DAILY- HOMILY

NOVEMBER 8, 2009
32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – B

1 KINGS 17:10-16
He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the
city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,
"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get
it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread."
"As the Lord, your God, lives," she answered, "I have nothing baked;
there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug.
Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare
something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die."
"Do not be afraid," Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you propose. But
first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare
something for yourself and your son. For the LORD, the God of Israel,
says, `The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run
dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.'" She left
and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and
her son as well; The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil
run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

HEBREWS 9:24-28
For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the
true one, but heaven itself that he might now appear before God on our
behalf. Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest
enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if
that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the
foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the
end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is
appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment, so
also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many, will appear a
second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who
eagerly await him.

MARK 12:38-44
In the course of his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who
like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the
marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at
banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite
lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation." He sat
down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into
the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also
came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his
disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor
widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For
they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her
poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."

REFLECTION
The widows in today's first reading and Gospel allow us to reflect on
our own generosity. In spite of their destituteness and vulnerability,
they are still able to give themselves totally with full faith in
God's providence.

But what about us? How generous are we? The widows remind us of a
fundamental reality, that is, "Even in our poverty and oppression, we
are joyfully in the hands of our loving God." We continue to entrust
ourselves to God who will never abandon and forsake us.

Moreover, these widows are able to confirm the real candidates in
God's kingdom as seen in the Beatitudes where Jesus considers the
poor, the persecuted for his sake, the meek, and the peacemakers as
the blessed. This is indeed joyful and good news to those that are
sometimes scorned and looked down upon in our world. He then expands
this criterion for those qualified in his kingdom to anyone who does
good to the least brethren as clearly explained in Chapter 25 of
Matthew. In serving these "nobodies", we do it to Jesus. Jesus
commands us to help our neighbor — to constantly strive to redress the
grievances of those who are abandoned or alone, alienated and
marginalized, to protect the dignity of the poor and to stand with the
oppressed as they attempt to become free of that which oppresses them.
Christ emptied himself and became poor, so that we might become rich.
Jesus constantly ministered to the poor and the sick, to the outcasts
of society.

One challenge then is to reflect on what or who becomes our treasure.
Is it material things in life such as money, property, academic
degrees and professional status that give us dignity and security?
These can all disappear without warning. Or is it God? In the end,
what really matters is that people take care of each other. Especially
for the nobodies, by treating and welcoming them, we truly bring out
the very meaning and heart of Jesus' commandment to love one another.

We may also reflect as to what prevents us from being generous. In our
Catholic communities today, are we generous even with our remarks and
comments about others? Can we let go of everything to give ourselves
totally into God's hands with the sure conviction that God will give
us the support we need? When we give, do we do it with love and
devotion? When a lot of us do that our faith will be confirmed!

Let us pray for enlightenment. May we realize what is preventing us
from being as generous as the widows and that we may give ourselves
even more especially to the anawim or nobodies knowing full well that
God will take care of us.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Arnold Cabatingan
- Brenda Domingo-Solis
… for the personal intentions of
- Josheil Dapo
- Mary Wong
… for the victims of natural disasters
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Calida Sim Bate
- Birthday: Atty. Alicia Ganzon
- Birthday: Jeanie Gobio
… 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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Parish Priests' e-mail:
Fr. J. Cesar R. Marin, S. J. parishpriest@marythequeen.org

Assistant Parish Priests' e-mails:
Fr. R. Hart, S. J. rodneyhart@marythequeen.org
Fr. Thomas O'Gorman, S. J. thogorman@marythequeen.org
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