DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 5, 2009
THURSDAY 1ST WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

ESTER C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids, from
morning until evening, and said: "God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and
God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have no help
but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. As a child I used to hear
from the books of my forefathers that you, O LORD, always free those
who are pleasing to you. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but
you, O LORD, my God. "And now, come to help me, an orphan. Put in my
mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion and turn his heart
to hatred for our enemy, so that he and those who are in league with
him may perish. Save us from the hand of our enemies; turn our
mourning into gladness and our sorrows into wholeness."

MATTHEW 7:7-12
Jesus said to his disciples: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For
everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the
one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand
his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread or a snake when he
asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give
good things to those who ask him. "Do to others whatever you would
have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets."

REFLECTION
Today's readings speak to us about prayer. Prayer is communication
with God. In prayer we not only express our appreciation and adoration
of God, but also bring our needs to God. From our hearts we offer to
God the cares and concerns of our world, family, friends, and
ourselves. We give thanks to God for all blessings, even those that we
do not recognize. Through our prayers, we ask God's help and
intervention in our lives.

In today's Gospel, Jesus encourages us in a threefold call to prayer:
ask, seek and knock. He tells us that this kind of prayer yields
results. God hears the prayers that we bring before Him and He does
respond.

The value of prayer is not to manipulate God into doing what we want
Him to do. The value of prayer lies in what prayer does to us. First,
prayer helps us to focus on our dependency upon God. Without God, we
have nothing; we can do nothing. Prayer humbles us before God to ask
for blessings upon our lives. Prayer reminds us to trust God. Jesus
tells us that God is a loving Father who gives His children what is
good for them. In addition, prayer can bring us peace and strength.
When we place our needs before God, we know that we have given them to
the highest power and authority.

The Church calls us to use Lent as a time to be strengthened in our
prayer life. Lenten devotions, Scriptural prayer, quiet reflection
times, and the liturgy provide ample opportunities for us to pour out
our hearts to God in prayer. It is up to us to ask, to seek and to
knock that our prayers may transform us and prepare us to receive what
our loving Father has in store for us.

In this Lenten season, let us look into our hearts and see what it is
that we want to ask of God. Lets make it a point to do just that. God
is waiting for our call.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Vijay K.
… for the personal intentions of
- Mary Wong
- Dapo family
- Veronica Yap
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Prayer Intention: LC La Croesus Pharma, Inc.
… 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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