Sunday, September 18, 2005
MONDAY 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
SEPTEMBER 19, 2005
MONDAY 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
EZRA 1:1-6
In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the
word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of
Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word
of mouth and in writing: "Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'All the
kingdoms of the earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and
he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in
Judah. Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him! Let everyone who has
survived, in whatever place he may have dwelt, be assisted by the
people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, together
with free-will offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.'" Then the
family heads of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites-
everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so- prepared to go up
to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem. All their neighbors gave
them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, and cattle, and with
many precious gifts besides all their free-will offerings.
LUKE 8:16-18
Jesus said to the crowd: "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a
vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so
that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden
that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known
and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has,
more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to
have will be taken away."
REFLECTION
St. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, says: "You shine like
lights in the world, as you hold onto the Word of Life." In truth, our
light does not emanate from us but is a reflection of the light of
Christ, of him whom the Gospels call "the true light, which enlightens
everyone". It is important that our light, as followers of Jesus, comes
from Jesus' light. We must be guided by the Gospel truth as given to us
by the apostles and their successors, the bishops. Reading and
reflecting on the Gospel, all that we do to know our faith better
allows us to transmit more faithfully Christ's message.
Knowing the truth of our faith is not enough. Jesus expects to see it
reflected in our lives. Other people expect to see it reflected in our
lives as well. Behavior is not good just because it meets with someone
else's approval, the approval of many persons, or even the majority of
people. It is good because it responds to the truth about who we are,
about the world and about God, as our Savior has taught us. His truth
is a priceless gift. He gives us the truth with love, seeking our
greatest happiness. In a world where confusion and lies often reign, we
have the security of truth, which comes from Jesus, Our Lord.
Much human suffering stems from the way we stray from the truly good
life, which we know from the Ten Commandments and Jesus' new
commandment of love. We as Christians must keep this light shining. We
must serve others by bringing them salvation and life, the message of
Christ. And so we listen to the teachings of the Church, believe them,
reflect on the reasons for their validity and unchangeableness, and put
them into practice with perseverance and joy.
So many people suffer terribly because they do not know Jesus. So many
are lonely and despair because they do not experience Jesus' love and
mercy. Jesus should be able to count us in as a witness for him today
and every day of our lives. It will not be easy. With Jesus' help, we
can and should bring the light of Jesus' message to the world today.
Let us not stay in the "comfort zone" that our selfishness builds
around us. Let us make someone's suffering be less through our sharing
of the message of Jesus' goodness and love.
Jesus is the true light, giving light to our day. His love and truth
chase away the darkness of our selfishness and sinfulness. As the blind
man who came seeking sight, let us say to Jesus: "I do believe, help my
unbelief!" Let us ask Jesus to teach us to hope always in his love and
mercy, especially when we feel furthest from him. Let us strive to be
instruments of Jesus' love by generously offering our talents and
ourselves to all those around us. In this way we will truly be the
light of Christ shining in the darkness of our world.
PRAYER
"Lord, you guide me by the light of your saving truth. Fill my heart
and mind with your light and truth and free me from the blindness of
sin and deception that I may see your ways clearly and understand your
will for my life. May I radiate your light and truth to others in word
and deed."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- healings for Sr Mary David & her mother, Helena, Cindy, Angie's mom,
George & Ann.
- for the speedy recovery of Annika Nadine Uy.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Jose C. Bautista
- Prayer Intention: Constance Tiong & Ruby T. Tiong
- Prayer Intention: Mary Ann T. Poe & Billie Gan
- Prayer Intention: Peter Roxas & Rosalina T. Siy
- Wedding Anniversary: Lionel & Marybeth Lee
- In Memoriam: Henry Tang
- for the speedy recovery of Reggie and his Mom, and for my personal
intentions.
- for the intentions of Foil Mclaughlin and his family.
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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