4 Living Water - August 22, 2014

A N N O U N C E M E N T S

PLEASE WEAR YOUR BLD ID EVERY FRIDAY

2014 ANCOP

WALK

STAND, SHARE AND UNITE!STAND, SHARE AND UNITE!

Spend the day with us as we

walk to answer the Cry of the

Poor!!!!

August 24, 2014 at 10:30AM to

4:30PM

Nathan Phillips Square

100 Queen Street West, To-

ronto

There will be a Great Show!!!

Great Prizes!! ! For a Great

Cause!!!

LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR #30

SCHEDULE

Shepherding Sessions: Our Lady of Assumption

Church (after Praise & Worship)

Friday, August 22, 2014 : Topic: God’s Love

Friday, August 29, 2014 : Topic: Salvation

Friday, September 12, 2014 : Topic: New Life

and Receiving God’s Gift

Mon-Thurs, Sept 15-18, 2014 : One-on-One

Shepherding Session

Mon-Tues, Sept 15-16, 2014 : General Confes-

sions, OLA Church, 7:30-9:00pm

Friday, September 19, 2014 : Invocation Mass,

OLA Church, 8:00pm

LSS Weekend Proper: Cardinal Leger Catholic

School

Saturday, September 20, 2014 : LSS Proper

(8:30 am – 7:30 pm)

Sunday, September 21, 2014 : LSS Proper

(8:30 am – 4:00 pm)

Post LSS Shepherding Sessions: Our Lady As-

sumption Church (after Praise & Worship)

Friday, September 26, 2014 : Topic: Growth

Friday, October 10, 2014: Topic: Transformation

Grand Reunion: Our Lady of the Assumption

Church Hall

Saturday, November 1, 2014 : 9:30 am – 3:30

pm

FROM THE DISCIPLING MINISTRY

UNDERSTANDING CORPORATE WORSHIP

September 3, Wednesday

7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the OLA Hall

Invitees are graduates of LSS#s 27, 28 & 29 Service

Ministry Members and previous LSS graduates who

have not taken this teaching

Please bring your bible, notebook and name tags. We continue to

encourage participants to be on time.

LECTORS FOR AUGUST 2014

August 27

1st Reading.................Nilda Villa

Psalm..........................Brennie Galace

2nd Reading……........Edwin Radam

Living Water - August 22, 2014

August 22, 2014

BUKÁS-LOÓB SA DIYÓS • OPEN IN SPIRIT TO GOD

www.bldworld.org www.bldtoronto.com

THEME

We believe in the Lord when we proclaim Je-

sus as the Son of the Living God and help

build His Church. .

WORD

Is 22:15, 18-23 ; Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8; Rom 11:33

-36 ; ; Mat 16:13-20.

ORDER

“Build my church.” (Mt16:18b)

“Know the mind of the Lord.” (Rom 11:34)

DIRECTION

Evangelize and build Christ’s church.

Continue to shepherd the flock that the Lord

has entrusted to your care.

Soak yourselves in the Word of God to

know and understand the message of the

Lord for you.

REFLECTION

“But who do you say that I am?” (Mat 16:15). If

we were asked this same question by the Lord

today, how would we reply? Hind sight

should give us 20:20 vision. . Our faith’s more

than 2,000 years of history should give us the

perfect vision to answer as Peter did, without

any hesitation, “You are the Christ, the Son of the

living God,” (Mat 16:16). How could a simple

fisherman with no education, like Peter, came

up with a reply that is full of wisdom and in-

sight, well before he experienced Jesus’ death

and glorious resurrection? Surely, he must

have been inspired from above, as Jesus him-

self confirms: “Blessed are you, Simon son of

Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to

you, but my heavenly Father,” (Mat 16:17).

This is the message of today’s gospel. God

doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the

called. God does not choose leaders based on

what they have to offer but on the inadequa-

cies that could serve to deepen their faith and

intensify their reliance on Him. The qualifica-

Twenty-First Sunday In Ordinary Time

2 Living Water - August 22, 2014

emulate Peter’s staunch faith. As qualified nomi-

nators in the emergence process, let us ask our-

selves this question: could Peter, an unschooled

and simple fisherman, have made it to the list of

BLD nominees and be emerged as one of the

new leaders in 2015?

