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May you be guided by His directions this Friday!
1 July
Friday
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
OMG!
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:7
Two years ago, I went on a short trip to the US. I met with a very special man — a spiritual mentor to presidents, kings, prime ministers and other leaders. Each month, this spiritual giant holds 30 plus face-to-face meetings with high-level officials, guiding them how to lead their country using the Bible. For three days, I sat around his table (we were just four students) to learn one thing: how to disciple heads of states. It was mind-blowing.
So on my way home, I felt very important, too. But the moment my plane landed in Manila, everything became clear to me. I knew the first Heads of States I would meet. Upon arriving from the airport, I spent time with the two Kings who’ve conquered my heart since I saw them: my two boys. Together, we did very high-level, critical, world-changing, life-altering work. We drew robots and airplanes, played with little cars and video games (I lost, as usual).
Why did I spend the entire day with them? Because before I’m a preacher, writer, leader and businessman, I’m first a father.
So it is with God. Before He is supreme judge and King of the universe, He’s a Father.Your Father and mine!Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@ kerygmafamily.com)
REFLECTION:
God wants to be Your Father. Will you allow Him to?
God, our Father, help me to see You as You want me to — a Father who loves me through and through.
--------------
1st READING
To be chosen by God is a great privilege and something St. John says we should always give thanks for. This covenant that God has made with us in the blood of Jesus is far greater than the one made through Moses and is renewed each time we celebrate the Holy Mass. Today, let us renew our love for God and consecrate ourselves through the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Deuteronomy 7:6-11
6 Moses said to the people: “You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. 7 It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. 8 It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 9 Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments, 10 but who repays with destruction the person who hates him; he does not dally with such a one, but makes him personally pay for it. 11 You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees which I enjoin on you today.”
P S A L M
Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10
R: The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) 3 He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. 4 He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R) 6 The LORD secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. 7 He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel. (R) 8 Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 10 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. (R)
2nd READING
Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical was concerning love. It was to be the theme of his Pontificate. If we are to be truly children of God, we must, like God, be bearers of love.
1 John 4:7-16
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. 8 Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. 10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 12 No ne has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. 14 Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. 15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16 We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
G O S P E L
Who knows the Father? Only the Son. If we are to come to know the wonderful love of God our Father, we need to meditate on the life of Jesus, as it is in all that He said and did that He most fully reveals to us the Father’s love. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is really the heart of God our Father revealed to us in His son.
ALLELUIA
R: Alleluia, alleluia
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R: Alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
my reflections
t h i n k : T he Sacred Heart of Jesus is really the heart of God our Father revealed to us in His son.
-------------
A Heart Bursting with Love
Studies for the priesthood traditionally begin with a college course in Classical Philosophy. This is because many of the terminologies and concepts used by the Church to express its doctrines, dogmas and moral teachings are based on the distinctions made by Plato and Aristotle as interpreted in the Christian sense by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. A branch of Classical Philosophy that deals with the philosophical principles on God is called “Theodicy.” We had a wonderful time discoursing on this subject with our professor, Fr. Josefino J. Javellana, SSP. We marveled as we tried to understand the various aspects of God’s transcendent and powerful nature. He is more than the sum total of all possible human perfections!
The Sacred Scriptures and Theology, however, reveal to us a completely different nature of God, all due to the ministry of Jesus who, though truly God as the Father, came and lived as one who is also 100 percent human. Though powerful and majestic, God is love. From Jesus in the course of His three-year earthly ministry, the Gospel of Mark quotes these words: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.” The feast and devotion to the Sacred Heart expresses the biblical revelation that God is love. The images and pictures of Jesus holding out or pointing to His wounded heart simply serve to illustrate the great mystery on the Cross. Scholars say that the flowing out of blood, then water, from the pierced side of Jesus are indicative of a ruptured heart. The pain and the anxiety that Jesus bore out of love for us on the Cross made His heart burst.
As we celebrate today the Solemn Feast of the Sacred Heart, be embraced by God’s overflowing love. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP
Reflection Question:
Is my heart bursting with love for God and for others?
“O Jesus, Divine Master, I thank and bless Your most meek heart which led You to give Your life for me. Your blood, Your wounds, the scourges, the thorns, the cross, Your bowed head tell my heart: ‘No one loves more than He who gives His life for the loved ones.’ The Shepherd died to give life to the sheep. I, too, want to live my life for You. Grant that You may always, everywhere and in all things, dispose of me for Your greater glory. May I always repeat: ‘Your will be done.’ Inflame my heart with holy love for You and for souls.”
St. Gall, pray for us.
1 July
Friday
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
OMG!
