DAILY- HOMILY

February 18, 2009
Memorial, Marie Bernadette Soubirous, virgin
Wednesday 6th Week in Ordinary Time - Year I

GENESIS 8:6-13, 20-22
At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark,
and he sent out a raven, to see if the waters had lessened on the
earth. It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the
earth. Then he sent out a dove, to see if the waters had lessened on
the earth. But the dove could find no place to alight and perch, and
it returned to him in the ark, for there was water all over the earth.
Putting out his hand, he caught the dove and drew it back to him
inside the ark. He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out
from the ark. In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in
its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! So Noah knew that the waters
had lessened on the earth. He waited still another seven days and then
released the dove once more; and this time it did not come back. In
the six hundred and first year of Noah's life, in the first month, on
the first day of the month, the water began to dry up on the earth.
Noah then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the surface of
the ground was drying up. Noah built an altar to the Lord, and
choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird, he offered
burnt offerings on the altar. When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, he
said to himself: "Never again will I doom the earth because of man
since the desires of man's heart are evil from the start; nor will I
ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done. As long as
the earth lasts, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease."

MARK 8:22-26
When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida, people brought to
him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man
by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his
eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked, "Do you see anything?"
Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and
walking." Then he laid hands on the man's eyes a second time and he
saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything
distinctly. Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the
village."

REFLECTION
Jesus had to touch the blind man's eyes twice for him to be able to
see. How many times in our lives have we ignored God's unconditional
love? We disregard or ignore God's calling many times before we are
enlightened. By healing the blind man in stages, Jesus is showing us
that no matter how long it takes for us to completely believe and
trust in him, he will never give up on us.

Healing does not come instantly in most cases even if we expect it to.
In His time, God clears away what blinds us to the truth. The gradual
healing helps us to understand the mystery of His love for us. Deep
wounds require time to heal and any abrupt attempt to fast track the
process may do more harm. God understands us more that we understand
our own situation.

In understanding Jesus, are we almost blind, seeing blurred images or
enjoying a 20/20 vision? More often than not, we are blinded by our
desires, giving credit to ourselves for all the successes we achieve,
not seeing how God works in our lives! Jesus is the only way to
salvation. Let us not be blinded by greed, power or hate. Let us open
our eyes and our hearts and allow Jesus to enter our lives.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Christy Chin
- Sister Teresa Mabasa, DC
- Jocelyn Bulan
… for the personal intentions of the family of Maria Josheil Dapo
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
… for the healing and peace of all families

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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