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8 Living Water - June 7, 2013
Toronto Teaching Schedule
For a complete and up-to-date Teaching Schedule, visit:
www.bldtoronto.com
BLD SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES - JUNE 2013 DAY TIME ACTIVITY
VENUE
07 Fri 8 pm—10 pm Healing Mass OLA Church
14 Fri 8pm—11pm
Corporate Praise & Worship
LSS # 28 New Life & Receiving God’s Gift OLA Church
16 Sun Father’s Day
17 Mon &
18 Tue
Toronto LSS #28 one on one session /
General Confession OLA Church
19 Wed &
20 Thu Toronto LSS #28 one on one session OLA Church
21 Fri 8pm—11pm Toronto LSS #28 Invocation Mass OLA Church
22 Sat - 23 Sun Toronto LSS #28 Weekend Proper Cardinal Leger
School
25Tue 2pm—4pm Good Shepherd Meal Service Good Shepherd
Centre
28 Fri 8pm—11pm
Corporate Praise & Worship
LSS #28 Growth OLA Church
Date Time Topic Venue Invitees
Sat
Jun 22
8:30am to
3:30pm
Witness Development
Part 2 OLA Hall Newly Covenanted Members
Mon
Jun 24
9pm to
10:30pm
Orientation to Spiritual
Warfare
OLA
Chapel
Intercessory Ministry members and those
who have not taken this teaching
YOUTH
MINISTRY
KORNER
Registration is now OPEN for the upcoming Youth Encounter #15 to
be held this summer at Mt.
Mary Retreat Centre at Ancaster on July 19, 20 & 21, 2013.
Please visit us at the OLA basement
hall for registration every Friday, or e-mail Froilan and
Charito Piamonte at
[email protected]. Hurry, space is limited. Early Bird
registration deadline is Friday, June 28,
2013. Registration forms for auxies and sponsors are also
available. Thank you and God bless.
Youth Encounter No. 15
Living Water - June 7, 2013
June 7, 2013
BUKÁS-LOÓB SA DIYÓS • OPEN IN SPIRIT TO GOD
www.bldworld.org www.bldtoronto.com
THEME
Compassion and sensitivity to the needs of
others brings newness of life.
WORD
1Kgs 17:17-24; Ps 30:2,4-6,11-13; Gal 1:11-19; Lk
7:11-17
ORDER
“This is my body that is for you. Do this in remem-
brance of me… This cup is the new covenant in my
blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remem-
brance of me.” (1 Cor 11:24-25)
REFLECTION
The First and Gospel Readings this Sunday are
similar. In the First Reading, Elijah begs God
to restore the life of the dead son of a wid-
ow. In the gospel, nobody asks Jesus to do
anything, but moved with pity on seeing the
weeping widow He took it upon himself to
restore her son to life. Evident in both cases is
God's compassion.
Are we capable of same compassion? It is not
enough to have compassion in our hearts, for
compassion must translate into concrete action.
Jesus expressed compassion through positive
action. He responded by doing what needed to
be done to alleviate the suffering of the wid-
owed mother. In His mercy Jesus gives a
glimpse of God’s overflowing kindness and the
graciousness of His kingdom, hence "Be merci-
ful, just as your Father is merciful”. (Lk 6:36)
Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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2 Living Water - June 7, 2013
In our moments of helplessness and hopelessness, especially when
tragedy strikes, we should
draw strength by clinging to God's tender mercies and his
promise that he came, "that we may
have life, life in all its fullness,” (Jn 10:10). In every
experience of death, we must learn to rise up
from our sorrow, stop weeping and move on, as Jesus admonishes
us:"Do not weep," (Lk
7:13). The miracle at Nain is an affirmation that, with faith in
Christ, deep sorrows, tragedies and
even death can be overcome. There is assurance that when we feel
broken, frustrated, discouraged
and seemingly without hope, we need only continue waiting
expectantly on our ever-faithful and
merciful God: "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined
to me and heard my cry”. (Ps 40:1)
Let us be confident that when in need of help, we shall find
mercy and grace from our God (Heb
4:15-16). Jesus is our strength, our life and our hope. Just as
he showed compassion on the wid-
owed mother, we trust He will hear our cry for help, heal our
ills, and give us what we are in dire
need of. Let us keep ourselves open to the healing touch of
Jesus, that He may continue His heal-
ing work in us and raise up the dead areas of our lives. Let us
heed His call: “Young man, I say to
you, arise.” (Lk 7:14)
May we experience the Lord's compassion even as He exhorts us to
be merciful as He is merciful
that, as we act with sensitivity and concern for others, we may
find gladness and newness of life as
promised: "You changed my mourning into dancing”. (Ps 30:12)
GOD’S PROMISE
“You changed my mourning into dancing.” (Ps 30:12)
WORDS, THEMES AND PROMISES FOR JUNE, 2013
June 2 Gen 14:18-20; Ps 110:1-4; 1Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11-17
June 9 1 Kgs 17:17-24; Ps 30:2,4,5,6,11-13; Gal 1:11-19; Lk
7:11-17
June 16 2 Sam 12:7-10,13; Ps 32:1,2,5,7,11; Gal 2:16,19-21; Lk
7:36-8:3
June 23 Zec 12:10,11;13:1; Ps 63:2-6,8,9; Gal 3:26-29; Lk
9:18-24
June 30 1 Kgs 19:16,19-21; Ps 16:1,2,5,7-11; Gal 5:1,13-18; Lk
9:51-62
Week#1 (Solemnity of the Body & Blood of Christ)
Theme: Frequently receiving the Holy Eucharist brings newness of
life.
