

The MGCP BEC Advanced Training is currently on its Cycle B. Study sessions are held at the Parish Hall from 9:00 AM - 12 NN. Each sessions have two parts: the first session is a lectio cursiva of the Old Testament. The second part, lasting for an hour and a half, is Cell Leadership Enhancement Training directed towards helping cell leaders improve their familiarity with Scriptures. This part of the training is programmed where lessons in exegesis, theology and leadership principles are given.

Don't miss the following articles that are relevant for outlining a bible passage.
- Outlining a Bible Passage I
- Outlining a Bible Passage II
- Outlining a Bible Passage III: Colossians
- Outlining a Bible Passage IV: Working on Themes
- Colossians 1:24-2:3 A Sample Outline
Outlining is useful for presenting a passage for others; it is also useful for cataloguing the biblical ideas you discover in the study of Scriptures.
On the third Sunday of Lent, our attention was called to the necessity of repentance. “Unless you repent”, says the Lord, “you will perish.” On the fourth Sunday, we were shown that repentance is possible because God is merciful and forgiving. This Sunday, we hear the words of the Lord “Go and sin no more.” Only those who have come to know the emptiness of sin can recognize in these words a command to be free.
The story of the “Merciful Father” in Luke 15 is the climax of a series of parables on Losing and Finding. Here, in addition to the theme of finding what was lost, Jesus includes a challenge to those who are offended at the way he deals with sinners. In the fourth Sunday of Lent, the theme of the parable is presented to us as the theological motivation for repentance. We do not repent because something bad might happen to us, as one might understand from the gospel of the third Sunday; we repent because it is better to be with the Father than away from Him.
Repentance is also characteristic of the Christian lifestyle. After all, Christian life is a response to the command: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Lately, the Church has been referring to this idea as “ongoing conversion”. Paul, in the second reading, gives expression to this in his admotion: “Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”
One’s turning to the Lord should result in a life that bears fruits of righteousness. We know that not all those who hear the word of salvation bear fruit. Some types of “soil” do not bear fruit either because these are shallow or because choked by worldly cares. But even these are given a chance. There is one who intercedes — the Total Christ, both Head and Body — for them and works that these may bear fruit.

Peter, James and John witness the Transfiguration of Jesus and hear the voice that tells them to obey Jesus. The Law and the Prophets, represented in the event by Moses and Elijah, are illumined by the light of Christ. In other words, the meaning of the Law and the Prophets become clearer because of Christ’s death and resurrection. As we continue our Lenten journey to Easter, we are reminded that the mark of the cross received in Baptism leads to the resurrection: our resurrection in Christ. The journey of Lent will end in Easter glory.
The Lenten Sundays that precede Passion Sunday are thematically arranged in the following way:
- Sundays I and II: The Victory in which the Christian is called to participate
- Sundays III – V: Sin No More: To Victory through Conversion and Repentance
Below is a schedule of the Gospel readings for Year C
| Date | Sundays in Lent | Gospel Theme |
| February 21 | Sunday I | Luke 4:1-13, “The Temptation in the Desert” |
| February 28 | Sunday II | Luke 9, 28-36, “The Transfiguration” |
| March 7 | Sunday III | Luke 13:1-9, “Sayings on the Need to Repent” |
| March 14 | Sunday IV | Luke 15, “The Parables of the Lost and Found” |
| March 21 | Sunday V | John 8:1-11, “The Woman Caught in Adultery” |
| March 28 | Passion Sunday | Luke 22:14-23:49, “The Passion According to Luke” |
For the first Sunday of Lent, the Temptation in the Desert is presented for our reflection. It should remind us of the struggle against Satan which the Christian life is.
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The liturgy for the 6th Sunday of OT (C) highlights the Beatitudes as one finds it in Luke 6:20-26. Seeing the large number of disciples gathered before him, Jesus proclaims, using the language of blessings and woes, who are his real disciples. They are those who listen to his words and perform them, like the man who builds his house on a solid foundation (6:48). But because they heed his words, they suffer losses: they go hungry, they weep, they are reduced to poverty. They are blessed, not because they are hungry or poor or because they weep; they are blessed because they are so for the sake of Christ (vv. 22-23).

