Daily Bible Reflections
for August 18, 2006;

Dear Friend,

May others see Jesus in you this Friday.

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez

18
 August
Friday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

WHICH IS WHICH?

?There are some who have given up the possibility of marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.? ? Matthew 19:12

Are you single? If so, by choice or by chance? Do you feel lonely or fulfilled? It has happened that in these times we live in, those who are single are usually ?influenced? to marry.
    The lines: ?Whoever enters that door is your ?dreamboy?..he?s the one you?ll marry! Or, ?Maybe that fairy tale is true! If you kiss a frog??
    However, the state of being single and unattached is a blessing to the world, and as well as to God?s kingdom. These people can more easily give their whole selves to a cause greater than themselves, sometimes without thought or doubt.
    I, on the other hand, have been called to a different state of life. I am married and enjoying it tremendously. The Lord has called me to this vocation because I think He knows I can multiply my talents, my gifts and myself, and serve Him more as a husband and a father. Discern what the Lord wants for you. For those who are seeking their vocation, ask the question I asked myself years ago, ?In what vocation can I serve the Lord more??
    And surely, the Lord will reveal to you in amazing ways His will. If only you continue to trust and obey. Arun G.

REFLECTION:
Am I serving the Lord in the best of my abilities where I am now?

Show me how else I can please You Lord, in all that I do. Amen.


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COMPANION

1st READING

Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63

The filthy crime that Ezekiel refers to is the unfaithfulness of Israel and Jerusalem to the covenant. False gods, unholy alliances and so on are rife within the lives of the people. They are destroying the nation of the Chosen People of God from within. The result of this is going to be devastating in its effect upon the nation of Israel. God is not punishing them because the results of their sins are no longer going to be held back from having full effect upon their lives.

1 Thus the word of the LORD came to me: 2 Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations. 3 Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were neither washed with water nor anointed, nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling clothes. 5 No one looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as something loathsome, the day you were born. 6 Then I passed by and saw you weltering in your blood. I said to you: Live in your blood 7 and grow like a plant in the field. You grew and developed, you came to the age of puberty; your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were still stark naked. 8 Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old enough for love. So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover your nakedness; I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you; you became mine, says the Lord GOD. 9 Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered gown, put sandals of fine leather on your feet; I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear. 11 I adorned you with jewelry I put bracelets on your arms, a necklace about your neck, 12 a ring in your nose, pendants in your ears, and a glorious diadem upon your head. 13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver; your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food. You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen. 14 You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was, because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord GOD. 15 But you were captivated by your own beauty, you used your renown to make yourself a harlot, and you lavished your harlotry on every passer-by, whose own you became. 60 Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you 63 that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD.

P S A L M

Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

R: You have turned from your anger.

2 God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. 3 With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation. (R) 4 Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name. (R) 5 Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth. 6 Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel! (R)

G O S P E L

Matthew 19:3-12

Jesus reminds the people that God has set out rules relating to marriage and the expression of our sexuality ?from the beginning.? In fact, these truths are actually built into the substance of our existence in the nature of our humanity. They are the same for all people of all ages. If we are faithful to the proper expression of our sexuality, we will find true human fulfillment. If we diverge from the laws contained within our nature, we will find that society will be in chaos and will ultimately collapse under the weight of the sin.

3 Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, ?Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?? 4 He said in reply, ?Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ?made them male and female? 5 and said, ?For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.? 7 They said to him, ?Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?? 8 He said to them, ?Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.? 10 [His] disciples said to him, ?If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.? 11 He answered, ?Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted. 12 Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.?

my reflections
think: God is not punishing them because the results of their sins are no longer going to be held back from having full effect upon their lives.

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 God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Jeremiah 49-50

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SABBATH

FROM THE HEART, NOT FROM THE LOINS

I wonder if there are still eunuchs today. Eunuchs used to be servants of the queen who were castrated. Eunuchs those days were even made to lose their sexual drive. If I were born during that period I would not even dream of serving in the queen?s court.
      Of course, there were those who were not made eunuchs but were born already impotent. They were not called eunuchs but they practically suffered the same handicap. There are still men born this way today. I suppose I am not born this way but I do not have a way to find out because I?ve already decided to be a ?eunuch.?
      I said earlier that I would not even dream of serving in the queen?s court but I did not say I would not decide to be a eunuch. I have decided to serve in the Lord?s court and I embraced the life of a celibate. For all practical purposes, I am a ?eunuch? myself. I offered to the Lord everything, including my faculty to beget children in this world through marital union. I do so with a clear appreciation of the beauty and grace of the married life but also with the desire to be totally available to the Lord in the work of His ministry. I chose to be a celibate for the Kingdom.
      It is not whether we are celibate or married that determines our greatness in the Kingdom of God. It is the quality of our service, for whether celibate or married, we are all His servants. Celibates and married people are called to holiness of life. Holiness of life is the perfection of charity. Celibates and married people are therefore called to serve with love. The more loving their service is the greater they are in the Lord?s court. That kind of love comes from the heart, not from the loins. Fr. Bobby T.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
How available am I for God?

Father, You have called us to holiness of life. Make my life truly loving. Help me serve You with all my heart. I offer myself to You completely in the state of life I am in. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, may I persevere in this resolution I make in Jesus? name. Amen.

St. Helena, empress, pray for us.

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