General Theme: Verbum Dei – Proclaim the Lord’s year of favour. General Objective: - To be full of gratitude to God for all the work He has done in the past 3 years of the VD Family. - To trust and place in the hands of God all what lies ahead for the VD Family. - To learn to entrust under the care of our Mother Mary the growth of our charism. Objective of the week: To entrust in Mother Mary the growth and application of the Word of God in our lives. To learn from her as the pattern of the Word of Mercy.
INTRODUCTION
No one has penetrated the profound mystery of the incarnation like Mary. Her entire life was patterned after the presence of mercy made flesh… The Mother of the Crucified and Risen One has entered the sanctuary of divine mercy because she participated intimately in the mystery of His love. (Misericordiae Vultus 24) Mary is the channel of mercy to the world. The gift that Mary bestows in offering us Jesus is the forgiveness which renews life, enables us once more to do God’s will and fills us with true happiness. This grace frees the heart to look to the future with joy born of hope. She plays unique and unequalled role in God’s plan to shower His mercy upon us all. Like any true and loving mother, her children can be trustfully and completely dependent upon her to bring us all that we need for life and growth. Let us allow her to lead us to the rediscovery of the beauty of an encounter with her Son Jesus. Let us open wide the doors of our heart to the joy of forgiveness, conscious that we have been given new confidence and hope thus making our daily lives a humble instrument of God’s love. Mary, then, is the one who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God’s mercy. She knows its price and how great it is. In this sense, we call her the Mother of mercy, “Mary is Co-Redemptrix for she gave Jesus His body and the body of Jesus is what saved us.” (Mother Teresa of Calcuta) As Verbum Dei, what are we supposed to entrust in the hands of Mama Mary? MONDAY “I Desire Mercy” 9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13) Jesus comes and seeks us out in the ordinary events of everyday life ---- at our workplace, the marketplace, malls, gatherings of family and friends. He seeks us out and makes us realize our great need for Him---- for forgiveness, reconciliation and peace. The Lord’s attitude to sinners was one of Kindness and persuasion as such that He befriends us in our sinfulness. What does Jesus want to tell us with this today? In our Verbum Dei family, do we have preconceptions or prejudices? Christian life is not sacrifice but that of mercy. Our growth in compassion is needed in the quest for holiness. What is God’s call on your life? TUESDAY “A listener to the WORD of God” (Feast of St. Andrew and St. Paul and companions: Korean martyrs) 16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.” (Luke 8:16-18) Christian faith is not some private, secret hidden thing. It is designed to be open, public & brilliant. Our mission is to be light bearers of Christ so that others may see the truth of the gospel and be freed from the blindness in this dark, dangerous world without illumination from God. By our example and words, we must help others see God’s ways WEDNESDAY “Trustworthy in genuine things” (Feast of St. Matthew-Apostle) 10 “One who is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:10-15) Christ shows that if we are not faithful in small matters, we cannot expect to be faithful when confronted with weightier matters. God tests our faithfulness in our day to day activities and it is in them that real Christianity emerges. And the more faithful we are, the more we are at odds with the world. To be faithful is to acknowledge that we are stewards and not as possessors. We shall have to give an account of our stewardship. Our resources are not to be privately held and consumed but are to be used as a means of generosity, a way of showing came for others. The intellect, the mind and the heart nor the treasures of the spiritual life can be realized only if a man possesses God. What and who are your real treasures in life? What master do you actually serve—God or the world? THURSDAY “God wants everyone to be saved” 2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 vfor kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and wdignified in every way. 3 This is good, and xit is pleasing in the sight of yGod our Savior, 4 who desires zall people to be saved and ato come to bthe knowledge of the truth. 5 Forcthere is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man1 Christ Jesus, 6 dwho gave himself as a ransom for all, which is ethe testimony given fat the proper time. 7 gFor this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (hI am telling the truth, I am not lying), ia teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 I desire then that jin every place the men should pray, klifting lholy hands without anger or quarreling; (1 Timothy 2:1-8) God longs to rescue us from undesirable circumstances. The Lord wants every man who prays to do so without holding anything back. A man should have no wrath or dissension when praying for other men. It is to be done with a pure heart and mind for there is no hypocrisy in the Christian’s prayer. Thus, we should pray for our leaders and authorities instead of complaining against them. Do I desire the salvation of all people? Does my prayer life for the people I know who are without Christ reflect God’s pleasure to save all people? FRIDAY “Those who hear the Word of God and do it.” (Feast of Padre Pio) 19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (Luke 8:19-21) We are no longer defined by earthly bonds of blood but we are now defined by the blood of Christ shed for us, the body of Christ broken for us and by the cross of the Christ. Jesus’ calling for all is to make the decision to join God’s family through action--- by living the Word of God and to an unconditional following of Jesus. Do you value your relationships in the VD family as such that you see them as your family? Are these relationships centered in a common commitment to and response to God’s Word? Do your relationships help you or hinder you in living for God? SATURDAY “The good Samaritan” 25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37) For Jesus, a neighbor is the subject of Love, one who offers service to another person in need, regardless of race, social status and religion. Being a neighbor is an expression of love of God and neighbor and it transcends any expectation of reward. True love is always contemplative, and permits us to serve the other not out of necessity or vanity, but rather because he or she is beautiful above and beyond mere appearances. “True love by which we find the other pleasing, leads us to offer him something freely.” (EG 199) SUNDAY 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146 2nd Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-16 Gospel: Luke 16: 19-31 Comments are closed.
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