Promise: “They all ate and were satisfied.” (Lk 9:17)
Week#2 (10th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Theme: Compassion and sensitivity to the needs of others bring
newness of life.
Promise: “You changed my mourning into dancing.” (Ps 30:12)
Living Water - June 7, 2013 7
The Silent Retreat - A Spiritual Nourishment “Come away…all by
yourselves and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:31)
A huge number of the BLD membership attended the Union of Two
Lives: Action and Contempla-
tion, a silent retreat facilitated by Fr. Ben St. Croix, CC. It
was held at OLA on Saturday June 1, 2013
from 9:00AM to 3:00PM. Of the 142 members who were present, 22
came all the way from the GVO
DIP. We praise and thank the Lord for the Pastoral Services
Ministry who did an excellent job in
organizing the retreat.
Fr. Ben tackled the two faces of the Christian faith –
discipleship and apostleship. As Christ’s fol-
lowers, we are all called to practice both. Discipleship is more
of the training and learning of the
teaching of Jesus to grow and mature in the Lord. “In
discipleship, prayers are extremely important”,
said Fr. Ben. “To increase the fire in our heart, we need to
spend more time with the Lord. We need to listen
to the Lord until we fall in love with Him”, he asserted.
Discipleship is followed by apostleship. Being
an apostle is being sent out on a mission to proclaim the
goodness of the Lord.
To some, the retreat could have sparked a desire to be more
faithful to the Lord by adding more
intensity to their current quiet time with the Lord. To others,
the retreat could have galvanized
their strong commitment to spend intimate moments with the Lord.
And, maybe for others, the
retreat could have planted an aspiration to do a mission work
and become true apostles of Christ.
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6 Living Water - June 7, 2013
ANCOP WALK IS FAITH IN ACTION
ANCOP Walk is an annual fundraising event that helps the poor in
the Philippines and
other third world countries by providing shelter and child
education programs for the
poor living in slums and abject poverty. In partnership with
ANCOP International
(Canada) Inc., a Christian, registered non-profit charity, the
Bukas Loob sa Diyos is again
joining this annual fundraiser as an expression of our faith in
God by helping the poor.
The BLD focus this year is to provide good education to the
needy children of Immaculate
Mary Queen of Heaven Mission in Cebu. Let us be reminded of the
word of Jesus in
Matthew 25: 45, “Whenever you refused to help one of these least
important ones, you
refused to help me”.
Sunday, August 25, 2013 at 11 AM
Nathan Philips Square & Armoury Street – Toronto
Walk to transform communities and change lives!
Please walk with us and help change the world, one child at a
time!
Register now and make a difference!
www.ancopwalk.ca
If for any reason you cannot join the WALK, you can help by
soliciting funds from
friends and relatives. Please obtain Solicitation Forms from any
members of the BYOP
Ministry.
For more info, please contact:
Felix/Linda Fullante
Tel# 416-200-6998; 416-270-2565
Email: [email protected]
Living Water - June 7, 2013 3
Week#3 (11th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Theme: Forgiving others and ourselves brings newness of
life.
Promise: "… the Lord on his part has forgiven your sin, you
shall not die.” (2 Sam 12:13)
Week#4 (12th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Theme: Dying to ourselves for the benefit of others brings
newness of life.
Promise: “… my soul clings fast to you, your right hand upholds
me..” (Ps 63:9)
Week#5 (13th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Theme: Committing ourselves to follow Jesus brings newness of
life.
Promise: “Live by the spirit and you will certainly not gratify
the desire of the flesh.” (Gal 5:16)
REFLECTION FOR JUNE 2013
Second Week: 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our Theme for the 2nd week: Compassion and sensitivity to the
needs of others bring newness of
life. In the gospel passage, Jesus is witness to the funeral of
a young man. St. Luke’s portrayal of
the scene emphasizes the love and compassion that moves Jesus to
perform a miracle. On seeing
the mother, the Lord is immediately overwhelmed with compassion.
He can feel what others feel,
and know what goes on in a heart wracked with pain. He has power
over life and death, and He
imparts life to those who believe and trust in God’s life-giving
power. In an overflow of spontane-
ous compassion, His merciful heart responds to the occasion
without being asked or importuned
by the widowed mother. He restores the dead young man to life.
