DAILY- HOMILY

APRIL 6, 2009
MEMORIAL, ST. WILLIAM ESKILSOE, ABBOT
MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK – YEAR I

ISAIAH 42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am
pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice
to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice
heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a
smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on
the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God,
the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads
out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and
spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called you for the
victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and
set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open
the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and
from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

JOHN 12:1-11
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was,
whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there,
and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table
with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine
aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her
hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas
the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him,
said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and
given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal
the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this
for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you
do not always have me." The large crowd of the Jews found out that he
was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to
kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and
believing in Jesus because of him.

REFLECTION
Selfishness is blind and ungrateful. The miserly person scorns the
goodness in others and ridicules the homage that humble people render
to their benefactors. Are we slaves to our possessions? Are we envious
that we cannot control the wealth of others? Those who love and are
generous are the ones whom Christ sets free. To jealously hold back
the gifts that God has given us would be to put a false god before us.

Jesus defends the people who live with true religion, who know the
value of offering their sacrifices out of authentic love. Jesus tells
Judas: "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial."
The world as we know it is passing away. Only love remains. The gifts
of creation are worthless unless they are used for love's sake. Jesus
says: "For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and
forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their
life?" So let us invest our possessions, our very lives, in Christ.
Miserly people waste opportunities to love. True surrender to God will
lead us to love Jesus in our neighbor.

Let us ask Jesus today to put our gifts to his service and have them
bear abundant fruit, instead of rotting away in our selfishness. Let
us never miss the daily opportunities to serve God in our neighbor.
Let us accompany Jesus this week and every day as he embraces his
passion and death for our salvation.

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 personal intentions of
- Arnold Abarquez
- Lina Magcamit
… for the guidance of the Gurango and Magcamit families
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Lizanne Castillo
- Birthday: Esther Ng
- Birthday: Timothy Mark Uy Muñoz
- Wedding Anniversary: Gilbert & Donna Son
… 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!

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To subscribe email: dailyhomily@gmail.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to:
daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2009 Daily-Homily
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---