DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 22, 2009
4TH SUNDAY OF LENT – B

2 CHRONICLES 36:14-16, 19-23
In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people
added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the
nations and polluting the LORD's temple which he had consecrated in
Jerusalem. Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers,
send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and
his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised
his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the LORD
against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy. Their
enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set
all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. Those
who escaped the sword were carried captive to Babylon, where they
became servants of the king of the Chaldeans and his sons until the
kingdom of the Persians came to power. All this was to fulfill the
word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah: "Until the land has retrieved its
lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest
while seventy years are fulfilled." In the first year of Cyrus, king
of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by
Jeremiah, the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this
proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in
writing: "Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the
earth the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also
charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let
him go up, and may his God be with him!"

EPHESIANS 2:4-10
Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great
love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ--by grace you have been saved--, raised
us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his
grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of
God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has
prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

JOHN 3:14-21
Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life." For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might
not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved
through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but
whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has
not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the
verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred
darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who
does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth
comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in
God.

REFLECTION
Who has been our saviors, our silent heroes? Who have served as light
to us? Similarly, how have we become saviors and light to others?

Perhaps some of us have read the story of Ariel Toledo, who ranked
first among 324 graduates of the Philippine Military Academy a few
years ago. He is one of the 11 children of Providencio and Pilar
Toledo who passed away in 1992 and 2001. The three older sisters, Ely,
Zita, and Beatriz all worked in Hong Kong in their desire to allow
their younger siblings to continue their studies. Zita recalls how she
and her sisters sent her earnings back home with just a little
allowance for their needs. And so it was with joy that they witnessed
how their younger siblings were able to finish their education. These
sisters gave hope and life to their younger siblings. In a sense, they
were saviors to them. They willingly forgot themselves amid the
difficulties they endured because they were clear in their vision to
enable their younger siblings to have a better life.

Such selflessness is essentially what we see in our God. God could
have done other possibilities to save the world which he created as
good. But, in the end, he even sent his Son who was missioned to
proclaim the love and mercy of his Father. Jesus had to undergo his
Paschal Mystery — his life, passion, death, and resurrection. He went
about doing good but he was always misunderstood. He was initially
accused of blasphemy which was conveniently changed into someone
inciting sedition thereby serving a threat to the Roman power. He was
then killed. The wonderful thing is that God vindicated him in the
Resurrection. The second reading from the letter of Paul to the
Ephesians captures it beautifully:

"God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with
Christ — by grace you have been saved,

He raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in
Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come.

He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to
us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from
you; it is the gift of God; [it is not from works, so no one may
boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good
works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."

As we move toward the second half of the Lenten season, we may want to
ponder on how our Lord Jesus became savior and light to us through the
many people who helped us in our lives. How, in turn, have and could
we become saviors and light to others? Are we able to have faith in
him?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of: Elena
… for the safety of Johnson Cuiting
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Remedios Ho. Eternal rest
grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she and all
the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Froilan Locsin
- Birthday / In Memoriam (+): Dr. Horacio and Tony Bulaong
- In Memoriam (+): Co Bee Ngo Go
- In Memoriam (+): Rectorino S. Bate
- In Memoriam (+): Chua Tiat
… 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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