 | Daily Bible Reflections
for February 17, 2010 |
|  Dear Lordie,
Your Forty-Day Retreat Begins Today. Today is Ash Wednesday. Enter fully the Lenten Forty-Day Retreat confident that God will pour His powerful love upon your life. He will meet you.
If you want someone to guide you in your Lenten Retreat, get my forty-day prayers and my Way of the Cross prayerbook and CD, and other prayer books. Click here at www.shepherdsvoice.com
God will never leave you. This Wednesday is no different.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
| | Ash Wednesday PRIVATE PRAYER “But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what you do in private, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6 Jhen brought her son Rafael to enroll in another school. But he was asked to join the nursery class even if he was almost six years old. The principal told her that the boy still had difficulty with basic concepts like counting and reading. This made Jhen sad. She knew that having her son repeat nursery would mean an extra year of tuition fees. Being a single mom, any form of savings would have been a big help to her family of four kids. But left with no options, she agreed. Jhen was surprised when Rafael ended up in the top 5 after the first half of the school year. By the end of the third quarter, he ranked number 2. When she visited the school, the principal told her she was very happy with his improvement. Jhen was also touched when the principal revealed that she would pray regularly for Rafael’s improvement and was thankful to God for granting her request. Praying for a concern is more effective when it’s done in private, with God as your only witness. Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com) REFLECTION: Find an isolated place today where you can have an intimate time with Jesus. Lord, I want to know You in a deeper way. Reveal Yourself to me. Amen. | |
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| | COMPANION | 1st READING Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the most important period of penance and preparation in the Church’s calendar. We begin our preparations for Easter with a text that encourages us to seek true conversion of heart and soul. God wants our change to be one that is wrought from within, that which will last, not something that is here today and gone tomorrow. Let us seek true conversion of heart this Lent. 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. 14 Perhaps 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, 5-6ab, 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 Let us not wait another moment before we repent. St. Paul tells us that the time is now, not tomorrow, not next week. It is important for us to realize that no matter how uncomfortable repenting of our sins may be, it is not something that we can afford to delay. Sin destroys our capacity to both receive and give love. The longer we refuse to repent, the more difficult it will become. Please do not put this principle to the test. 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. G O S P E L Seasons of change are good for us once in a while. Fasting and prayer, as well as almsgiving and other penitential practices, help us sharpen our spiritual skills and attention to God’s Word. Fasting is not just about denying the body food. It is also a means to becoming more attentive in prayer. Giving up television for Lent or putting aside the money we would have spent on ourselves each week and giving it to the poor is all about standing in solidarity with those who do not have as much as we do. 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.” my reflections t h i n k : Fasting and prayer, as well as almsgiving and other penitential practices, help us sharpen our spiritual skills and attention to God’s Word. _________________________________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
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T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________ READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1Timothy 4-6 | |
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| | SABBATH | Now The black dot or cross indicates that you have gone to church today. Unfortunately, there are many who just pass by the church to receive the ashes because everybody does so, but do not attend the Mass and don’t listen to the readings. I hope you are not one of them. The ash is a sacramental that should be received after listening to the Word of God and a short homily. At least that’s what the liturgical rules say. And it makes sense. Receiving a sacramental is not magic or superstition. A sacramental “works” only when the receiver has the right disposition. And what is the right disposition for receiving the ashes? The priest says while imposing the ashes, “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.” (Or, “Remember, you are dust and to dust you will return.”) Both words have profound implications. To turn away from sin I must take my time and acknowledge once more that I am a sinner. Something I cannot do in two minutes when I line up to receive the ashes and then run home or to the office. And I cannot believe in the Gospel if I do not even take time to listen to it on a day like Ash Wednesday. The readings chosen for today are excellent. Joel’s passage begins with, “Now, now…come back.” And St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Well, now is the favorable time.” Three “nows.” That leads us to think, right? We tend to postpone and say, “tomorrow” or “next time na lang.” Be careful when you catch yourself postponing a good resolution. It makes the devil very happy. And Jesus tells in the Gospel that what good we do, we should do in secret and not for show. If the ash on your forehead is only for show — you know what the Lord thinks of it. “Now is a favourable time….” We might have missed this chance more than once. But please, not this year. I don’t like to be morbid or scare you, but the reality is that there might be no tomorrow, no next week, no next time. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD Reflection Question: Do I tend to postpone changes in my life? Do I tend to “forget” resolutions? Why? Am I afraid of changing? Thank You, Lord, for giving us once more the holy time of Lent, a time to turn away from our sins and turn to You. Send Your Spirit to open our hearts so that we listen attentively to Your Word and have the courage to practice what we learn from You. St. Benedict of Cagliari, pray for us. | |
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Preacher in Blue Jeans
1. The FEAST is the one of the happiest places on earth. Find one near you!
Pasig Sunday 8 a.m.-10 a.m. 10:30 a.m.-12:30noon 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Valle Verde Country Club (Beside ULTRA) Preacher: Bo Sanchez Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 noon Festival Mall (Cinema 10) Preacher: Arun Gogna Makati Thursday, 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. AIM Conference Center, Benavidez corner Paseo De Roxas Preacher: Randy Borromeo Manila Friday, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. SM Manila (Cinema 4), near Manila City Hall Preacher: Obet Cabrillas Marilao Saturday, 6:30pm-8:00 p.m. SM Marilao (Cinema 2) Preacher: Alvin Barcelona 2. Wake up to the new KERYGMA TV! on TV5! On a new time slot - Sundays 6-7 a.m. PLUS... MUSTARD (for kids) Saturdays 6-7 a.m FISHBOWL (for the youth) Saturdays 7-8 a.m. 3. Need Counseling? Call a friend for counseling at 09228407031, 7266728, 7264709, and 7259999 Mon-Fri 24-hrs, Sat 6am-5pm, Sun 6am-10am. 4. THREE Sessions now at the Feast every Sunday at the Valle Verde Country Club (Beside ULTRA), Pasig City 1) 8:00am-10:00am
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Commute? Take the Pasig FX behind Robinson's Galleria. 5. Free Kerygma Magazine (the one on paper) from Bo. If you're a KerygmaFamily member who regularly supports this ministry with at least P300 or US$20 a month - you'll be receiving a one-year subscription of the KerygmaMagazine in the mail-automatically! If you haven't signed up for KerygmaFamily, join now!
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7. DONATE using SMART MONEY - type KFAM_amount and send to 270 8. K-FAM INTERCESSORY GATHERING We invite you to join us to worship the Almighty, listen to sharing about the power of prayer and to God?s message through talks, and also to pray for healing. Every 4th Sunday of the month from 7:45 - 10:00 a.m. at the Baras Room, Valle Verde Country Club (beside The ULTRA), Pasig City. After this, you may join the 2nd session of the The Feast (10:30-12:30).
BE THERE TO GLORIFY GOD! BE BLESSED! BE A BLESSING! Admission is FREE! Let us know you are coming! Contact persons: Luisa 0918-4404330 / 0906-3413557 / 632-533-3874 or Me-Ann 0919-3796559 / 0917-4066592 / 632-714-0429 9. Put Preacher in Blue Jeans in your Blog or Friendster! Just copy the text in under next to the EMBED keyword under the video. Just like YOUTUBE! 10. Did you receive this email from someone else? To get Bo Sanchez to send it to you personally, log-on to http://kerygmafamily.com.
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