Word Sharing Circle (WSC) Reflection Guide
December 23, 2018 – 4thSunday of Advent (Cycle C, Year I)
Community Word: Disciples of Christ prepare their hearts for His coming with joy.
Theme: We prepare for Christ’s coming when we accept and obey the will of God in our lives.
Promise: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Lk 1:45)
Reflection:
Christ teaches us the purpose of our life in this verse– “For this is the will of my father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day,” (John 6:40).The God’s will for all of us is to be with Him in His heavenly Kingdom for “our citizenship is in heaven…”(Phil 3:20). So, for this week’s Responsorial Psalm, we invoke – ‘Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.’
As Christians and followers of Christ, we know quite well that accepting and obeying the will of God towards eternal life is not easy. As the Lord said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it,”(Mat 7: 13-14).Thus, our preparation for our “journey home” does not start and end during the Advent season, but it is a life-long commitment.
There are many ways in Scripture and Church teachings on how to live our Christian faith. First and foremost is the calling of Christ for us to be “…perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect,” (Mat. 5: 48).This perfection is to be taken in the context of “love for one another” which Christ refers to, and not to any or every other thing. Thus, the teaching of Jesus to “be merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Lk 6:36) regards not a perfection of degree. The “as” here is not about equality, but of likeness. When we profess God to be our Father, we ought to imitate him, particularly on how we sincerely express our love to others, our neighbors, our brothers and sisters.
To many who might miss an opportunity to attend a retreat this Advent season, we share some points of the Recollection conducted by Fr. Vic de Jesus, SJ, District Spiritual Director of BLD Manila last December 8. He discussed the “Three Degrees of Humility” according to St. Ignatius de Loyola. Humility serves as the heart of one who has chosen to model his or her life on the example, teaching, and mission of Christ. It is a virtue which all of us, no matter what state of life we may be in, should seek to develop.
1. Humility for the Sake of Salvation
This is the base-line humility. It is necessary to turn away from the seductive power of sin and toward a life of following God.“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,”(Rom 6:23).
Human as we are, sin is part of our life. But as proclaimed in 1 John 1:19, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”How often do we need to go to confession? Our community rule exhorts us to avail of the Sacrament of Confession at least every two months or whenever we commit mortal sin. But in the case of Saint John Paul II, he was known to frequent the course of confession on a weekly basis. He said: “We live in a society that seems to have lost the sense of God and of sin. Christ’s invitation to conversion is all the more urgent. It would be an illusion to seek after holiness, according to the vocation one has received from God, without partaking frequently of this sacrament of conversion and reconciliation. Those who go to confession frequently and do so with the desire to make progress will notice the strides that they make in their spiritual lives.”
Few words have given Catholics more peace and joy in their lives than to hear their priest pronounce, ‘I absolve you from your sins.’ St. Augustine said, “Thanks to the medicine of confession that the experience of sin does not degenerate into despair.”Also, Padre Pio admonishes all believers to confess at least once a week. He said, “Confession is a purification of the soul. Even if a room is closed, it is necessary to dust it after a week.”
2. Humility for a Detached Life
The second degree calls us to a freedom from our preferences, habits, and anything else that we consider to be ours so that we may more readily follow Christ, just as Christ followed the will of God the Father above all else. The Kingdom of God is not this world’s dreamland, but rather, something of heaven. As such, some of the commonly accepted ways of the world, such as, honors, riches, security, are not always beneficial but distracting to the Kingdom of God. This degree of humility opens our minds to that reality and frees our behavior so that we can choose the path that best leads us closer to the commandments of Christ.
3. Humility for Love of the Poor Christ
The third and purest degree of humility propels us to live a very humble lifestyle similar to Christ’s life for no other reason than a sincere and profound love for the poor Christ. Rather than concerning itself first with one’s own well-being or with doing the right thing, this degree is centered on nothing more than pure love for Jesus. A perfect example of this is St. Francis of Assisi. A son of a prosperous silk merchant, he lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man. But when he discovered God, he gave up everything. He renounced all his inheritance to serve Christ. Early on, he wandered as a beggar, spending sometime in lonely places asking God for spiritual enlightenment.
During this season of Advent, community members might not need any kind of preparation as this is part of community life. But the season especially calls all of us to deeply ruminate on where we are in these “Three Degrees of Humility” or in our relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ. Do we at least meet the first degree of living in a state of grace? Or, as exhorted by Christ, do we try to imitate God, our Father, in ‘loving men?’ Can we say that we are aging in kindness and compassion, not only with family members, but with everyone, too? How do we handle relationship with people we are not in good terms with? Or with those who have deeply hurt us? On the other side, do we take the courage and the humility to ask for forgiveness from people we offended or did wrong? Admittedly, this is very difficult as this is out of character for us, Filipinos. Here, we are once again reminded by the exhortation of Christ and our response will depend on the degree of our love for Him. Just as He had asked Peter, Christ is also asking us, ‘Do you love me?’
For the promise, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45) is conditional as in all other promises of God. Eternal life needs acceptance and faithful obedience to the will of God.
Prayer:
Almighty Father, thank you for the gift of Your son, Jesus, that we may be saved. Grant us the grace to strive in following His perfect example to accept and obey Your will at all times and in all circumstances that we may claim eternal life.
Reflection Questions:
1. How fervent is your relationship with God now?
2. Are there people you still need to forgive, or whom you need to seek forgiveness from? What is your resolve on this?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
Dec 23, 2018 (Sun) – Mi 5:1-4/Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19/Heb 10:5-10/Lk 1:39-45
Dec 24, 2018 (Mon) -2Sm 7:1-5, 8-1214, 16/Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29/Lk 1:67-79
Dec 25, 2018 (Tue) – Is 52:7-10/Ps 98:1-6/Heb 1:1-6/Jn 2:1-18
Dec 26, 2018 (Wed) – Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59/Ps 31:3, 4, 6, 8, 17, 21/Mt 10:17-22
Dec 27, 2018 (Thu) – 1Jn 1:1-4/Ps 97:1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12/Jn 20:1, 2-8
Dec 28, 2018 (Fri)-1Jn 1:5-2:2/Ps 124:2-5, 7, 8/Mt 2:13-18
Dec 29, 2018 (Sat) – 1Jn 2:3-11/Ps 1-6/Lk 2:22-35
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
