DAILY- HOMILY

FEBRUARY 12, 2009
THURSDAY 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

GENESIS 2:18-25
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will
make a helper suitable for him." Now the LORD God had formed out of
the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air.
He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and
whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So
the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all
the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So
the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he
was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place
with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken
out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is
now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called
`woman, ' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will
become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt
no shame.

MARK 7:24-30
Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a
house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his
presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman
whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at
his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged
Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. "First let the children
eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the
children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she replied,
"but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he
told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your
daughter." She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the
demon gone.

REFLECTION
God is at work in the hearts of all men and women, not just in those
who are Christian. The Gospel today demonstrates what it means to have
faith. A very persistent woman who wants her daughter to be healed,
confronts Jesus. She is so persistent that Jesus gives in to her and
fulfills her desire. She is a pagan. How could she possibly know who
Jesus is, let alone have faith in him?

Even before we read the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is at work in our
hearts. St. Paul writes about our ability to know and come to believe
in God through the wonder and glory of creation, even without
specifically hearing the Gospel proclaimed. The scriptures tell us
that the Lord works with people who are humble and obedient to him and
his ways. If we fail to live according to God's word, his blessings
may well pass from us to others, just as Paul explains his proclaiming
the Gospel to the Gentiles because the Jews would not listen to him.

Today's Gospel reading is one of the few cases where Jesus works a
miracle at a distance. We also have the cure of a gentile and the
apparent coldness of Jesus towards the woman. What really matters is
that Jesus works the miracle. The woman had faith that Jesus would
cure her daughter. Such faith sees the invisible, believes the
incredible and receives the impossible. God is not looking for people
like King Solomon, who had fame and riches; He is looking for people
as ordinary as the woman in the Gospel who realizes the greatness of
God through a gift of faith.

In applying today's reading to our lives, we need to discern what our
relationship with Jesus should be. Our relationship with Jesus should
be faith in his power to help us, humility in knowing that we don't
deserve his favors and perseverance as a sign of both.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Christy Chin
… for the personal intentions of:
- Jessy
- MMVVV
- Dapo family
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Dondon, Fr. Tering and Ricardo
- Mr. Chan Huan Yan
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: Virginia Nañagas
- In Memoriam (+): Marcos Cu (1938-2000)+
… 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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