The

Basic Ecclesial
Communities
A PERFORMANCE TASK IN CHRISTIAN LIVING 10

Prepared by:
DAREL JAY G. OLALIA
10-St. John

Submitted to:
S. MA. RUFEL SERNA PALARCA RVM.
INTRODUCTION:
The BEC or Basic Ecclesial Communities (Munting Sambayanang
Kristiyano), is the faithful that endeavors to live out the faith in the daily lives.
They may be identified through their distinct characteristics. For example, the
members of a neighborhood or in the family who know each other and who
share among them the word of God. It includes not only the sharing of the word
of God but also sharing talents, resources, and even material things. Being part
of the BEC is important because you will see yourself connected to your
neighbor, your family, your parish, and most of all, to God. And you will notice
that you’re not only growing in the faith but also relating with your family and
neighbors.

OPENING PRAYER:
Lord God, as we gather together, we praise You for this day and Your
purpose for it. Reset our agendas, as we sit in Your presence. For You assure us
that where two or more gather in Your name You are here. Recalibrate our
intentions and refocus our hearts. Your will for our lives does not always
reflects our plans. Change them to reflect Your will. Help us to understand that
we don’t need full clarity to walk into the unique purpose You’ve inlaid in our
lives.
Lift our eyes to seek You first today, and always, surrendering our need
to achieve, understand, and be known. Shift our perspective to seek Your peace
above all else. In every situation we ponder in our daily lives, let the Holy Spirit
translate Your commands. Give us renewed strength and godly courage to obey
You without questioning. Forgive us for striving beyond our means, worrying,
and forcing results.
Only You know what lies ahead. You are our good Father, just and
righteous. Though our circumstances will be unfair from time to time in this
life, you are always our unwavering protector and shield (Psalm 3:3). Let Your
peace rain down on us today, as we seek You more than anything else. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.

GOSPEL READING:
October 31, 2021I Sunday
 A reading from a holy gospel according to St. Mark 12, 28-34: One of
the scribes came to Jesus and asked Him, “which is the first of all
commandments?” Jesus replied, “the first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our
God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this:
‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment
greater than these.” The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in
saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your
heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your
neighbor as your self is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And
when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, He said to Him “You are
not far from the Kingdom of God.” And no one dared to ask him any more
questions. The Gospel of the Lord…

REFLECTION:
There was a very rich man, sometimes he used people to become rich.
One day, when he was walking in the park he saw many people laughing,
eating, playing with their family. Then, he asked one of the family, “What are
you doing?” they said “We are playing, we’re very happy, do you want to join
with us?” the man was very confused and asked them “Do you want me to join
with you, even you don’t know me?”, “Yes, because that is love we show love
for other people.” Then the man realized, that this love was not only for himself
but for other people. This gospel gives us a lesson on the greatest
commandment of love. The scribes approach Jesus, which is the first of all
commandments and Jesus answered ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord
alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ That is the first commandments
and the second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ This teaching
is the most central core of the gospel, because it is about love. Whoever is
without love does not know God, for God is love. In this teaching Jesus makes
it very clear that the first and most important commandment is love of God,
love of neighbor comes second only. This is a very important point to consider
the life of every Christians can be illustrated by the image of the cross. The
cross has vertical and horizontal beings, the same is true of every Christians the
dimensions must be present in order to have a complete and meaningful life.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the love of neighbor should be rooted in
the love of God. I remember, when I was in elementary, we had a neighbor who
was very beautiful, then I remember in the gospel said, ‘love your neighbor as
you love yourself’, so I tried to flirt with her but I was busted. Hence, it is not
only your neighbor but God said, neighbor meaning whole people. That is why,
the lesson of this gospel is a warning against self-sufficiency, we should never
rely solely on human power and products. God alone is our sure refuge, a
permanent stronghold no matter what happens.

SHARING:
Nowadays we are very into gadgets but our Lord signifies or He purifies
our intention to love our neighbor as you love yourself. That is why we must
ask ourselves;
 what is my challenge for today?
 what have we done so far to show how much we love God?

