December 27, 2021
God our Father, I rejoice in the birth of the Savior. Help me to share His life completely by living as He has taught. Amen.
John 20:1a and 2-8
On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
This week the Oblates in the Philippines are praying for you.
One of these Oblates is Fr. Julito Dela Cruz, O.M.I. who was ordained in 2005. Father Julito’s first assignment was in a rural mountainous area which had one main church and 50 outlaying Catholic communities. He would spend much of his time walking, using a motorbike or even horseback to reach the communities. He later became the principal at a school on the remote island of Tabawan,. The area is overwhelmingly Muslim, and he would usually have about 350 students, with only about six or seven being Christian. Father Julito’s next assignment was a dramatic change. He ministered at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Caloocan City which has as many as 20,000 worshippers each Sunday for Mass. He was also principal of a school with 3,700 students and 500 employees. Today, Fr. Julito is taking a year off to focus on gaining a deeper understanding of Oblate spirituality to help him in his next assignment.
27 diciembre
Dios nuestro Creador, regocijo en el nacimiento del Salvador. Ayúdame a compartir su vida completamente a través de vivir como me ha enseñado. Amén.
Jn 20, 2-9
El primer día después del sábado, María Magdalena vino corriendo a la casa donde estaban Simón Pedro y el otro discípulo, a quien Jesús amaba, y les dijo: “Se han llevado del sepulcro al Señor y no sabemos dónde lo habrán puesto”.
Salieron Pedro y el otro discípulo camino del sepulcro. Los dos iban corriendo juntos, pero el otro discípulo corrió más aprisa que Pedro y llegó primero al sepulcro, e inclinándose, miró los lienzos puestos en el suelo, pero no entró.
En eso, llegó también Simón Pedro, que lo venía siguiendo, y entró en el sepulcro. Contempló los lienzos puestos en el suelo y el sudario, que había estado sobre la cabeza de Jesús, puesto no con los lienzos en el suelo, sino doblado en sitio aparte. Entonces entró también el otro discípulo, el que había llegado primero al sepulcro, y vio y creyó, porque hasta entonces no habían entendido las Escrituras, según las cuales Jesús debía resucitar de entre los muertos.
Take the next step to strengthen your prayer life
We all could use some healing in our life. And prayer is the best way for us to communicate our needs with God.
Healing Prayers is a wonderful prayer book created by the Missionary Oblates for all those who long for the healing power of the Lord. For these persons, this prayer book has been written in faith and hope that, united in prayer, we might all experience healing of body, mind and spirit in every aspect of our lives.
