Daily Bible Reflections
for February 10, 2016
;

Dear Friend,

This Wednesday, may you hear His voice in your heart!

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



10
February
Wednesday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

LOOKS CAN DECEIVE
 

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.” – Matthew 6:16

 

       Au and Buboy are one of the married couples who regularly attend our weekly prayer meeting. I personally witnessed how they grew in their Christian life. They moved from being mere participants to active servants in the prayer meeting.

       Au is part of the registration team that welcomes attendees to our prayer meeting. Her happy disposition makes it easy for the first-timers to feel at home. Buboy is part of the setup team so he has to be at the venue early. He brings equipment for the event and stays behind after to pack up, and loads them in their van. I admire their faithfulness in their service.

       Lately, they are having financial and health problems. But you won’t notice this unless you ask them about it. They still attend and serve in the prayer meeting without fail. They do not allow these challenges to hinder them from serving God and their brethren. Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

 

Reflection: As we begin this Lenten season, what kind of fasting will you offer to the Lord?

 

Lord, please encourage me to pursue You despite the trials I face. I know that You are bigger than all my problems.

 
St. Scholastica, virgin, pray for us.
 

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COMPANION

 

1ST READING
 
 

Repentance is one of the doorways to conversion. We need a deeper conversion to the Lord. We do not have a complete understanding of the depth of God’s love for us. Penance, an integral part of repentance, is not a punishment for our sins but our willingness to reform our sinful ways and live a life of grace. This is what Lent is all about — drawing closer to God and more deeply into the mystery of His love for us.

 
Joel 2:12-18

12 Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 13 rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. 14Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, offerings and libations for the Lord, your God. 15 Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly; 16 gather the people, notify the congregation; assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber. 17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep, and say, “Spare, O Lord, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” 18 Then the Lord was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.

 
P S A L M
 

Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

R: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight. (R) 10 [12] A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. (R) 12 [14] Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me. 15 [17] O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. (R)

 
2ND READING
 

We should not delay repentance and conversion in our lives. Now is the right time to ask for the forgiveness of our sins. This sets saints apart from the rest of us. We postpone repentance and we tolerate the sin. This has to stop now. If we are serious about repentance, then we will do everything we can to fight sin and temptation, and cooperate with the grace of God.

 

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

20 Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 6:1 Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

 
GOSPEL
 

Jesus does not want us to show our attempts to be holy to the whole world. If we are truly holy, then the world will know about us at the right time. If God chooses a hidden life for us, then so be it. What matters is that we repent of our sins and grow in holiness. Our life as disciples is the evidence of God’s grace at work in us.

 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 16 When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

 

think: Lent is all about drawing closer to God and more deeply into the mystery of His love for us.

 
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 Corinthians 5-8

 

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SABBATH

 

NOW
 

“Even now” is how the First Reading from the prophet Joel begins. I know it sounds like the first line of an old song for romantics of the Barry Manilow generation, but “even now” evokes some kind of a salutary looking back, a reflection on things gone by but which still impinge on the present. “Even now,” Joel counsels, “repent.” “Now,” St. Paul also declares, is “an acceptable time.” “Now is the day of salvation.”

       One good thing about growing up before the age of endless and always available- entertainment is you learned how to plan your day. Favorite weekly TV shows were aired consistently at the same time each week. News was given at the same late hour at night (at 9 p.m.!), and one had to plan one’s chores and one’s day, or one’s school-related work around them.

       There was no “watch later” feature or “record now and play later” mechanism in your black and white TV set that sat idle (with sliding doors closed) in the living room a great part of the day. There was no postponing things. You had to do your work before your favorite TV shows aired. You just learned to do things at the prescribed time. You knew the meaning and the value of now, and later was not part of your daily vocabulary.

       “You need to do your homework now.” “You have to wash the dishes now.” The word “now” denotes immediacy and gives a sense of urgency to do something that cannot wait.

       It is Ash Wednesday today. Life slows down a bit today for many people who think they cannot postpone or gloss over something so important — attend Mass and get the imposition of ashes. Ash Wednesday focuses on the now, on the urgency of something most important that one ought not postpone — our spiritual good.

       Living. Loving. Doing good. Becoming what one ought to be according to God’s call is something we need to start doing now. “Now is the day of salvation.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Is there something in your life that you need to do — or which God wants you to do — but you keep on postponing? Do it now.

 

Dearest Lord, grant me the grace to be always present in the “now.” Help me to do everything necessary for my spiritual growth — now, not later. Amen.

 

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