Daily Bible Reflections
for August 7, 2016
;

Dear Friend,

Each Sunday is a Mini-Easter. Show that Jesus is alive today!

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



7
August
Sunday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

HOLY DISTURBANCE
 

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. – Luke 12:48

 

       You must have heard it a thousand times, but I’m saying it again here. “With great power comes great responsibility.” And yes, you must have heard it from Spiderman (or Uncle Ben or Stan Lee). But hey, it’s solidly biblical after all!

       Sometimes you may regret knowing too much, having too much, or having become somebody. Because along with the blessings is your conscience prodding you to do more because of the “more” that you have. I call that “holy disturbance.”  Because when you’re disturbed, God will give you peace. But when you’re too peaceful (and comfortable), God will disturb you. Whether you’re a fisherman, a doctor, an employer or a church volunteer, there will always be the call to do something  with what you have — for others.

       It doesn’t matter if you were entrusted with millions, thousands, hundreds or even with just 10 or one. The ultimate question is, what did you do with it? In the end, your true peace and joy will come only from fulfilling your life’s purpose using everything you’ve got. And you just can’t retire from who you truly are! Alvin Barcelona (apb_ayo@yahoo.com)

 

Reflection: How, where and for whom are you using your gifts?

 

Lord, may I use the blessings You give to fulfill Your great purpose and plan for me.

 
St. Cajetan, priest, pray for us.
 

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COMPANION

 

1ST READING
 

There are many stories about the destruction of the enemies of the People of God in the Old Testament. The Israelites believed that they were the only people favored by God. The Gospel corrects this erroneous belief and assures us that the Good News is for all people who place their faith in Jesus Christ. Let us never seek the destruction of our enemies but instead pray for their conversion to faith in God.

 

Wisdom 18:6-9

6 The night of the Passover was known beforehand to our fathers, that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage. 7 Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. 8 For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned. 9 For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

 
P S A L M
 

Psalm 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22

R: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

1 Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. 12 Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. (R) 18 See, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. (R) 20 Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help and our shield. 21 Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you. (R)

 
2ND READING
 

Faith is at the heart of our faith relationship with God. We cannot prove the existence of God through Math and Science. However, we can argue for His existence as the more reasonable option to take, given the nature of the world and our human nature. Our capacity for reflection is beyond the understanding of science. How did we gain the capacity to ask questions concerning the world around us?

 

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19

1 Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. 2 Because of it the ancients were well attested. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. 9 By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. 11 By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age — and Sarah herself was sterile — for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. 12 So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore. 13 All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth, 14 for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises  was ready to offer his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.” 19 He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

 
GOSPEL
 

The timetable of a champion athlete will reveal to you his commitment to the sport. He spends hours upon hours to train — for a perishable prize. The monks in the monasteries spend many hours in prayer but for a prize that will last forever — eternal life. What makes more sense in the end?

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day the Son of Man will come.

 

Luke 12:32-48

32 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. 34 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. 35 Gird your loins and light your lamps 36 and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. 38 And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. 39 Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour  when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” 41 Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” 42 And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. 44 Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant in charge of all his property. 45 But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. 47 That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; 48 and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

 

think: Faith is at the heart of our relationship with God.

 
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 1 Maccabees 13-14

 

SABBATH PAUSE

 
My weekly time with God
 

THANK YOU LIST

Things to be grateful for from the past week
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

SPECIAL NEEDS

Things to ask God for in the coming week
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

HIDDEN TREASURE

Most important word God told me this week
 

               ________________________________________________________________ 

               _________________________________________________________________

 
 
 

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SABBATH

 

SEEING WITH GOD’S EYES

 

We often hear the phrase, “To see is to believe.” But for God, only as you believe will you ever see it. What is faith? It is “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrew 11:1).

       We live in a world filled with questions. The sufferings of many lead us to question our faith in God. It creates deep sadness and hopelessness. As we hear the cry of the suffering people, we find it difficult to bear such a situation. We are discouraged. The conviction that God can and will triumph over all evil is shaken.

       Amidst these lies, we seek for signs of God’s abiding presence, for tangible signs of His goodness and love. At an hour we do not expect, the Son of Man will come. To be prepared is to be present in Him. God is always present in us. Are we present in Him? To be prepared is to be ready for His coming, even in unfamiliar ways.

       To be prepared means to be open to recognize His presence, to have eyes that see the way He sees. To see the way God sees gives us the wisdom to understand events in our lives from the perspective of God.

       If we are prepared, we could possibly see wisdom in our wounds and possibilities in our problems. In the darkness of life, we can see the beauty of the stars. We can celebrate when the sun shines, and we can dance and sing even in the rain.

       This is the invitation for all of us — to find God in everything. In truth, God is present in everything and every time. Fr. Alex Balatbat

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How do we perceive our society’s present condition? How does God look at it? We beg for the grace of seeing the way He sees.

 

Jesus, help me to walk in Your footsteps, to be united with You in Your mission of love and peace, and to recognize how You walk with me throughout my life. Amen.

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