The Kerygma Family: DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH Daily Bible Reflections for June 28, 2014 Be filled with God?s joy this Saturday. Praying for you, Bo Sanchez PS. Do you live in the Philippines? Sign up for Bos weekly cellphone message. This is FREE. (That is why you have to live in the Philippines to sign up for this service.) Text: BOSEZ__ and send to any of the following numbers: Globe (09178494444); Sun (09228945555) And youll start receiving Bos inspiring message to encourage you, guide you, and bless your week. 28 June Saturday TODAYS READINGS: DIDACHE Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary HOLY PURSUIT He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. – Luke 2:51 We attended the wake of my boss’s mother. For the first time, I heard about his sacrifices before she died. Despite his busy schedule, he would drive every week from one end of the city where he lives, to the opposite end to visit his mother. He provided for her medicines, supported his other siblings and was there for them. During the wake, he kept a busy schedule aside from preparing all the little details for his Nanay. My admiration for my boss increased a hundredfold when I heard the story because he is someone that I aspire to become — someone who is genuinely a great companion even if he has reached the top. To be humble and obedient in everyday life is a sign of God’s reign. I am very far from these virtues but I aspire for them — to become like Jesus who, though He is God, was obedient to His earthly parents. For us with perhaps more challenging family situations, may Jesus’ example inspire us to go on striving in this holy pursuit. Joy Sosoban-Roa (jsosoban@gmail) Reflection: “The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us in our daily conduct.” (Andrew Murray) Dearest Lord, I desire to be humble and obedient, challenging though it may be sometimes. Grant me Your grace, O Lord, especially in exercising it towards my family. St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr, pray for us. COMPANION 1ST READING One of the things that meditation upon Mary’s life — indeed the lives of any of the saints — can bring us is the realization of how important it is to focus on discipleship. The business world works very hard to get its employees focused on company goals and culture. The same should be true of the Church. We should embrace a culture of life in order to be the best disciples we can be. This is important if we want the Gospel to be proclaimed to the best of our abilities. Isaiah 61:9-11 9 Thus says the Lord: Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the Lord has blessed. 10 I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. 11 As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, so will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. P S A L M 1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8 R: My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior. 1 “My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in my victory. “(R) 4 “The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength. 5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother of many languishes.” (R) 6 “The Lord puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts.” (R) 8 “He raises the needy from the dust; from the dung heap he lifts up the poor, to seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage. (R) GOSPEL When we gaze upon an image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we see both the redemptive nature of purely human love and the love a mother has for her children. This is why we can call Mary the first disciple — she is the first to be transformed by the love of her Son. She is the first to enflesh that love in her identity as a woman and as a disciple. Let us remember that all Mary did was to be obedient to God’s call and welcome the work of His grace in her life. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women. Luke 2:41-51 41 Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 42 and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. 43 After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, 47 and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man. think: We can call Mary the first disciple — she is the first to be transformed by the love of her Son. SABBATH A CONTEMPLATIVE HEART It is only natural today that we turn to the heart of our Mother after celebrating the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus yesterday. While we celebrate the Heart of Jesus, broken on the cross for our sins, today’s feast focuses on the Heart of Mary, who was the handmaid of the Lord and who submitted herself to the will of God. In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we cherish the heart that has loved much; in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we seek to imitate the heart in love of God. The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is the finding of Jesus in the Temple. It is chosen since it refers to the Heart of Mary — a contemplative heart that treasures and ponders the circumstances of life. God speaks to us in the daily events of our life. Sometimes, He speaks loud and clear. At other times, He speaks in silent whispers. We must learn to cultivate a heart that listens to God as Mary did in her life. The heart of Mary is pure, obedient and always willing to act on the will of God. That is why in the scene of the Annunciation, she was able to simply place her life in the hands of God. After some natural human questioning, Mary relied heavily on the grace of the Lord to accomplish all that had been asked of her. Let us seek the grace of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to live in purity and faith. Many things come against us to rob us of the joy of serving the Lord with purity of heart. Jesus tells us in His teaching that the pure in heart will see God. While Mary treasured and pondered in her heart the many events of her life with Jesus, her heart became more and more purified and immaculate in the sight of the Father. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you give enough time to treasure and ponder the ways of God in your daily life? Come, Holy Spirit, come by means of the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 21:02:29 +0000
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