 | Daily Bible Reflections
for April 23, 2011 |
|  Dear Lordie,
Prepare Your Heart For Your Rising! Today is Holy Saturday. Spend a part of this day being quiet before God. Let Him speak to you.
This Saturday, follow the Spirit of God leading you.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
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| | HOLY SATURDAY Humus or earth dust So you, too, must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. – Roman 6:11 “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. My last confession was in... um… my last confession was in... um,” you stutter sheepishly. Was it during Holy Week last year or just before you got married 10 years ago? It’s second nature for us to sin. We are quick to blurt out the “I’m only human” excuse every time we do but we dilly-dally in fixing ourselves. We languish in the rut until we become callous as the sin entrenches in us as normal and acceptable behavior. Then, our soul withers away. God our Father loves us, His children, so much that He offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a way to be restored to Him. Unfortunately, our foolish pride blinds us from admitting our faults. Our false sense of self-reliance keeps us from seeking divine assistance. The English word “humility” comes from the Latin word humusmeaning “soil” or “earth dust.” Going to confession is the humility to accept our dust component as humans, that is, our vulnerability and weakness to sin. And in accepting our human weakness, we beg for divine strength. Marie Franco (rfranco@its.jnj.com) 23 REFLECTION: Recall how light, cleansed and liberated you felt after your last confession. Look forward to the next one soon and experience the unexplained joy in your heart. Father God, send forth your Holy Spirit upon us sinners to banish our pride. Wipe away our fears to be reconciled with You. | |
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| | COMPANION | 1st READING In the fullest form of the Easter Vigil there are seven readings from the Old Testament that trace the history of God’s intervention in the lives of His people. We read about the “potted history” of the work of salvation. It starts from Genesis when God created the world out of love for us. Then it goes through Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac at the command of the Lord, a prefiguring of God sending His Son to die on the cross to reconcile us with Him. The reading from Exodus relates to us the story of the Passover, again a prefiguring of our being freed from sin through Jesus’ death. The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh readings remind us of God’s tender love for us, and how we should humble and submit our lives to His wisdom and leave our old ways behind. Will we submit our lives to Him once again as we renew our baptismal vows later in the Easter Liturgy? Genesis 1:1-2:2 (or Genesis 1:1, 26-31) 1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. — 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. — 4 God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. — 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Thus evening came, and morning followed — the first day. 6 Then God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other.” And so it happened: 7 God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. 8 God called the dome “the sky.” Evening came, and morning followed — the second day. 9 Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear.” And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. 10 God called the dry land “the earth,” and the basin of the water he called “the sea.” God saw how good it was. 11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened: 12 the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. 13 Evening came, and morning followed — the third day. 14 Then God said: “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, 15 and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth.” And so it happened: 16 God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. 19 Evening came, and morning followed — the fourth day. 20 Then God said, “Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky.” And so it happened: 21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was, 22 and God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.” 23 Evening came, and morning followed — the fifth day. 24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds.” And so it happened: 25 God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was. 26 Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.” 27 God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, saying: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” 29 God also said: “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30 and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food.” And so it happened. 31 God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed — the sixth day. 2: 1 Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. 2 Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. P S A L M Psalms 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35, R: Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, 2 robed in light as with a cloak. (R) 5 You fixed the earth upon its foundation, not to be moved forever; 6 with the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it; above the mountains the waters stood. (R) 10 You sent forth springs into the watercourses that wind among the mountains. 12 Beside them the birds of heaven dwell; from among the branches they send forth their song. (R) 13 You water the mountains from your palace; the earth is replete with the fruit of your works. 14 You raise grass for the cattle, and vegetation for men’s use, producing bread from the earth. (R) 24 How manifold are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all — the earth is full of your creatures. 35 Bless the LORD, O my soul! (R) 2nd READINGin one year Contemplate the wonderful imagery of death and life that Paul uses to explain the sacrament of Baptism. If we have been baptized, and we all have, then we have died with Christ and been raised with Him to new life. We can never exhaust the wonders and meanings of this truth. Let us ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to accept the victory over sin that Jesus offers. Romans 6:3-11 3 Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. 5 For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. 7 For a dead person has been absolved from sin. 8 If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. 10 As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. 11 Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. G O S P E L Jesus has risen from the dead. This is the Easter proclamation. What a great shock and also a tremendous joy it must have been to the disciples to discover this. What would you have felt if you were one of them? What would you have done when you heard the news? Well, guess what? You are one of them! You have heard the news. Now, what are you going to do? How is this news going to change your life? Matthew 28:1-10 1 After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. 3 His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. 4 The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. 5 Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” 8 Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” my reflections t h i n k : If you were among the disciples who discovered that Jesus has risen from the dead, how will it change your life? God’s special verse/thought for me today________________ _________________________________________________________
T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________ READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Chronicles 27-29 1 Chronicles 27-29 | |
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| | SABBATH | RISEN FROM THE DEAD Can this be the same Jesus who, only a few days ago, was seen crucified and dead upon the cross? After seeing Jesus, Matthew tells us the women went away quickly, fearful yet overjoyed. They could not believe their eyes for what they saw, and their ears for what they heard. It was a remarkable sight. A dead man rose again! Matthew gives us a dramatic account of the resurrection. There is earthquake and lightning. A huge stone is rolled away from the tomb by an angel. The guards shake with fright. This is the night of nights where, at the Easter vigil, we celebrate life and light. The Exsultet makes a wonderful reflection as the Church sings with joy the mighty work of God in raising Jesus from the dead. This night is holy and full of symbolism in its liturgy. Notice it was at dawn when the women went to the tomb. They wanted to be the first at the tomb to wash and anoint the body, knowing that they were running out of time before Sabbath came. When they reached the tomb, there was no body to anoint. An angel appeared in their midst and told them that the crucified Lord had risen. As they saw for themselves the empty tomb and the risen Christ, their lives were never the same. Do not be afraid! This is the call of the angel and then of Jesus Himself. There is no need to fear. All fears have been dispelled through Christ’s rising from the tomb. Why approach the tomb? The angel tells us He is not there. Some of us live as though He is still there, dead and buried. It is true, our sin is dead and buried, thanks be to God, but a new life awaits us. “Go and tell the brothers,” exclaims Jesus, as they did Him homage. The chains of death have been broken. The triumphant resurrection of Christ has destroyed sin. It is time for us to wake up from sleep for a new day is at hand. Let us walk in the light of this night. Let our faces not be ashamed for He has risen as He has said and He is going before us. Let us run to Him and worship and adore the Risen Christ. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL Reflection Question: Have you risen with Christ or are you still in the tomb? Lord, I believe that You are raised from the dead. Thank You for the new life You gave me through Your saving death and resurrection. Amen. St. Felix, Fortunatus & Achilleus, pray for us. | |
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