Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Thursday 5th week of Lent
April 6, 2006
Thursday 5th week of Lent - Yr II
GENESIS 17:3-9
When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him: "My covenant with you
is this: you are to become the father of a host of nations. No longer
shall you be called Abram; your name shall be Abraham, for I am making
you the father of a host of nations. I will render you exceedingly
fertile; I will make nations of you; kings shall stem from you. I will
maintain my covenant with you and your descendants after you throughout
the ages as an everlasting pact, to be your God and the God of your
descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after
you the land in which you are now staying, the whole land of Canaan, as
a permanent possession; and I will be their God." God also said to
Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my
covenant throughout the ages."
JOHN 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my
word will never see death." So the Jews said to him, "Now we are sure
that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say,
'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.' Are you greater than
our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you
make yourself out to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my
glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom
you say, 'He is our God.' You do not know him, but I know him. And if I
should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do
know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my
day; he saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet
fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Amen,
amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." So they picked up
stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
REFLECTION
In today's first reading, when God spoke to Abraham he said: "My
covenant with you is this: you are to become the father of a host of
nations." Towards the end of the reading, God again says to Abraham:
"On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant
throughout the ages."
One of the images that quickly come to mind when we think of "covenant"
is "contract." But this word does not really capture the full meaning
of what a covenant really is. A contract has too many businesslike
connotations to truly capture the essence of what making a covenant
does to a person.
When God covenants himself to Abraham, Moses or even to you and me
through Jesus, his Son, he gives himself to us in a unique and
permanent way. Once a covenant is made, a person cannot withdraw from
it as they have irrevocably given themselves over to another person.
Both Baptism and Ordination are covenantal type agreements that cannot
be undone once made.
The covenant that God makes with us is a covenant of love. He gives
himself to us in order to draw us into the eternal relationship within
the Trinity. The Scriptures are records of God's self-giving that
culminates in the definitive revelation of His love in the life,
ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. All that Jesus says and does
on earth is an invitation to enter into a life-giving covenant with the
God who created us in the first place. What will our response be to
this offer?
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our mind more fully to the truth of
the beauty of the relationship that God the Father invites us to enter
into through His Son Jesus Christ and to grant us the grace to fully
give ourselves to him in love.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray -
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the personal intentions of Charles and Cheryl C.
- for the speedy recovery of Rita de los Reyes, personal intentions
of Dr. Cip de los Reyes and Jose delos Reyes.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- In Memoriam (+): Robert Ng
- In Memoriam (+): Carlos Chongson (1925-1999)
- In Memoriam (+): Visitacion De La Pena (Birthday today)
- In Memoriam (+): Jorge S. Ochoa
- In Memoriam (+): Jose Castillo
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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