1. What is my challenge for today?

 Me (16): The challenge that I had faced today is, what should I do to
overcome my laziness? A whole day routine, I was only lying on my
bed, texting/ chatting, sleeping then after sleep go to bathroom, take a
shower. Then eating again and go back to my room, no household
chores accomplished HAHAHA! A king life indeed. That’s my
biggest challenge today.
 April (21): My challenges for today was being an eldest child, the
pressure and expectations I got during my studies, personal and mental
life is terrible. The eldest has to be responsible one. She has to look
after the others, do more chores, help their homework, take care of
herself more, and is expected to behave more maturely than her age
because she can do without when the youngers ones cannot.
 Marjorie (15): The challenges that I had encounter today and
everyday was being a working student. It is so hard to balance your
studies and work at the same time, the scolding of your boss, lots of
work loads and everything. But there’s no impossible of a determined
individual to conquer it all and to achieve all the goals that I want to
reach. Despite of everything, I’m always grateful for all the blessings
that He has given me. I’m thankful for the most amazing support I
have, my family and friends, for all the lessons which made me realize
the reality in life. For my mistakes that were corrected allowing me to
become better, and for every opportunity given to me which helped
 me grow and become who I am today. I know that there are even more
challenges to face ahead. I’ll just make sure to march forward with
confidence because I know that I can shine and beat whatever
darkness is thrown at me. Most importantly, I know that I’m not alone.
 Tita May (36): It’s hard to live a normal healthy life without a job
and money. Being unemployed can cause one to experience financial,
emotional, and personal problems. Since this pandemic started I got
fired on my job. I’m one of the unluckiest people in our workplace,
because they want to minimize their employees for financial stability,
“more employees to paid, less income to the company.” I’m stressed
for being a jobless individual till now, at the age of 36, I don’t have
accomplishments to support my parents, to paid off their hard work
and sacrifices. I don’t have money to support them and my needs,
instead I’m the one who’s depending to them. But I believe that “when
a door closes, a window opens”, recently I applied different agencies,
I’m just praying for the positive feedback and a job, I claim it!
Because God will not let us to suffer when we cannot overcome it.

2. What have we done so far to show how much we love God?

 Me (16): To show our love to God, we must believe and love Him
throughout our lives, with all our heart, souls and our mind.
 April (21): In order to love God, we have to know Him so that we can
better understand what He wants for us. We show our love for Him by
reading the Bible and trying to apply what we read. We also need to
church, pray, be involved in Bible studies or small groups (Youth for
Christ), and live our lives in a way that will honor Him. Love for God
requires that we spend time getting to know Him to better understand
what He want for us. “Dear friends, let us continue to love one
another, for love comes from God. Anyone who love is a child of God
and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God,
for God is love.” (John 4:7-8, NLT)
 Marjorie (15): To show my love to God is by obeying Him (his
commandments). A believer will never be a perfect in this life. I have
an inner sin nature that always keep me from being as close to God as
I want to be and would like to be. Because of the sinful nature, I
repeatedly fall short of perfection in relationship with God and are
imperfectly obedient at times in some areas where I desire to live
 faithfully for Him. But because of the blood sacrifice of Christ, I can
accept His forgiveness when I fail and receive His help through the
power He gives so I will not fail again.

 Tita May (36): In showing my love for Him, I worship and praise
Him by giving Him thanks in every circumstance that I’ve face in my
life. I worship and praise Him because He is worthy, and by doing so,
I acknowledge His sovereignty for us. To love God is to put Him first,
as the bible said in the gospel of St. Mark, “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.” God is the beginning and end of all things.
He is first in rank, honors, power, authority, and glory- so we should
put Him first in our lives.

CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord God, may we always love you with all our heart, with all our soul
and with our mind, that we may be able to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Strengthen us to repay with kindness and love even the wrong done to us. Let
your love guide us wherever we go. And when we go astray, please lead us back
to you for there are times when we are blinded by too much self-love. Let your
love be the lens that let us see the power that enlivens our lives, the light that
leads to the right path and the very grace that saves us. Amen.
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