Day 1 Mt 20: 16-23
“Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

This is what prophets are! Mouthpieces of the Father! This is what we are called to be, to speak His words, not ours, to the world.
Yet Jesus tells us up front that this will not be easy. There will be trials and persecutions in our mission. At times, we may return like the 72, excited and joyful at the successes we experience. But many times, we will also be confronted with rejections and doubts from the people with whom we try to share Jesus’ message.
Do we then put lots of effort planning watertight rebuttals to the questions put before us? Do our conversations, at some point, lose their focus on God, and become instead battles for our pride, to prove our point? Jesus tells us, however, not to plan our arguments, not to even worry about them. God himself will give us the words to say.
What we need, then, is to listen to Him. We cannot deliver His message if we do not first hear and bear it faithfully in our lives. It is in our humility, our simplicity and our faithfulness, that the world can come to know and believe in Jesus. Let us present to the world the true face of Jesus, not our own version of it. Let us open our hearts to be constantly refreshed by his Spirit, so that we can keep bearing witness to his message in our lives, even when we are made account for our faith.

Day 2 Mt 10: 24-33
“So do not be afraid of people. Whatever is now covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. What I am telling you in the dark you must repeat in broad daylight, and what you have heard in private you must announce from the housetops… For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. As for your, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do no be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows!”

Jesus shares with us his own values. He has lived and walked among men, and he fully understands our desire to be liked and accepted by others. Yet, we have a message that will challenge the complacency, the indulgences, the apathy and the vanity of the modern world. Sticking to this message will not bring us popularity among men.
But Jesus tells us to yearn, instead, for the Father’s approval. God cares for our external (physical) life as well as our interior and eternal (spiritual) life. And Jesus, who knows the Father’s heart intimately, assures us that we are important to the Father. He loves us and cares for us everyday, even when we are not conscious of his presence.
Our invitation is to live by Jesus’ values – to devote private time with God, to receive His message, his wisdom and love. And to announce this message that we have understood in dialogue with God, to the world – through our words, our actions, our choices, our entire lives. Jesus lived this very way and invites us to follow him!
Lord Jesus, thank you for sharing your relationship with the Father with me. Help me to create the space in my life for private dialogue with you so that I can receive your will for my life. Grant me the courage and determination to share your message with the people you send me to, dear Jesus.

Day 3 Lk 10: 25-37
A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus… he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus answered, “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was travelling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him…

As we come to dialogue with Jesus today, let us bring to him the same question as the Pharisee. “Teacher, who is my neighbour?”
The Pharisee knew the text of the scriptures well, yet failed to understand the spirit within. With us, too, the words in the bible often remain just words. We fail to go deeper and see that this is an avenue through which God instructs us and shares his thoughts with us.
Today, let us listen to Jesus tell us about the Good Samaritan with attentive ears. Who do we identify with in the parable? The priest who wants to avoid trouble? The curious Levite who looked and went his way? Or the Samaritan, who looked upon the injured Jew and saw, not a racial enemy, but a fellow human, in need of help? Who is the neighbour in our lives, lying injured and hoping for our helping hand?
As we ask Jesus to show us who our neighbour is, let us listen to him revealing to us real people in our lives, -needing us to break our daily momentums, to get out of our comfort zone, to attend to the needs of our “neighbours”, to reach out and to care for them. Do we realise that Jesus is also speaking to each one of us when he says, “You go, then, and do the same as this Samaritan.” He invites us to look at one another beyond social prejudices, to see each others as a brother and sister, not as problems or obstacles to avoid. Today, let us choose not to cross over to “the other side”, but to reach out to our neighbour, to extend our love to our brother who lies in need in our path.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the invitation to love like the Good Samaritan. I pray for more patience, more kindness and more generosity, to love the “neighbours” in my life.

Day 4 Mt 10: 34-11: 1
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers… your worst enemies will be the members of your own family. Those who love their father or mother more than me are not fit to be my disciples; those who love their son or daughter more than me are not fit to be my disciples. Those who do not take up their cross and follow in my steps are not fit to be my disciples. Those who try to gain their own life will lose it; but those who lose their life for my sake will gain it.

