Daily Bible Reflections
for August 14, 2014
;

Dear Friend,

This Thursday, remember that He knows you and loves you.

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



14
August
Thursday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

HARD TO FORGIVE
 

“So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” – Matthew 18:35

 

A priest friend of mine once told me that he is more likely to deal with other people the way he deals with himself. He could be right.

       You see, I have detached myself from a few people who have hurt me or caused me trouble in the past. That’s what I usually do when I can’t bring myself to forgive — I remove them from my life. It’s much easier to not have to deal with them anymore. But then I also realized that I am very hard on myself when I make mistakes. It takes a while for me to forgive myself, and I end up dwelling on every mistake like there was no tomorrow.

       After reading today’s Gospel, I see why I often feel ashamed to ask for God’s forgiveness for my misgivings. His pardon is always available to me, but I don’t easily pardon others, much more, myself. This is one of the areas of my life that I continue to work on, that I seek God’s grace for, because only by His grace are we really able to forgive. Nova Arias-Sevilla (nova.svp@gmail.com)

 

Reflection: How are you doing in the area of forgiveness?

 
Teach me to be merciful to others, O Lord, as You are to me.
 

St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest and martyr, pray for us.

The all-new Feast mobile app is finally here! All the content you love from here may also be found in our new app and so much more! Please make sure to download the new Feast App, as we will eventually stop updating this version soon.

Let's continue to grow together with our all-new Feast app! Download and upgrade today: Feast App for Android | Feast App for iOS.


Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top

Get your daily readings and more for free inside the Feast App!
Google PlayStore     iOS AppStore

COMPANION

 

1ST READING
 

We live in the midst of a rebellious world that focuses on personal pleasure and materialism. These two things often leave little room for faith and God. Our Christian communities must fight against this trend by enshrining practices that protect our faith beliefs in the midst of secular pluralism.

 
Ezekiel 12:1-12

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. 3 Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on, prepare your baggage as though for exile, and again while they are looking on, migrate from where you live to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime while they are looking on; in the evening, again while they are looking on, you shall go out like one of those driven into exile; 5 while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it; 6 while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness; cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel. 7 I did as I was told. During the day I brought out my baggage as though it were that of an exile, and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness, shouldering my burden. 8 Then, in the morning, the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ask you what you were doing? 10 Tell them: Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it. 11 I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; as captives they shall go into exile. 12 The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden and set out in darkness, going through a hole that he has dug in the wall, and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.

 
P S A L M
 
Psalm 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62

R: Do not forget the works of the Lord!

56 They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High, and kept not his decrees. 57 They turned back and were faithless like their fathers; they recoiled like a treacherous bow. (R) 58 They angered him with their high places and with their idols roused his jealousy. 59 God heard and was enraged and utterly rejected Israel. (R) 61 And he surrendered his strength into captivity, his glory into the hands of the foe. 62 He abandoned his people to the sword and was enraged against his inheritance. (R)

 
GOSPEL
 

Forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel message. It is essential that we learn to forgive everyone who sins against us, no matter how grievous the sin may be. It tears my heart apart when I hear people who say they are unwilling to forgive a particular person for having hurt them. This prolongs the hurt indefinitely and makes it worse. Unforgiveness affects the person unwilling to forgive, like a cancer of the heart. It makes it impossible to fully love anymore, as there is a section of one’s heart that has been devoted to hatred.

 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Let your countenance shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes.

 
Matthew 18:21–19:1

21 Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 23 That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. 25 Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. 26 At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ 27 Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 28 When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 31 Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. 32 His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. 33 Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ 34 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. 35 So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” 19: 1 When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

 

think: Forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel message.

 
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
 
____________________________________
 
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
 

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 2 Maccabees 13-15

 

The all-new Feast mobile app is finally here! All the content you love from here may also be found in our new app and so much more! Please make sure to download the new Feast App, as we will eventually stop updating this version soon.

Let's continue to grow together with our all-new Feast app! Download and upgrade today: Feast App for Android | Feast App for iOS.


Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top

Get your daily readings and more for free inside the Feast App!
Google PlayStore     iOS AppStore

SABBATH

 

QUID PRO QUO

 

The title of this reflection is a Latin phrase that means we should expect to be treated by others the same way we treat them. It is hypocritical to expect two different standards at work in the world — one for me and one for everyone else. We are all equal in God’s eyes and that is how we will be judged on the Last Day. It is essential that we accept and treat all people fully recognizing their human dignity. It is when we lose sight of the absolute nature of human dignity that sin enters into our relationships and begins to destroy the fabric of human society as a result.

       The parable today demonstrates how justice alone is not enough to maintain a truly civil relationship. If we demand justice alone, what place are we giving to the grace of mercy in our lives? How can we expect God’s mercy to be poured upon us if we are unwilling to offer the same to others? Mercy has the capacity to repair broken relationships. Love is also essential. The lack of mercy angers Jesus in today’s parable. The servant, after being shown great mercy (his enormous debt was written off) is unwilling to forgive the small amount a fellow servant owes him.

       As we seek the Lord’s forgiveness for our sins, it is a very good practice to examine how generous we are in giving mercy to others. If we are not good at this, how can we expect God to be merciful to us? The logic of this argument is irrefutable, its practice so much more difficult.

       As we seek to imitate the mercy of Jesus, let us pray for the grace to choose love over revenge, love over hatred, love over resentment, love over mere justice. When we are on the right side of these equations, we will know that we can both ask for and receive the mercy of God in our lives. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: What rules your relationships — mercy or justice?

 

Jesus, help me to avoid all forms of hypocrisy in my walk as Your disciple. Help me to embrace the call to love and to forgive the sins of those who sin against me.

 

The all-new Feast mobile app is finally here! All the content you love from here may also be found in our new app and so much more! Please make sure to download the new Feast App, as we will eventually stop updating this version soon.

Let's continue to grow together with our all-new Feast app! Download and upgrade today: Feast App for Android | Feast App for iOS.


Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top

Get your daily readings and more for free inside the Feast App!
Google PlayStore     iOS AppStore

 

 

We are happy to be sending this to you. Aside from our work of evangelization, the Feast also supports 10 foundations for the poor. Would you like to be part of this humble mission of helping our beneficiaries by donating?  Click here to share in God's work through the Feast Mercy Ministries. 

Do You Want Your Friend To Receive This Email?
Friend's Email:

 


Thank you for being part of the Feast family!

JOIN THE FEAST: Find a spiritual family. Join the Feast!
Find one near you! Check out our Feast locations and schedules here: feast.ph/locations. You may also follow us on Facebook for more Feast community-wide updates.

PRAY-OVER SESSIONS: Need someone to talk to? Want someone to pray with you?
Get in touch with our LOJ Pastoral Care Center at 0923 132 3071 (Sun) and 0917 145 3756 (Globe) from Monday to Saturday 8 AM to 10 PM. You may also set a session via chat here.

DOWNLOAD THE FEAST APP: Feed your faith with the all-new Feast mobile app! Keep receiving God's Message daily on your mobile.

Download today!  Feast App for Android | Feast App for iOS

LOVE OFFERINGS AND DONATIONS: Let’s continue the cycle of generosity. Choose how you want to give to our Feast Mercy Ministries foundations:

After your transfer/ deposit, please send a copy of your deposit slip with your name and contact number to support@kerygmafamily.com so that we can have a record of your donation

1. Register for monthly giving here: www.feastmercyministries.com/give

2. Online thru PayPal:  PayPal.me/KerygmaFamily 

3. Through bank deposits and transfers:

Account name:  Shepherd’s Voice Radio and Television Foundation      

4. Give through GCASH: Scan the QR Code below

For any concerns or inquiries regarding your donation, please contact Joya from the Feast Mercy Ministries at (+632) 8725-9999 or +639989684416. Thank you again and God bless you more!