DAILY- HOMILY

DECEMBER 23, 2008
TUESDAY 4TH WEEK OF ADVENT – YEAR II

MALACHI 3:1-4, 23-24
Thus says the Lord GOD: Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the
way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD
whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes,
he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who will endure the day of
his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the
refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and
purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them
like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the
LORD. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by. Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and
terrible day, To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and
the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike
the land with doom.

LUKE 1:57-66
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth
to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown
his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they
came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to
call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John." But they answered her, "There is no one
among your relatives who has this name." So they made signs, asking
his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and
wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth
was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear
came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took
them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be? For surely the
hand of the Lord was with him."

REFLECTION
In today's Gospel, Luke describes the birth of John the Baptist as
announcing the birth of Jesus, just as the preaching of John the
Baptist would announce the mission of Christ. It is good that
Christians celebrate their Savior's birth every year. In presenting
this selection to us from Luke's Gospel, the Church is urging us to
lift up our hearts. We have every reason to rejoice, for despite the
wars and conflicts, despite the natural calamities, the pain, the
hurt, the injustice and the hatred all around us, we are blessed to
live in the age after the birth of Christ. Despite our sins and
weaknesses, God continues to come to us in the splendor of his radiant
glory. Jesus dwells within our hearts and in our Church and his
messengers tell of him in every age. However, to recognize his
messengers we must have faith. To perceive his presence, we must
change our hearts. To worship him as Emmanuel, God-with-us, we must be
filled with wonder and adoration.

Advent is the time to ready ourselves for his coming and to renew our
lives under the direction of his present day messengers. In the flurry
of activity surrounding our Christmas celebration, God longs to be
present in our hearts. Let us turn from the distractions that fill our
days and beg God for eyes that recognize His presence and hearts set
on doing His will.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Heddy Lagura
- Lisa
- Graham
- Sophia Gonzalez
… for the personal intentions of Mary Jane
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Achis J. Del Carmen
- Birthday: Wavey Ng
- Thanksgiving: Teofilo & Betty Go Ang & Family
- Wedding Anniversary: Isao & Peggy Lim Furukawa
- Wedding Anniversary: Josephine & Roderic Ng
… 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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