DAILY- HOMILY

April 16, 2009
Thursday of Easter Octave - Year I

ADVISORY: I'll be on vacation to the Philippines for a month starting
tomorrow. I may send reflections if I have time during my vacation.
Please pray for my safe trip. Thank you.
~Rick, DH Moderator

Acts 3:11-26
As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John,
all the people hurried in amazement toward them
in the portico called "Solomon's Portico."
When Peter saw this, he addressed the people,
"You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this,
and why do you look so intently at us
as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus
whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence,
when he had decided to release him.
You denied the Holy and Righteous One
and asked that a murderer be released to you.
The author of life you put to death,
but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.
And by faith in his name,
this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong,
and the faith that comes through it
has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.
Now I know, brothers and sisters,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away,
and that the Lord may grant you times of refreshment
and send you the Christ already appointed for you, Jesus,
whom heaven must receive until the times of universal restoration
of which God spoke through the mouth
of his holy prophets from of old.
For Moses said:
A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you
from among your own kin;
to him you shall listen in all that he may say to you.
Everyone who does not listen to that prophet
will be cut off from the people.
"Moreover, all the prophets who spoke,
from Samuel and those afterwards, also announced these days.
You are the children of the prophets
and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors
when he said to Abraham,
In your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you
by turning each of you from your evil ways."

Lk 24:35-48
The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way,
and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.
While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
"Peace be with you."
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have."
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.
He said to them,
"These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled."
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things."

REFLECTION
We like to pick and choose from the teachings of Jesus what suits our
temperaments and purposes. We often approach the Gospels for comfort
and avoid them for their challenges. The first disciples of Jesus were
no different. Jesus had to show his disciples that their ideas and
expectations were nothing more than an attempt to make him and his
messages over into their own way of thinking.

We also have to realize that many of our beliefs and ideas about Jesus
and his message may be our way rather than Jesus' way, that we are not
following Jesus but rather accommodating him to our life-style. This
accommodation may come very naturally to us as human beings, but it
also leads to confusion and disappointment in our spiritual life.
There are times when we feel that our Christian beliefs and ideals
have failed us or that our faith did not deliver on its promises. We
fail to note, however, that what usually lets us down is our
particular way of believing.

The challenge of today's Gospel is to humbly search out Jesus to
discover his real meaning and the real meaning of his message. Let us
pray to the Lord that our minds be always open to his truth, as he
presented it, not as we would like to hear it. Let us hear the Gospels
on their own terms, without being selective and injecting personal
prejudices. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He promises that
his way brings joy and fulfillment, but only if we make his way our
own way.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and strength of:
- Sophia Gonzalez
- Ester Marcelo
- Lisa
- Christy Chin
- Sheila
- Dapo family
… for the speedy recovery of: Gaudencio
… for the safety of Johnson Cuiting
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Ramon K. Meneses. Eternal rest
grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and all
the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Wedding Anniversary: Andy & Julie Miano
- Wedding Anniversary: Benito & Cynthia G. Tan
- Wedding Anniversary: Teto & Emer Aguiluz
… 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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