DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 30, 2009
MONDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

DANIEL 13:41C-62
The assembly condemned Susanna to death. But Susanna cried aloud: "O
eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things
before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely
against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the
things with which these wicked men have charged me." The Lord heard
her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy
spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: "I will have
no part in the death of this woman." All the people turned and asked
him, "What is this you are saying?" He stood in their midst and
continued, "Are you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a
woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return
to court, for they have testified falsely against her." Then all the
people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, "Come, sit with
us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied, "Separate these two far from each other that I may
examine them." After they were separated one from the other, he called
one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with age! Now have your
past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the
innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, `The
innocent and the just you shall not put to death.' Now, then, if you
were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together." "Under
a mastic tree," he answered. Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost
you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from
him and split you in two." Putting him to one side, he ordered the
other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not
of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear
they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your
wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them
together." "Under an oak," he said. Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has
cost you also your head," for the angel of God waits with a sword to
cut you in two so as to make an end of you both." The whole assembly
cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose
up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted
them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put
them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

JOHN 8:1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived
again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees
brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in
the middle. They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the
very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to
stone such women. So what do you say?" They said this to test him, so
that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down
and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they
continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the
one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at
her." Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response,
they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left
alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said
to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She
replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more."

REFLECTION
The thing that Jesus calls us to do is to stop sinning and remove all
occasions of sin. Jesus does not want to wait until others catch us in
the act of a serious sin and drag us to him. He wants us to come to
him on our own. It was a great gift that the woman in the Gospel was
caught red-handed and embarrassed and dragged to Jesus, because,
without it, she might never have experienced Jesus' mercy. But Jesus
tells us that there is an easier way.

Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on the apostles and sent them out to
forgive and retain sins in his name. Through them, Jesus called and
sent out yet others, until the priests of today were called and sent
out for the same mission. Jesus acts through the priests in the
sacrament of confession in the same way that he acts through them in
the sacrament of the Eucharist. We should, therefore, go to him in the
sacrament of reconciliation with the same facility with which we come
to him in the sacrament of the Eucharist. At the end of that
confession, Jesus will say to us with tender love, as he said to the
woman, "I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more."

As a result of our many sins, we merit to be stoned. But Jesus laid
down his life to make us holy. Jesus is the only one who fully merits
casting a stone at us. Instead, he received the stones intended for us
and died out of love for us. Let us spend the rest of our lives
showing Jesus how grateful we are for his merciful love.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Peter C.
- Ester Marcelo
- Lisa
- Geri DiNotti
- Christy Chin
… for the safety of Johnson Cuiting
… for the eternal repose of the souls of Elena Acero. Eternal rest
grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she and all
the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Va M. Mendoza
- Birthday: Vicky Faicol
… 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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