Daily Bible Reflections
for February 12, 2016
;

Dear Friend,

May others see Jesus in you this Friday.

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



12
February
Friday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

RADICAL FASTING
 

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed. – Isaiah 58:6

 

       “Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!” Thus cried Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. They tried to liberate the peasants from the yoke of the Russian czar.

     But centuries before Marx and Lenin came, a more radical revolutionary walked on earth. This One was meek and gentle, and His words are as fresh today as when He spoke them in the wilderness of Israel.

           The servants of Pag-asa ng Pamilya Scholarship Foundation, one of Bo Sanchez’s mercy ministries, try to do the kind of fasting mentioned in the verse above all-year round. How? By sending poor kids to school. By rebuilding their broken dreams and shattered hopes, and eventually freeing them from the chains of poverty and hopelessness.

       A college diploma is no guarantee of success. But it levels the playing field. It gives the child a fighting chance to face the world’s challenges. And the opportunity to become truly rich and be a giver in return, to serve the poor as he once was served and loved. Rey Ortega (reylindo.ortega@gmail.com)

 

Reflection: The Lenten season reminds us to be radical in worshiping the Lord. To go out and hold the hand of one poor child and bring him closer to Jesus.

 

Lord, lead me out of my comfort zone so I could fast in the way You want me to — by loving the poor today.

 
St. Apollonia, 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
 
 

God is not interested in self-focused sacrifices and fasting. The idea of a sacrifice is to offer it for the sake of others. Let us direct our penances for their sake as well as ourselves. Let us be open to the needs of those around us and help them in their spiritual journeys. Many people have helped us in our own journey, so it is time to pay it forward.

 
Isaiah 58:1-9

1 Thus says the Lord God: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; they ask me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. 3 “Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. 4 Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! 5 Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance that a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; 7 sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own. 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

 
P S A L M
 

Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19

R: A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

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) 16 [18] For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (R)

 
GOSPEL
 

There is a time to fast and a time to feast. We must discern about when and where each is appropriate. God wants us to enjoy our lives to the full. However, we also need to take care of our spiritual and physical health. In the Gospel, Jesus is still with His disciples and so it is time to rejoice, not to fast. There will come a time when fasting is needed to keep our desires under control and focus our attention on the Lord.

 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you.

 
Matthew 9:14-15

14 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

 
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 Galatians 1-3

 

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

 

TELL THEM LIKE IT IS

 

Isaiah proclaims for all to know how God wants him to tell the people His important message: “full-throated,” “unsparingly,” and “like a trumpet blast.” They all referred to his duty to remind people of their wickedness.

       When was the last time we heard a preacher tell it like it is? In this age of political correctness, at a time when the greatest virtue seems to be tolerance — the kind that would call a crime mere improprieties, and abortion of the innocent as mere pre-termination of pregnancy — preachers who call a spade a spade are becoming few and far between.

       But Isaiah was more than precise. He was prophetic. Engaging in niceties was not his definition of social responsibility and involvement.

       The Church of Nice is pleasantly attractive. It aims to please but tones down on prophesying. It focuses endlessly on salvation, but little on repentance. It extols heaven, but plays down hell.

        One thing great about the rich liturgical year of the Church is it covers the fullness of the Christian message in three Sunday cycles and two weekday cycles. We get a pretty good and comprehensive summary of what theologians call the “economy of salvation.” At one season, we talk of hope attached to the promise of the coming Messiah (Advent). At another, we speak of renewal and repentance, attached to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ the Lord. At another we speak more of hope fulfilled, of promises actualized, and of new life restored (Easter). In “Ordinary Time,” we are led to reflect on the rich mosaic of regular, daily spirituality of ordinariness.

           In keeping with the season, let us find it in our hearts to focus more on the active engagement with reference to God, His people, and our responsibility to act as guardians and sentinels of the fullness of the Christian message. That fullness includes repentance from sin, conversion of life, and the doubtless difficult issue of preaching in season and out of season. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you respond when challenged to make a stand for your faith?

 

Dear God, I hold on to Your truths — help me to live by them always and to proclaim them when necessary. Amen.

 

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!