DAILY- HOMILY

October 3, 2007
Wednesday 26th Week in Ordinary Time - Year I

NEHEMIAH 2:1-8
In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when
wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I
had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, "Why
does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing
but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid, but I said to the king,
"May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the
city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have
been destroyed by fire?" The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it
pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let
him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I
can rebuild it." Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him,
asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get
back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. I also said to
him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of
Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I
arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the
king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates
of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the
residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was
upon me, the king granted my requests.

LUKE 9:57-62
As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow
you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of
the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first
let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury
their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Still
another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and
say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to
the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

REFLECTION
In today's Gospel Jesus is deliberately trying to startle us, to stir
up thought, to compel us to count the cost of committing ourselves to
his cause, the Kingdom of God. Or to put it another way, Jesus is
warning us against cheap service. Our call to discipleship demands
that we make difficult choices, not always between good and evil, but
between what is good and what is better or best.

There are times when we have to sacrifice our own personal comfort in
order to minister to the sick, visit the elderly, share with the poor
or listen to the lonely. There are times when we have to reorder our
priorities and duties in order to allot time for prayer as well as for
our recreation, spend time with our family as well as with our work,
or give time to parish programs as well as to our own personal
projects. There are times when we need single-minded dedication to
persevere in the face of obstacles in order to keep our hand to the
plow of purity when the public promotes pornography, or remain
faithful to marriage vows when divorce would be an easy way out.

All of us can aspire to become world-class Christians by firmly
resolving to follow Jesus, not only when we have plenty, but also when
we face adversity.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
... for the strength, healing and speedy recovery of:
- Damaso Guevara
- Epifania Ylaya and Rexon Ylaya
- Catalina de Leon
- Eligia G. Fernando
... for the personal intentions of:
- Guevara family
- San Juan de Dios Hospital
- Vangie
- Arnold Abarquez & family
... Good health:
- Elsa & Paolo
- Mary Therese, Jesus Anthony and Joseph Emmanuel Abarquez
... for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Fidel & Corazon Santos
- Cristina, Rosvie & Aljohn
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Crisostomo F. Bate
... 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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