Saturday, November 18, 2006
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 19, 2006
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
DANIEL 12:1-3
In those days, I Daniel, heard this word of the Lord: "At that time
there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people;
it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until
that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found
written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting
horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine brightly like the
splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall
be like the stars forever."
HEBREWS 10:11-14, 18
Brothers and sisters: Every priest stands daily at his ministry,
offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away
sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat
forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are
made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever
those who are being consecrated. Where there is forgiveness of these,
there is no longer offering for sin.
MARK 13:24-32
Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation the
sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the
stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will
be shaken. "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the
clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the
angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the
earth to the end of the sky. "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When
its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is
near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that
he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not
pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth
will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But of that day or
hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only
the Father."
REFLECTION
For most of us, the Mass is what we see or would like to see, what we
experience or would like to experience. Some suggest that our Mass
should return to the time-honored Latin, which nobody understands.
Others want more Chinese and Tagalog Masses. Some want a quiet,
songless Mass; others want to sing every part of the Mass that can be
put into notes. The problem is, everyone thinks that his is the only
proper way to celebrate the liturgy. For all their importance, there
can be blind spots; they can keep us from seeing more deeply into the
mystery we all cherish. In the liturgy, we celebrate the timeless work
of redemption; we proclaim God's wonderful works in the history of
salvation. We don't just read about them, we don't just remember
them - we re-present them; make them effectively present in us and in
our lives.
In all this a major element is God's word. Year after year, the
readings recapture the movement of our salvation. Last Advent we
re-presented the world's waiting for its Savior. We welcome the Lord
as he came to us at Christmas, surprisingly in the form of an infant.
We grew to manhood with him, walked in his footsteps through Galilee
and Judea. We recaptured his dying-rising through Lent and Easter. His
Ascension lifted all of us with him to the Father; his Spirit descended
not only on the disciples, but also on each believer. And since
Pentecost we have heard and lived the mission of the Church, its ups
and downs, its pride and passion, its agony and its ecstasy, its
ceaseless struggle to grow into the fullness of its Lord, its living in
hope for the final coming of the Savior.
And now, we reach the end of the Liturgical year. Next week the peak,
we will crown Christ the King. There, the liturgy celebrates what will
be the high point of creation, when humankind and all it possesses will
be subjected to Christ, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father
after destroying every rule and every authority and power. Today we
celebrate the beginning of that end; today we live in anticipation the
end of the world, as we know it. If Advent was prologue to the
Christian mystery, we now get a sneak preview into its finality.
Let us affirm Christ's final coming with the intensity of the early
Christians, who expected him to return within their lifetime. After the
Consecration, let us proclaim with uncommon conviction what we confess
to be that mystery of our faith: "Christ has died! Christ is risen!
Christ will come again!"
But if Christ's coming "with great power and glory" is merely a
matter of Christian hope, if it may well be a millennium or more away,
if I can do nothing to hasten or delay it, isn't it quite irrelevant
to my day to day existence? If you are convinced that "Christ will
come again," that the final moment is the moment to which all of
history, including your own, is marching, that this is the climax of
Christian yearning, then you will live in its light. You will become
now what you want to be then.
How do you assure that? The significant single word here is the command
of Jesus at the end of this chapter of Mark: "Watch! Be on the alert!
Keep your eyes open for the constant coming of Christ into your life.
He comes to us all the time - each time you come together, each time
his word is proclaimed to you; each time his body rests in your hand or
on your tongue. Christ comes to you in each person, man, woman, or
child, whose eyes meet yours, especially those who hunger for food or
love.
My brothers and sisters, it is indeed good to fix your eyes on
Christ's final coming "with great power and glory." Here, after
all, is our Christian hope, But it would be tragic if the far horizon
blind us to Christ's daily coming in rags and tatters, as a lonely,
frightened, joyless, sick person, lost in a strange world that does not
seem to care. Hence, after all, is our Christian love.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the personal intentions of Stefanie.
- In Thanksgiving: Bro. Nanding.
- for the speedy recovery of Bing Casingal's mother.
- for the personal intentions of Emerito Legaspi.
- for the eternal repose of the soul of Annie Singzon. Eternal rest
grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she and
all the souls of the dearly departed rest in peace.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Jody Sim
- 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!
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DAILY-HOMILY" group.
To subscribe email: dailyhomily@gmail.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to Daily_Homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit: http://homily.dailyfoodforthought.org/
Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!
© 2006 Daily-Homily
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
