DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 31, 2009
MEMORIAL, ST. LEANDER OF SEVILLE, BISHOP
TUESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

NUMBERS 21:4-9
From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to
bypass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the
journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you
brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food
or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!" In punishment the
LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so
that many of them died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We
have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to
take the serpents away from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and
the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and
whoever looks at it after being bitten will live." Moses accordingly
made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone
who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he
lived.

JOHN 8:21-30
Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for
me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he
said, `Where I am going you cannot come'?" He said to them, "You
belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this
world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that
you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you
will die in your sins." So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said
to them, "What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about
you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard
from him I tell the world." They did not realize that he was speaking
to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the
Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on
my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me
is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is
pleasing to him." Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in
him.

REFLECTION
Jesus is the bronze serpent in the passage from the book of Numbers.
Whoever looked at the serpent did not die but survived. In the Gospel,
Jesus tells us that when he will be lifted up on the cross, we will
recognize him as the Messiah, the Son of God.

We need to look at Jesus with faith. We must come to him on bended
knees and ask for his mercy. We have been affected and tainted by the
sins of the world and need to be cured by him. Jesus responds to our
situation by going to the cross and taking our sins upon himself. He
gave us the possibility of a cure by dying for us. He was sent by the
Father to redeem humanity. What a great hope we have! The lamb of God
gave his life for us. Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed and
is now risen from the dead.

Brothers and sisters, Easter is fast approaching. Have we sufficiently
prepared ourselves for Easter – have we prayed, searched for Christ,
performed works of mercy, loved the unlovable and pardoned our
enemies? If yes, then we are ready for the Easter feast.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Ester Marcelo
- Lisa
- Christy Chin
… for the safety of Johnson Cuiting
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Elena Acero. 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: Dolores Abo-ol
- Thanksgiving: Jeffrey Real & family
… 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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