Panis Angelicus: Enter Through The Narrow Gate

JUNE 27, 2023 TUESDAY

Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

Optional Memorial of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (White)

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

CYCLE A - YEAR I

Lectionary: 372

Reading 1

Gn 13:2, 5-18

Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.

Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,

so that the land could not support them if they stayed together;

their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.

There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock

and those of Lot's.

(At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites

were occupying the land.)

So Abram said to Lot:

"Let there be no strife between you and me,

or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen.

Is not the whole land at your disposal?

Please separate from me.

If you prefer the left, I will go to the right;

if you prefer the right, I will go to the left."

Lot looked about and saw how well watered

the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar,

like the LORD's own garden, or like Egypt.

(This was before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain

and set out eastward.

Thus they separated from each other;

Abram stayed in the land of Canaan,

while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain,

pitching his tents near Sodom.

Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked

in the sins they committed against the LORD.

After Lot had left, the LORD said to Abram:

"Look about you, and from where you are,

gaze to the north and south, east and west;

all the land that you see I will give to you

and your descendants forever.

I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth;

if anyone could count the dust of the earth,

your descendants too might be counted.

Set forth and walk about in the land, through its length and breadth,

for to you I will give it."

Abram moved his tents and went on to settle

near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron.

There he built an altar to the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5

R. (1b) He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

He who walks blamelessly and does justice;

who thinks the truth in his heart

and slanders not with his tongue.

R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Who harms not his fellow man,

nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;

By whom the reprobate is despised,

while he honors those who fear the LORD.

R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Who lends not his money at usury

and accepts no bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things

shall never be disturbed.

R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Alleluia

Jn 8:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

whoever follows me will have the light of life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 7:6, 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,

lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

"Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.

This is the Law and the Prophets.

"Enter through the narrow gate;

for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,

and those who enter through it are many.

How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.

And those who find it are few."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Availability of good things and success in life can increase greed. False gods can take over and direction is lost. Being better off does not mean being better in what really matters. I need good values and time to reflect, so that good decisions about God’s bounty may be arrived at.

It is easy to drift, to follow the broad and easy route, but that does not lead to life. Jesus is the way to life and he is the entry point. ‘Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep…whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture’ (John 10:7-9). Lord, help me to be a good follower of you.

PRAYER:

The easy option is to avoid personal responsibilities and to go with the crowd. The choice between right and wrong can often be lonely and narrow. Lord, please show me the road that leads to you. May I follow it with joy, whether it is hard or easy.

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.

Enter Through The Narrow Gate

No comments:

Post a Comment