Panis Angelicus: Like Sheep Among Wolves

JULY 08, 2022, FRIDAY

Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

CYCLE C - YEAR II

Lectionary: 387

Reading 1

HOS 14:2-10

Thus says the LORD:

Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;

you have collapsed through your guilt.

Take with you words,

and return to the LORD;

Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,

and receive what is good, that we may render

as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.

Assyria will not save us,

nor shall we have horses to mount;

We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’

to the work of our hands;

for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,

I will love them freely;

for my wrath is turned away from them.

I will be like the dew for Israel:

he shall blossom like the lily;

He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,

and put forth his shoots.

His splendor shall be like the olive tree

and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.

Again they shall dwell in his shade

and raise grain;

They shall blossom like the vine,

and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?

I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.

“I am like a verdant cypress tree”—

because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things;

let him who is prudent know them.

Straight are the paths of the LORD,

in them the just walk,

but sinners stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 AND 17

R. (17b) My mouth will declare your praise.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. My mouth will declare your praise.

Behold, you are pleased with sincerity of heart,

and in my inmost being you teach me wisdom.

Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

R. My mouth will declare your praise.

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

Cast me not out from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

R. My mouth will declare your praise.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,

and a willing spirit sustain in me.

O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

R. My mouth will declare your praise.

Alleluia

JN 16:13A; 14:26D

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

When the Spirit of truth comes,

he will guide you to all truth

and remind you of all I told you.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MT 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles:

“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;

so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.

But beware of men,

for they will hand you over to courts

and scourge you in their synagogues,

and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake

as a witness before them and the pagans.

When they hand you over,

do not worry about how you are to speak

or what you are to say.

You will be given at that moment what you are to say.

For it will not be you who speak

but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will hand over brother to death,

and the father his child;

children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

You will be hated by all because of my name,

but whoever endures to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.

Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel

before the Son of Man comes.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus teaches the Twelve how to persevere in times of persecution. He warns them that they will meet with hostility and hatred because of him, but they are to continue to bear witness to his values. The ultimate reassurance and promise of the Lord is that the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Often we struggle with the opposition we face when we try to live an honest Christian life, and with the increasing duplicity that seems to surround us. So we do well to listen to Jesus' words about sheep among wolves, and the need to know how to be both wise and transparent. Jesus knows all this, yet he still sends us to take the Gospel to this difficult world. But he also promises us his assistance: he asks us not to worry!

PRAYER:

Lord send forth your Holy Spirit when I feel weighed down by struggles and persecutions in my life. Help me to trust in the power of your Spirit, the very life of God within me which guides me into the ways of truth and love.

What is "Panis Angelicus"?

It started from a simple spiritual bible verse on which I mostly posted daily in my personal Facebook account, I've seeing myself realizing the idea what if I will post something different to my audiences sharing my spiritual thoughts/insights in life based on my experiences as a former church servant. Indeed, the world of social media nowadays are full of negativity where many people who are "toxic" in terms of sharing ideas and opinions, on which I personally described. Some people have already forgotten the so-called respect and being open-minded in terms of sharing ideas and opinions on each other. It comes to the point that sometimes we didn't know and feel that we're already crossing the lines causing our egos would probably triggered and even tempered due to our different emotions and expressions. For me, there are lots of causes and reasons why all of these are happen in our society today. Maybe it's because the world nowadays are also under the influence of a so-called millennial traits and other social aspects in life on which other people most especially the youth tend to do unnecessary traits that would make to hurt the feelings of others. By this, some people often forget to show RESPECT to their elder ones and even their parents as well. The new generation of youth today is far different from those times of our lolos and lolas. Even in simple greeting (in a normal traditional Filipino custom of Mano Po) showing your respect to your elders are already forgotten to practice by some of our younger ones and even adults of today. Some people often forget to pray and say the Holy Rosary together with your family every night and even go to church on Sundays to attend holy masses, maybe it is because the people of today are also changing their personal aspects and priorities in life due to power, wealth and pride.

So I decided create this blog page entitled, "Panis Angelicus". This name (Latin for "Bread of Angels" or "Angelic Bread") derived from the penultimate strophe of the hymn "Sacris solemniis" written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. It is a collection of spiritual reflections/verses taken from the Daily Readings in the Holy Bible. Aside of spiritual reflections/verses, you'll also read some of my different insights/opinions regarding on the different types of issues that happen in our world today and what would be its connection in terms of talking about the spiritual aspects in life.

By this simple cause on which I usually loved to do during my church days to help other people in the community by means of participating on various community outreach programs organized by the former parish church that I've served, I'm eagerly open my hands to help most especially those people who already reject nor forget GOD as the center of their life by means of educating and enlighten their minds not just in spiritual aspects but also in moral aspects of life that in this world, nobody's perfect and permanent. Feel free to comment on my posts or share your own thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.

Like Sheep Among Wolves

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