: I am now going to make breath enter you, and you will live. 6 I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you, I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live; and you will know that I am Yahweh." ' 7 I prophesied as I had been ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering sound; it was the bones coming together. 8 And as I looked, they were covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering them, yet there was no breath in them. 9 He said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, "The Lord Yahweh says this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that they come to life!" ' 10 I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a great, an immense army… (continue reading) (Ezekiel 37:1-14) ThursdayMake me known to them 20 I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. (John 17:20) 25 Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. 26 I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them. (John 17:25-26) We ask the grace that we can be more united to Him so that our communities and structures may be filled with the knowledge of Him. By our union with his same missionary perspective, we are capable to let Him be known and we build structures, organize our lives in a way that people may know Him more. What can I do to help in sustaining the development of our Family? FridayThey welcomed the message of faith 4Once they had scattered, they went from place to place preaching the good news. 5And Philip went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. 6The people unanimously welcomed the message Philip preached, because they had heard of the miracles he worked and because they saw them for themselves. 7 For unclean spirits came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. 8 As a result there was great rejoicing in that town. (Acts 8:4-8) In all the baptized, from first to last, the sanctifying power of the Spirit is at work, impelling us to evangelization. The people of God is holy thanks to this anointing, which makes it infallible in credendo. This means that it does not err in faith, even though it may not find words to explain that faith. The Spirit guides it in truth and leads it to salvation. As part of his mysterious love for humanity, God furnishes the totality of the faithful with an instinct of faith – sensus fidei – which helps them to discern what is truly of God. The presence of the Spirit gives Christians a certain connaturality with divine realities, and a wisdom which enables them to grasp those realities intuitively, even when they lack the wherewithal to give them precise expression. (Evangelii Gaudium 119) SaturdayGod calls us to salvation through the ChurchThe salvation which God has wrought, and the Church joyfully proclaims, is for everyone. God has found a way to unite himself to every human being in every age. He has chosen to call them together as a people and not as isolated individuals. No one is saved by himself or herself, individually, or by his or her own efforts. God attracts us by taking into account the complex interweaving of personal relationships entailed in the life of a human community. This people which God has chosen and called is the Church. Jesus did not tell the apostles to form an exclusive and elite group. He said: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt28:19). Saint Paul tells us in the people of God, in the Church, “there is neither Jew or Greek... for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal3:28). To those who feel far from God and the Church, to all those who are fearful or indifferent, I would like to say this: the Lord, with great respect and love, is also calling you to be a part of his people! (Evangelii Gaudium 113) Sunday23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time1st Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 95 2nd Reading: Romans 13:8-10 Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20 Comments are closed.
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