The Lord is indeed full of surprises when He

chooses people who may escape our attention,

but whom he calls for His divine work. Perhaps

we would not even choose the kind of people

the Lord selected as His twelve apostles. They

were ordinary fishermen, tax collectors and even

sinners, who were least likely candidates for any

leadership role. But these simple uneducated

folk turned out to be the Lord’s instruments in

spreading the gospel and building his church

throughout the world. They are likewise re-

sponsible for having written the several books of

the bible that declare the truth of God’s word

today, yesterday and forever. Let us pause for a

moment and quietly reflect on this.

Proclaiming Jesus as the Son of the living God is

not easy. It is a personal commitment, a way of

life that defines who we are and how we relate

to Jesus. It is not a sporadic act that comes and

goes but a belief that has to be lived on a day-to-

day basis, 24-7. But no matter how difficult it is

to be a proclaimer of the Word, and builder of

God’s kingdom and Church, it comes with a

reward that is all worth it, “…upon this rock I will

build my church, and the gates of the netherworld

shall not prevail against it,” (Mt 16:18b).

(Note: Reflection is taken from the Word Shar-

ing Circle Reflection Guide for August 24, 2014.)

PROMISE “…upon this rock I will build my church, and the

gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against

it.” (Mt 16:18b)

tions people use in making choices have abso-

lutely no bearing on His choice. “People look at

the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the

heart," (1 Samuel 16:7).

This gospel certainly changes the way we look

at leaders who serve in our Community. De-

spite their many imperfections, the Lord has

chosen them to lead His flock, for reasons

known only to Him, and probably for the same

reasons He chose Peter to lead the entire Ro-

man Catholic Church, knowing full well that

Peter would soon deny Him three times. “…

you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my

church,” (Mat 16:18).

So the next time you receive an assignment

from the Community, before you quickly de-

cline the offer because you feel you don’t have

the skills or qualifications for the job, think

again. The next time you are asked to head a

project, and before you beg off for whatever

reason, read today’s gospel. We are to humbly

accept what role we are given despite our

sense of unworthiness and doubts. When He

appoints us, the Lord secures our place in eve-

rything that we do. “I will fix him like a peg in a

sure spot, to be a place of honor for his fam-

ily,” (Isaiah 22:23). It is our duty therefore to

humbly accept the calling, thereby proclaiming

Jesus as the Son of God. This is our theme for

this week: We believe in the Lord when we proclaim Jesus as the Son of the Living God

and help build His Church.

Assignments of leadership received in Com-

munity may overwhelm us at the onset. Our

next emergence process will identify new BLD

Community leaders to take on the various po-

sitions of leadership. It is a good time in our

faith journey for those who are called, to

Living Water - August 22, 2014 3

24 youth attend Youth Inter-District Conference 2014

“Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the

will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). This is the theme of the 2014 Youth Inter Dis-

trict Conference held on August 15-17 at the Archdiocesan Youth Center in Kearny, New Jersey, hosted by the

youth of BLD Trenton.

All praises and glory to God for a safe and successful 2014 YIDC. Twenty-four youth delegates represented

BLD Toronto. Seven adults from Toronto and two from St. Catharines went with the youth as chaperones.

Guest speaker, Fr. Leo Patalinghug, talked about the difference between ‘sacred and secular’ in such an inter-

active way that youth and adult alike were entertained and had some take-aways for everyday living as fol-

lowers of Jesus Christ. BLD Trenton’s very own, Ramil Caragay was also an inspiring speaker and led the

youth in a remarkable praise jam together with the BLD Trenton youth praise team.

The excitement, boldness, energy, and enthusiasm of our youth delegates were contagious and uplifted one’s

spirit. This is our youth of today, the future of our church. We continue to ask the Holy Spirit to dwell in their

hearts and guide every step of their spiritual journey that they may be rooted in the Word of God and be bold

as living witnesses of God’s love and immense mercy.

We thank everyone who supported our youth by way of snacks for the long road trip, monetary donations

and prayer offerings. We greatly appreciate the hospitality of BLD Trenton.

The next YIDC will be held in Washington D.C. in 2016.

By: Gerard & Joy Del Castillo

Youth Ministry Members