Daily Bible Reflections
for April 1, 2018
;

Dear Friend,

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

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez



1
April
Sunday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

EASTER SUNDAY

GOD FORGIVES YOU

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” – Acts 10:43

              One day, I met a woman who couldn’t forgive herself because of an abortion she committed 35 years ago. She’s been to confession but she still felt guilty. Worse, she found ways to punish herself. For example, she remained poor, subconsciously believing that it was what she deserved because she killed her baby.

              So I told her, “You have a problem with pride.” That shocked her. She’s a soft-spoken woman. Everyone told her she was humble. No one in her entire life has told her she was proud.

              I answered,“You think your sin is bigger than God’s mercy. You look down on His ability to love you.” At that moment, she broke down in tears. That day, I led her to forgive herself.

                 She asked, “How?”

               Friends, God’s love for us is bigger than the worst sin we have committed. He is ever ready to welcome us with open arms. We just have to go back to Him again and again.

               Happy Easter! Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

Reflect: God already forgave you. It’s time to forgive yourself.

Your resurrection, Lord, gives me hope to renew my life, to rise up from my struggles, and to follow You more and more. 

St. Hugh of Grenoble, pray for us. 
 

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COMPANION

1ST READING 

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After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit empowered Peter and the Apostles to boldly take the Gospel to all nations. Do we have the same experience of the Holy Spirit? They proclaimed a simple message: Jesus, who was crucified by the authorities, has risen from the dead. Through His resurrection, Jesus forgave our sins and brought new life to those who have faith in Him.

Acts 10:34, 37-43

34 Peter proceeded to speak and said: 37 “You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. 40 This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, 41 not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.

P S A L M 

Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23

R: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. 2 Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” (R) 16 The right hand of the Lord has struck with power; the right hand of the Lord is exalted. 17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. (R) 22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 By the Lord has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. (R)

2nd READINGpage10image24709968 

The Gospel challenges us to examine our ideas about what is possible. God gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us in rethinking our priorities and direction in life. Having faith in Christ means listening to and following the Advocate. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in our faith journey. 

Colossians 3:1-4 (or 1 Corinthians 5:6-8) 10

1 Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

 

GOSPEL 

 

The empty tomb is the first evidence of the resurrection of Jesus. If His body was in the tomb, the people then (and us today) would have been confused about what took place. But because Jesus’ body was not in the tomb, either of two things happened: His body was taken away or He had risen from the dead. The Jews were desperate to curtail the growing influence that Jesus had on the people – it was possible that they took away His body. Fraud in Christianity would have been unable to overcome. But we know the truth — Jesus has been raised from the dead.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacri ced; let us then feast with joy in the Lord.

John 20:1-9 (or Mark 16:1-7 or Luke 24:13-35)

1 On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 3 So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb rst; 5 he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. 6 When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, 7 and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. 8 Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb rst, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

think: When a loved one dies, how does Jesus’ resurrection help you deal with your pain? 

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Read the Bible in one year Joshua 13-16

 

T O D A Y ' S BLESSING LIST

 

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________

 

PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

The ultimate purpose of my life

_______________________________________________
 
_______________________________________________
 
_______________________________________________
 
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GOALS FOR THE QUARTER

Priority areas God wants me to work on

_______________________________________________
 
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_______________________________________________

 

PRAYERSHEET                                                           FOR
Things I will pray for regulary                                  MY LIFE

       DATE                          PERSONAL NEED                                       DATE                                               GOD’S   ANSWERS
      When I                      “Until now, you have not                                  When the                                    “Ask and you shall receive,
       started                           asked for anything in                                      answer                                     that your joy may be full.”

       praying.                          My Name” - (Jn 16:24)                                      came.                                          (Jn 16:24)

 
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SABBATH

 

UNTOMB THE ENTOMBED

People were lined up after the Mass asking to be blessed. I could see from the corner of my eye this lady who seemed to be waiting for everyone to  finish. It was obvious she was carrying a burden. When everybody was gone, she asked if I could hear her confession. I obliged.

          “Father, I committed a terrible sin,” she opened up. “I aborted my  first child,” she continued. When I asked her when it happened, she said, “Twenty- four years ago.” Surprised that it took her that long to confess the sin, I asked, “Is this the  first time you confessed this?” She answered that she has confessed it long ago. “Why are you confessing it again now?” I inquired. “It was supposed to be my first child. I cannot forgive myself until now, Father,” she said.

            Imagine the weight that woman has been carrying for 24 years. When she confessed that sin years ago, God has forgiven her right there and then. It has been erased from the Divine memory, never to be unearthed again.

        Today is Easter Sunday. Jesus has been raised from the dead. The tomb is empty. On that first Easter morning, God manifested Himself as one who untombs the entombed. At times it’s quite the opposite with us — we tomb the untombed.

           That woman whose confession I heard has been untombed from the grave of her sin and guilt. But for 24 years, she kept entombing herself in useless guilt and unforgiveness. When we refuse to forgive ourselves for the evil that we have done in the past, we tomb the untombed. When we hold grudges and refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, we tomb the untombed.

            Today, let us ask Jesus a share in the grace of His resurrection. Let us leave the darkness of the tomb and embrace the light of a new day. Let us rise with Jesus. Let us untomb the entombed. Fr. Joel O. Jason

------- REFLECTION QUESTION -------

With what soil do you keep yourself buried in: guilt, anger, shame, unforgiveness, resentment, frustration? Shake it off and rise with Jesus.

Raise me up, Jesus, and bring me the joy of this new day. Amen.


Today, I pray for: ________________________________________

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