Jesus’ words, his message and invitation for our lives, come to us like a sword. They cut away the layers of insulation and defences that we’ve accumulated through the years. He wants to cut through all our stereotype ideas, all our vanities, our hypocrisy, our complacency, etc. to show us our true selves deep within. Jesus invites us to let go of all the false assurances that the world offers to us, to allow him to cut those away, so that we depend on him alone for our security and peace, not on any worldly wealth or achievement.
It sounds strange that Jesus warns us about our families being our worst enemies. But his call is not for us to love our family less, rather, it is to love God more! Only in putting God first, in faithfully living by Jesus’ way daily, can we grow to know and love God more. Only then will we be able to give to those we deeply love the unconditional and self-giving love we learn from Jesus - the perfect Love we were created for.
Lord, I work hard for many things in the world, mostly in order to give to my family. But help me see that the best thing I can give to them is your love. Help me to learn to love you more, so that I can receive and share your boundless love with those I love in this world.

Day 5 Mt 11: 20-24
The people in the towns where Jesus had performed most of his miracles did not turn from their sins, so he reproached those towns. “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible for you too, Bethsaida! If the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have long ago put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on themselves, to show that they had turned from their sins! I assure you that on the Judgement Day God will show more mercy to the people of Tyre and Sidon than to you!

God’s mercy is infinite, He will extend mercy even to those had led sinful and perverted lives. But how about those who refuse to turn from their sins? Jesus did not hold back his forgiveness and healing from anyone who went to him, contrite and humble. God’s offer of forgiveness and healing requires a response from us!
We are not passive recipients of graces; we are given the freedom to choose whether or not to accept the blessings, the teachings, the ways of God.
Every age throughout history had a different encounter with God. In the past, there were great prophets, warriors and kings who mediated between God and the people. Then Jesus came and lived among men. He came and taught us to call God our Father, to have personal relationships with our God, to dialogue privately and intimately with Him. Through our personal relationship with God, we have also experienced his miracles and healings in our very own lives. We know Jesus, we have heard his message!
What is our response then? Do we choose to place God neatly on his weekly Sunday slot, or do we choose to life our every moment with him? Having God in our lives, how does it change our way of loving, our way of interacting with others? How does it change the things we say, the things we desire, the way we choose to spend our time?
As we interact with Jesus in prayer, let us humbly ask him to show us how we have been responding to him, and to help us receive and embrace his message in our lives.
Dear Jesus, I want to live by your way, to love authentically, to serve humbly, to live simply… Help me in the times that I am weak, or lazy, or afraid, to lean on your strength and to persevere in following you.

Day 6 Mt 11: 25-27
At that time Jesus said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen. My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

So often, we get caught up with workshops, courses and discussions on profound and complex theories of theology, philosophy, morality, etc. It is easy to forget that we do not need these in order to know God. Simple folks like fishermen and children are able to grasp the essence of God’s love, even without years of ploughing through these theories.
Yes, studies are good and useful, for some to organise their thoughts, to instruct others about God. But, to know God, we need to spend time with Him! The world tells us that when we are not intelligent enough to be scholars, we are incapable of great intellectual pursuits. Yet, that does not mean that we cannot know the greatest mystery of the world – God. We have ALL been created with the capacity to know God and to be like him! Yes, even the simple people who do not do advanced mathematics and complex analyses, we are all included in God’s plan!
Let us not be content to just read the bible superficially and wait for the priest, the missionaries, or someone else, to teach us about Jesus. Let us, rather, listen attentively to his words to us in our time of quiet prayer with him today. Let us listen to Jesus telling us, “I choose you, I want to reveal the Father’s face to you today. Listen!” Today, let us share in Jesus’ excitement and joy, and thank the Father for giving us all the capacity to know and love Him, and for calling us to this wonderful vocation. Indeed, let us be thankful and joyful that our lives have been chosen for greatness, not because of our achievements and intellect, but because we are deeply loved by our creator.
My Lord, forgive me for the times I get so caught up with my life that I forget to make time to be with you. Renew in me the desire to know you and to love you. Dear Jesus, nothing in my life makes sense without you. Keep me always close to you!

















Daily reflections for weekday/Sunday mass starting from 13th July 2007

Verbum Dei Missionaries
2A Bury Rd Singapore 119820
Tel/Fax: 62740251
Email: verbumdei@pacific.net.sg
http://www.verbumdeisingapore.org