13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A, Year II)
Community Word: The perfect love of the Holy Trinity calls us to live in solidarity in our desire to be holy.
Theme: We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we make Christ, the center in all our relationship.
Promise: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:39)
Reflection:
It is our universal experience to easily get caught up in our many differences. We tend to argue a lot and stress ourselves in our interaction with real world or with our “new normal” life style of online communication in social media. When we share our spiritual beliefs, discuss our political affiliations or even just talk about our athletic associations, we voice out our disagreements with people from all walks of life and sometimes blow it out of proportion resulting to heated conversations or worst, to disputes. We find it tough to relate with others harmoniously, though in reality, we hold much in common with our brothers and sisters – we are sinners. Sin is part of our nature and all of us cannot entirely escape it, no matter our human efforts. Good news is “Christ died on the cross to free us – we are all united in the saving grace of Jesus”.
With our redeemed life, our calling is to live it holy and blameless. But we cannot walk in the path of holiness alone – we need companions in our journey to reach our destination. People who are totally different from us on their thoughts and behavior. Individuals who often times seek evidence of weakness in us. Persons who hunt for fault in us when we disagree with them. Still, they are our God’s assigned travel mates to love, cry with and live life with. We should realize that these diversities are signs of grace that strengthen and reinforce our Christian values and faith. It is when kindness, generosity, gentleness and the love of Christ manifest more in our relationship with others. This is the theme of the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time which states that, “We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we make Christ, the center in all our relationship.”
God planted us in a community, not just to develop a genuine relationship with Him through Christ, but to stir up a passion inside us to love others. When we regard Jesus as the heart of every relationship, we do not have to struggle in doing the things He calls us to accomplish because they just happens naturally. His truth and life-giving Spirit allows us to see Him in every person, which draws us more strongly in an act of communion with God and into a state of unity with each other. Our attention to His Word changes us from the inside out, letting the world see our life set apart and sanctified.
Our real relationship with Christ gives birth to holiness in us, which becomes noticeable to people surround us whom we serve and love. Our Lord will dispense His truth to us through them. They say things that will disturb us and challenge us to be godly in our thoughts, words, and actions. Likewise, we are also charged to encourage them in their faith journey. We will hurt them and left them with scars. There will be plenty of mistakes and a whole lot of messy moments to extend grace and forgiveness to each other. We are like “iron” in the words of King Solomon, constantly sharpening one another. But then, there is nothing so sweet as a friendship of the soul – a person who genuinely loves you, understands your difficulty, rejoice with your triumphs and walks alongside you in those things.
Reality is, human beings are flawed and we will fail – not just in what we do, but in how we treat each other. We will let each other down, even if we do not intend to! Especially when we try to search satisfaction of life into our earthly relationships, we will constantly be wanting more and will end up facing disappointment. But, when our faith is primarily put into our relationship with Christ, we meet human relationships with joy and fulfillment, because we have already been fulfilled by our Lord and Savior. It is Jesus who promises this, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:39)
Prayer :
Father, it is not possible for us to have holiness without our neighbors, or for them to have one without us – yet it is wholly possible for us to journey together to attain it with You in our midst, We ask the Holy Spirit, that His blessing may descend on us, and keep us in peace, take our relationship and dedicate it to Holiness so that our brothers and us may walk in the love of God. May our love for You overflow into our love for others, especially those who are members of Your community and Your church. We love You, dear Lord, and we trust in You. Amen
Question :
1. Reflect on your relationship with God and with others. Does your love of God affects you to discover an outpouring of love for all people, especially those within the community?
2.Do you see yourself as a member of the one Body of Christ? Are you sharing the unity that comes from your union with Him?
June 28, 2020
Theme:
We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we make Christ, the center in all our relationship.
Promise:
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt
Reflection:
It is our universal experience to easily get caught up in our many differences. We tend to argue a lot and stress ourselves in our interaction with real world or with our “new normal” life style of online communication in social media. When we share our spiritual beliefs, discuss our political affiliations or even just talk about our athletic associations, we voice out our disagreements with people from all walks of life and sometimes blow it out of proportion resulting to heated conversations or worst, to disputes. We find it tough to relate with others harmoniously, though in reality, we hold much in common with our brothers and sisters – we are sinners. Sin is part of our nature and all of us cannot entirely escape it, no matter our human efforts. Good news is “Christ died on the cross to free us – we are all united in the saving grace of Jesus”.
With our redeemed life, our calling is to live it holy and blameless. But we cannot walk in the path of holiness alone – we need companions in our journey to reach our destination. People who are totally different from us on their thoughts and behavior. Individuals who often times seek evidence of weakness in us. Persons who hunt for fault in us when we disagree with them. Still, they are our God’s assigned travel mates to love, cry with and live life with. We should realize that these diversities are signs of grace that strengthen and reinforce our Christian values and faith. It is when kindness, generosity, gentleness and the love of Christ manifest more in our relationship with others. This is the theme of the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time which states that, “We live in solidarity in our desire to be holy when we make Christ, the center in all our relationship.”
God planted us in a community, not just to develop a genuine relationship with Him through Christ, but to stir up a passion inside us to love others. When we regard Jesus as the heart of every relationship, we do not have to struggle in doing the things He calls us to accomplish because they just happens naturally. His truth and life-giving Spirit allows us to see Him in every person, which draws us more strongly in an act of communion with God and into a state of unity with each other. Our attention to His Word changes us from the inside out, letting the world see our life set apart and sanctified.
Our real relationship with Christ gives birth to holiness in us, which becomes noticeable to people surround us whom we serve and love. Our Lord will dispense His truth to us through them. They say things that will disturb us and challenge us to be godly in our thoughts, words, and actions. Likewise, we are also charged to encourage them in their faith journey. We will hurt them and left them with scars. There will be plenty of mistakes and a whole lot of messy moments to extend grace and forgiveness to each other. We are like “iron” in the words of King Solomon, constantly sharpening one another. But then, there is nothing so sweet as a friendship of the soul – a person who genuinely loves you, understands your difficulty, rejoice with your triumphs and walks alongside you in those things.
Reality is, human beings are flawed and we will fail – not just in what we do, but in how we treat each other. We will let each other down, even if we do not intend to! Especially when we try to search satisfaction of life into our earthly relationships, we will constantly be wanting more and will end up facing disappointment. But, when our faith is primarily put into our relationship with Christ, we meet human relationships with joy and fulfilment, because we have already been fulfilled by our Lord and Savior. It is Jesus who promises this, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:39)
Prayer :
Father, it is not possible for us to have holiness without our neighbors, or for them to have one without us – yet it is wholly possible for us to journey together to attain it with You in our midst, We ask the Holy Spirit, that His blessing may descend on us, and keep us in peace, take our relationship and dedicate it to Holiness so that our brothers and us may walk in the love of God. May our love for You overflow into our love for others, especially those who are members of Your community and Your church. We love You, dear Lord, and we trust in You. Amen
Reflection Guide Questions :
1. Reflect on your relationship with God and with others. Does your love of God affects you to discover an outpouring of love for all people, especially those within the community?
2.Do you see yourself as a member of the one Body of Christ? Are you sharing the unity that comes from your union with Him?