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:7
Two years ago, I went on a short trip to the US. I met with a very special man — a spiritual mentor to presidents, kings, prime ministers and other leaders. Each month, this spiritual giant holds 30 plus face-to-face meetings with high-level officials, guiding them how to lead their country using the Bible. For three days, I sat around his table (we were just four students) to learn one thing: how to disciple heads of states. It was mind-blowing.
So on my way home, I felt very important, too. But the moment my plane landed in Manila, everything became clear to me. I knew the first Heads of States I would meet. Upon arriving from the airport, I spent time with the two Kings who’ve conquered my heart since I saw them: my two boys. Together, we did very high-level, critical, world-changing, life-altering work. We drew robots and airplanes, played with little cars and video games (I lost, as usual).
Why did I spend the entire day with them? Because before I’m a preacher, writer, leader and businessman, I’m first a father.
So it is with God. Before He is supreme judge and King of the universe, He’s a Father.Your Father and mine!Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@ kerygmafamily.com)
REFLECTION:
God wants to be Your Father. Will you allow Him to?
God, our Father, help me to see You as You want me to — a Father who loves me through and through.
--------------
1st READING
To be chosen by God is a great privilege and something St. John says we should always give thanks for. This covenant that God has made with us in the blood of Jesus is far greater than the one made through Moses and is renewed each time we celebrate the Holy Mass. Today, let us renew our love for God and consecrate ourselves through the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Deuteronomy 7:6-11
6 Moses said to the people: “You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. 7 It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. 8 It was because the LORD loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. 9 Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments, 10 but who repays with destruction the person who hates him; he does not dally with such a one, but makes him personally pay for it. 11 You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees which I enjoin on you today.”
P S A L M
Psalms 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10
R: The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) 3 He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. 4 He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R) 6 The LORD secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. 7 He has made known his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel. (R) 8 Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. 10 Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. (R)
2nd READING
Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical was concerning love. It was to be the theme of his Pontificate. If we are to be truly children of God, we must, like God, be bearers of love.
1 John 4:7-16
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. 8 Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. 10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 12 No ne has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. 14 Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. 15 Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 16 We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
G O S P E L
Who knows the Father? Only the Son. If we are to come to know the wonderful love of God our Father, we need to meditate on the life of Jesus, as it is in all that He said and did that He most fully reveals to us the Father’s love. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is really the heart of God our Father revealed to us in His son.
ALLELUIA
R: Alleluia, alleluia
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord; and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R: Alleluia, alleluia
Matthew 11:25-30
25 At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
my reflections
t h i n k : T he Sacred Heart of Jesus is really the heart of God our Father revealed to us in His son.
-------------
A Heart Bursting with Love
Studies for the priesthood traditionally begin with a college course in Classical Philosophy. This is because many of the terminologies and concepts used by the Church to express its doctrines, dogmas and moral teachings are based on the distinctions made by Plato and Aristotle as interpreted in the Christian sense by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. A branch of Classical Philosophy that deals with the philosophical principles on God is called “Theodicy.” We had a wonderful time discoursing on this subject with our professor, Fr. Josefino J. Javellana, SSP. We marveled as we tried to understand the various aspects of God’s transcendent and powerful nature. He is more than the sum total of all possible human perfections!
The Sacred Scriptures and Theology, however, reveal to us a completely different nature of God, all due to the ministry of Jesus who, though truly God as the Father, came and lived as one who is also 100 percent human. Though powerful and majestic, God is love. From Jesus in the course of His three-year earthly ministry, the Gospel of Mark quotes these words: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.” The feast and devotion to the Sacred Heart expresses the biblical revelation that God is love. The images and pictures of Jesus holding out or pointing to His wounded heart simply serve to illustrate the great mystery on the Cross. Scholars say that the flowing out of blood, then water, from the pierced side of Jesus are indicative of a ruptured heart. The pain and the anxiety that Jesus bore out of love for us on the Cross made His heart burst.
As we celebrate today the Solemn Feast of the Sacred Heart, be embraced by God’s overflowing love. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP
Reflection Question:
Is my heart bursting with love for God and for others?
“O Jesus, Divine Master, I thank and bless Your most meek heart which led You to give Your life for me. Your blood, Your wounds, the scourges, the thorns, the cross, Your bowed head tell my heart: ‘No one loves more than He who gives His life for the loved ones.’ The Shepherd died to give life to the sheep. I, too, want to live my life for You. Grant that You may always, everywhere and in all things, dispose of me for Your greater glory. May I always repeat: ‘Your will be done.’ Inflame my heart with holy love for You and for souls.”
St. Gall, pray for us.