Luke rewrites the story of Simon’s vocation within the context of a miraculous catch of fish. Simon the fisherman is commanded by a carpenter from Nazareth to put out the nets. Simon obeys even when he knows that the sea has refused to yield its fruits to him. The catch of fish occurs and Simon immediately recognizes Jesus as the one who has made it possible. The success of evangelization is not due to human technology but to the Lord who makes the crop increase and yield its fruits. And it is the Lord too who chooses whom He wills to become a partner in his enterprise.
The fourth Sunday offers us two second parts: Paul’s hymn to Love which continues the theme of the Church’s unity and diversity, and the second part of Luke’s narration of Jesus’ inauguration of the Year of the Lord’s Favor of Luke 4:14-30. The Pauline selection from 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that in the Christian community, the primary value is that of love — that love by which we respond to the divine love manifested to us on the cross of Christ. Jesus’ ministry was never a bed of roses. This is something that anyone wishing to walk on the roads of evangelization should remember. Like the prophets before him, Jesus too would be rejected; and that rejection will reach its climax on the cross of Calvary.
Relevant Articles
The third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C coincides this year with the conclusion of National Bible Week, a yearly celebration that reminds the Filipino Catholic of the importance of reading the Scriptures as a preparation for or a prolungation of the Liturgy of the Word. Luke’s coverletter for Theophilus underscores the supplementary nature of the Gospel he writes. Theophilus has received the proclamation of the apostles in the form of catechesis and Luke sends him a copy of his account of the Gospel as a help for Theophilus to deepen his newly received faith. The section on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth underlines the fulfillment of the whole of Scriptures, which is Jesus Himself.
The Solemnity of the Holy Child is a feast specially dear to Filipinos. Here we commemorate in a special way, not only the childhood of the Lord, but also the beginnings of evangelization in the Philippines. It should be remembered that when the Augustinian friars began their work in the islands, the image of the Holy Child brought some years before by the group of Magellan was discovered and put under their custory. Today, there is a shrine for that image in Cebu, a temple now called the Basilica of Sto. Nino de Cebu. The image is a reminder of something spiritual. Reflecting on the image in the key of Augustine’s “Totus Christus”, it can serve as a reminder that Catholics in the Philippines should be like an infant that is in continuous longing of the things that only the God can give, as is sung in the Offertory Song of the feast.
The Visit of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord and the wedding at Cana are events that the liturgy has associated to Epiphany, the manifestation of the Lord to the world. At the beginning of Ordinary Time (Year C), we make present again the Baptism of the Lord where He accepted his mission as the Suffering Servant and where the Voice from heaven confirmed it. In the gospel account of Luke, Jesus receives the heavenly theophany (an “eye-ear theophanic event”) while he is at prayer. The Baptism of the Lord reminds us of our own baptism and our participation in the Divine Sonship. It also reminds us of the importance of prayer as we gain a deeper knowledge of what the Father wants of us.
For the Church in the Philippines, December 16-24 is a special period in Advent. During these days, we celebrate the Simbang Gabi, a. k. a. Misa del Gallo — a series of Masses that begin at 4 AM. These are masses where the Gloria is sung and the vestment worn is white. By intent then, these are days that already share in the joy of the Christmas feast.
The readings for December 17-24 have been fixed; this will be affected only in the cases when a Sunday (usually the 4th Sunday of Advent) falls within these days. In that case, the Sunday readings prevail. For the Church in the Philippines where the Simbang Gabi begins on the 16th of December, the readings for that day is fixed by the CBCP (see Ordo). The readings for the Simbang Gabi of December 16 are as follows:
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