DAILY- HOMILY

OCTOBER 24, 2007
WEDNESDAY 29TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I

ROMANS 6:12-18
Brothers and sisters: Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so
that you obey their desires. And do not present the parts of your
bodies to sin as weapons for wickedness, but present yourselves to
God as raised from the dead to life and the parts of your bodies to
God as weapons for righteousness. For sin is not to have any power
over you, since you are not under the law but under grace. What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?
Of course not! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to
someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to
righteousness? But thanks be to God that, although you were once
slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern
of teaching to which you were entrusted. Freed from sin, you have
become slaves of righteousness.

LUKE 12:39-48
Jesus said to his disciples: "Be sure of this: if the master of the
house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have
let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an
hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter
said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" And the
Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom
the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food
allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master
on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in
charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, `My
master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and
the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's
master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will
punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the
unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not make
preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten
severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but
acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only
lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."

REFLECTION
Our Lord tells us in the Gospel reading today that much will be
required of a person to whom much has been entrusted and even more
will be required of those to whom more has been entrusted. Then when
we listen to the words of Saint Paul in the first reading, he tells
us that we have been freed from sin so that we can live according to
righteousness, that we have the grace of God which allows us to live
according to the freedom of the children of God. With what have we
been entrusted? We have been entrusted with the fullness of truth,
with Jesus Himself. So when Our Lord tells us that the one who knew
his master's will but did not do it is going to be punished, we
realize that we are without excuse. We know the Master's Will. We
know what the Ten Commandments are. We know what the truth is. If we
refuse to live it then we are the ones who are going to be held the
most responsible.

We can also look at this in a variety of other ways. We can
say: "Well, the Pope will be held more responsible than anyone on the
face of the earth, the bishops after him, the priests, and so on."
But, at the same time, parents are going to be held responsible for
what they have taught to their children, the example they have
provided. Teachers are going to be held extremely responsible for
what it is that they are entrusted with, which are the consciences of
these children. We can look at any state in life and we realize that
none of us is going to be able to suggest that we have got it easy,
that we do not have to worry about this. None of us can say: "Thank
goodness, these other people have to live this, but I don't", because
all of us are called to live as slaves of righteousness.

To be a slave of righteousness is to live according to true freedom
because it is living according to Jesus Christ. There can be no
greater privilege, no greater honor, no greater joy; but, at the same
time, because this world does not accept it, there is not going to be
any greater suffering either. Yet, at the same time, to suffer for
doing what is right, St, Peter tells us, is a great cause for
rejoicing. That is what we have to be able to see.

Jesus makes it very clear what he expects to find when he returns. He
expects to find us doing God's will. All of us, then, need to look
at what is expected. In baptism, we vowed to reject Satan and have
chosen Jesus Christ. Are we living according to what we have vowed to
God? Are we truly rejecting Satan and all his works and all his empty
promises? Are we truly living according to the way of Jesus? Are we
praying? Are we putting God first, loving Him with our whole heart
and soul and strength? Are we seeking His Will in prayer? Are we
living according to the vocation to which he has called us and
fulfilling the duties of our state in life? That is what is going to
be required of us as we stand before the judgment seat of God.

It is gift from God to be slaves of righteousness and to live truly
according to the freedom of the children of God. There is no greater
gift, there is no greater responsibility, because from those to whom
more has been entrusted, more will be required.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
... for the strength, healing and speedy recovery of:
- Eligia G. Fernando
- Lisa Loh
- Marie Charisse Gascon
... for the personal intentions of:
- Christian Cagulada
- Jorgini Marie Cagulada
... for San Juan de Dios Hospital
... for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Sister Maria Yonson, DC
- Isidora, Alfonso, Jovita, Alfonsa, Alipio, Maria, Candido, Louie
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: Sheryl Rung Sheh Lim
... 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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