In His action, God is revealed as
a mystery of compassion and self-giving love. Compassion calls
for caring. It encompasses a sin-
cere desire to help others and may take inspiration from a
desire to make a difference in the life of
another, a challenge to do something worthwhile and a charitable
sharing of God’s promise for
this week: “You changed my mourning to dancing.” (Ps 30:12)
Third Week: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our Theme for the 3rd week: Forgiving others and ourselves
brings newness of life. The unnamed
woman in the gospel is a repentant sinner who has began a new
life. Overflowing with love and
gratitude, she comes to wash the feet of Jesus with her tears,
drying them with her hair. Indeed, all
that is needed for forgiveness is to turn to God once again in
an act of repentance. Nothing else
needed; not even our love. That can come later, when we realize
how blessed we are to be so great-
ly loved. Jesus loves us so much that He forgives us, without
condition and without limit. As the
Book of Samuel (2 Sam 12:13) summarizes it: “The Lord on His
part, has forgiven your sin, you
shall not die.”
http://www.ancopwalk.ca/mailto:[email protected]
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4 Living Water - June 7, 2013
Fourth Week: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our Theme for the 4th week: Dying to ourselves for the benefit
of others brings newness of life.
Jesus lays the condition for following Him - “If anyone wishes
to come after me, he must deny him-
self and take up his cross daily and follow me,” (Lk 9:23).
Jesus’ path led to His ultimate sacrifice
on the cross, death. In inviting us to take up our cross daily
and follow Him, are we called to fol-
low in the same path of self sacrifice? Indeed we are called to
die to self, to renounce our focus on
the self and to follow instead, the self-giving examples of
Jesus’ unconditional love. God does not
intend suffering. He is not the source of pain and evil. It is
our own helpless human condition that
is the cause of our struggles and difficulties, compounded by
our excessive striving for success and
our worldly attachments. To focus on Jesus and His example means
making His will the basis of
our decisions; and the law of God and nature, a part of our
consciousness, so that as we give we
may likewise receive and have life, to be in a position to claim
the Promise of the week: “My soul
clings fast to you, your right hand upholds me.” (Ps 63:9).
Fifth Week: 13 Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our Theme for the 5th week: Committing ourselves to follow Jesus
brings newness of life. How
does one follow Jesus? To follow Jesus requires firm resolve and
courageous action, a readiness to
take responsibility. The cost of discipleship is high – we are
to throw our whole weight behind the
plough, commit to hard work, and never look back in half-hearted
commitment; instead, we are to
plod steadily ahead to accomplish the task before us, and to
remain steadfast, especially when the
mission is difficult. Discipleship means not just enthusiasm but
firm commitment, involving pain-
ful choices sometimes. To follow Jesus is a call to life and to
fulfillment. It demands a courageous
and determined response, the sincerity of which is reflected in
the quality of loving service that
marks our lives. But, as Jesus has promised, we have the Holy
Spirit to strengthen us and give us
perseverance. We can then claim the Promise this week: “Live by
the Spirit and you will certainly
not gratify the desire of the flesh.” (Gal 5:16)
Prayer:
All-powerful and ever-loving God, we need you more than ever.
Amidst our confusion, lead us
away from our fears, enable us to meet you with full expectancy
and eager response. You call us to
build relationships and take delight in your love. You
persistently invite us to live by the Holy
Spirit who continually forms us to be gentle and
self-controlled. We are grateful we have much to
give, but have yet so much to learn. Equip us for life, fit us
for labor in your vineyard, and help us
keep our hands on the plough, that we may follow the way of
Christian faithfulness which requires
nothing less than the full and total commitment of our lives to
our most compassionate ever-living
God. Amen.
Living Water - June 7, 2013 5
Team Retention: “Let us be nice and polite”
As you have noticed these past few weeks at the registration
area, we have been joyfully greeted by
enthusiastic brothers and sisters before the start of our
corporate worship and mass. There were also
heartwarming slogans “BE NICE, BE POLITE” prominently posted at
the church entrance reminding us
to smile, to be nice and be pleasant.
This is all a part of a new initiative being undertaken to build
up our community and let it be “on fire”
again.
This project is spearheaded by the Retention Team, one of the 7
groups commissioned to look into our
readiness as a community in supporting our New Evangelization
program.
This will be an on-going project which will involve everyone’s
participation and support. Brothers and
sisters, we encourage you to practice and show that we are
indeed a loving and welcoming community.
INVITATION TO FAMILY ENCOUNTER #18 WEEKEND
The Family Life Ministry is pleased to announce that it will
hold the
Family Encounter #18 Weekend on August 16-18, 2013 at the
Mount Mary Immaculate Retreat Centre in Ancaster.
The sponsoring class, FE #17, will be handing out registration
forms to those who know families
who may be interested in joining the upcoming FE Weekend. They
will also be delighted to answer
any questions you may have regarding the FE Weekend.
You may contact FE #17 class shepherds Rene and Ditas Dimen
at
[email protected] for any inquiry. Thank you and God bless.
PLEASE WEAR YOUR BLD ID EVERY FRIDAY
Reminder:
PREPARING & CELEBRATING SUNDAY EUCHARIST When: Saturday,
June 8, 2013 (9:00am-3:00pm)
Where: OLA Basement Hall Invitees: All BLD Members
Pre-registration deadline: May 31, 2013 to Boy & Lorna
Salvador ( [email protected] )
Lunch will be free of charge. Voluntary love offering is
welcome.
mailto:[email protected]
