READINGS for 2009-01-08
yOUR PlaNS
“And to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” – Luke 4:19
There are 357 days left for the year 2009. That’s still a lot of time. Have you set aside some moments to write down your goals or resolutions for 2009 as some people do? Would your list look something like this? Quit smoking, drinking and watching TV too much. Stop gossiping. Resolve to break off the habit (or maybe a disease) of buying on impulse?
Or maybe something written in a more positive way such as: Save 10% of the monthly income. Travel to another country for leisure. Get promoted. Exercise three times a week. Read for 30 minutes a day. All of these are good goals, and putting down your New Year promises or planning for what you’ll do for the year is good practice. But before you start thinking of what you want to do, take the time to pray and ask what God wants for you.
So before you go on conquering the whole world with your dreams, get your marching order from Him.Jun Asis
REFLECTION:
Have I sought God’s plan for me in calm, unhurried silence and reflective prayer?
I offer the year 2009 to You, Lord. Direct my plans and guide all my undertakings. Your will, O Lord, not mine.
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1st READING
The only reason we are able to love anyone at all is that we have first been loved by God. The Fathers of the Church constantly remind us that without God’s love for us, we would simply cease to exist. The sin within us would literally shred our being to pieces and we would be destroyed. What a wonderful thought to contemplate! However, we should reflect on it at least a little as it will help to give us the inspiration
necessary to surrender all to the grace of God and His love.
1 John 4:19–5:4
19 Beloved, we love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 5: 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the father loves also the one begotten by him. 2 In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
P S A L M
Psalm 72:1-2. 14 and 15bc. 17
R: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
1 O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2 he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) 14 From fraud and violence he shall redeem them, and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15 May they be prayed for continually; day by day shall they bless him. (R) 17 May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. (R)
G O S P E L
Jesus begins His ministry in Luke’s Gospel with a firm statement of intent as to His own understanding of what He is called to do. Nothing can substitute for belief in what a person is doing as the firm basis upon which to live one’s life. This is why it is so important for us to discern what it is that God wants us to do with our lives. If we can discover this truth, so many other questions will be answered.
Luke 4:14-22
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 20 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
my reflections
think:The only reason we are able to love anyone at all is that we have first been loved by God.
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God’s special verse/thought for me today________________ _________________________________________________________
T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________
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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Mathew 22-24
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god’S word iS alwayS inTeracTiVe
The wonders of multimedia have made it possible for us to be present to people in various places, and in various time zones on “real time.” In this new culture of communication — through written texts, SMS or short texts, MMS or hypertexts, chatrooms, video conferences, VoIP — we become present at the same time to different places. In all of these, our words (at least) carry our presence.
In our Gospel today, Jesus also tried to educate the people that God’s Word is a “living word” that communicates His presence to whomever it is proclaimed. The people referred to God’s Word as “the scroll.” In fact, thrice in the Gospel narration, God’s Word was called “the scroll” — some kind of an archaic, dilapidated, historical document. Jesus amazed the crowd when He said: God’s Word is not just a historical manuscript… it continues to have life. He also said: “Today this scripture (this written scroll) is fulfilled (is acted upon)….”
We should read Scriptures, then, not only to know how God worked in the past with Israel and with the early Christians. We should read Scriptures to let us contemplate God’s face now. The foremost value of Scriptures is to enable us to fix our gaze on God, on Jesus… and then, to lead us to enter into “real time” conversation with God who becomes present to us not in abstract thought, but through a real story. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP
Reflection Question:
What is your purpose in reading the Bible? Try this out: Read a Gospel story. Imagine the story. Contemplate on Jesus as He is revealed in the story. Enter into the story by taking on the role of one of the characters in it. Then dialogue with Jesus.
Lord Jesus, inspire me to read Your Word daily and allow it to take root in my soul. May Your Word be my guide in life.
St. Severinus of Noricum, Hermit, pray for us.
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