DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 5, 2009
MEMORIAL, DEDICATION OF THE BASILICA OF MARY MAGGIORE IN ROME
WEDNESDAY 18TH WEEK ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

NUMBERS 13:1-2,25-14:1,26-29,34-35
The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan,
which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send
one of its leaders." At the end of forty days they returned from
exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole
Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they
reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit
of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to
which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its
fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are
fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The
Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites
live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and
along the Jordan." Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and
said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can
certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't
attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread
among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.
They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the
people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the
descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like
grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."That
night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept
aloud. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "How long will this wicked
community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these
grumbling Israelites. So tell them, `As surely as I live, declares the
LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert
your bodies will fall--every one of you twenty years old or more who
was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. For forty
years--one year for each of the forty days you explored the land--you
will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against
you.' I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to
this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me.
They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die."

MATTHEW 15:21-28
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A
Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son
of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from
demon-possession." Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came
to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after
us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." The
woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. He
replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to
their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you
have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was
healed from that very hour.

REFLECTION
You pray to God about matters troubling your heart. You cry to Him and
ask for help, but there is no answer. You feel like giving up!

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus is approached by a desperate mother.
Instead of fair treatment, Jesus rebuffs her pleas, not saying a word
to her. He declares he is sent only to Israel. Undeterred, she does
him homage, pressing her request. Not unkindly, Jesus tests this
woman's faith. Now, Jesus compares her kind to dogs; yet she persists.
A crumb might have been all she could get; but she knows that a crumb
from Jesus' hand is more than enough!

The "Gentile dog" has more faith than the Jewish scribes, Pharisees,
and Sadducees. This kind of faith excites the Lord! Jesus rewards her
by giving what she asks for: He heals her daughter!

Jesus invites us to receive him with indomitable faith. Like the pagan
woman, we must persist in bringing our need to the Lord, seeking his
face until he responds and in his time; he'll hand us down a morsel of
answered prayer!

God's silence does not indicate His unwillingness to meet our need. It
tests our faith and reminds us that He operates on a different
schedule.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Tony
- Tessa
- KK
- Francis Torres
- Shiappee
- Ester Marcelo
- Richy Ozoa
- Keempee, Kevin and Darlita
- Brenda Domingo-Solis
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Nestor Sevilla
- Corazon C. Aquino
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Sionnie Sy
- Prayer Intention: Margarita Tan
- In Memoriam (+): Theresa Yang
… 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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