DAILY- HOMILY

JUNE 5, 2009
MEMORIAL, ST BONIFACE, BISHOP
FRIDAY 9TH WEEK ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

TOBIT 11:5-15
Meanwhile, Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.
When she saw him coming, she exclaimed to his father, "Tobit, your son
is coming, and the man who traveled with him!" Raphael said to Tobiah
before he reached his father: "I am certain that his eyes will be
opened. Smear the fish gall on them. This medicine will make the
cataracts shrink and peel off from his eyes; then your father will
again be able to see the light of day." Then Anna ran up to her son,
threw her arms around him, and said to him, "Now that I have seen you
again, son, I am ready to die!" And she sobbed aloud. Tobit got up and
stumbled out through the courtyard gate. Tobiah went up to him with
the fish gall in his hand, and holding him firmly, blew into his eyes.
"Courage, father," he said. Next he smeared the medicine on his eyes,
and it made them smart. Then, beginning at the corners of Tobit's
eyes, Tobiah used both hands to peel off the cataracts. When Tobit saw
his son, he threw his arms around him and wept. He exclaimed, "I can
see you, son, the light of my eyes!" Then he said: "Blessed be God,
and praised be his great name, and blessed be all his holy angels. May
his holy name be praised throughout all the ages, Because it was he
who scourged me, and it is he who has had mercy on me. Behold, I now
see my son Tobiah!" Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising
God with full voice. Tobiah told his father that his journey had been
a success; that he had brought back the money; and that he had married
Raguel's daughter Sarah, who would arrive shortly, for she was
approaching the gate of Nineveh. '

MARK 12:35-37
As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, "How do the scribes
claim that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my lord, `Sit at my right hand
until I place your enemies under your feet.' David himself calls him
`lord'; so how is he his son?" The great crowd heard this with
delight.

REFLECTION
St. Boniface was known for his Christian Orthodoxy and obedience to
the Pope. He spent his life converting pagans and reforming the
Catholic Church. To the resolute pagans, he was most likely seen as an
enemy; to the clergy, a devout advocate. On a mission for Christ's
glory, how can one have the image of a detractor and a defender at the
same time?

Remember an old maxim that goes, "the end justifies the means". An
example of this is the Christian wars that caused atrocities and
bloodshed. Were they justified? Today, it can be as simple as telling
white lies. In both cases, good is meant to come out of these: the
proliferation of the Catholic faith and the well-being of another.
Various moral theories contest this, but the only end we should really
give importance to is that of our relationship with Christ. We are
accountable for own actions to God. Before we decide to do anything
crucial, let us take the time to discern, pray, meditate and examine
our motives. The earthly rewards for our decisions may be in the form
of advancement, wealth or fame. However, our true reward will come
when we come face to face with God.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and speedy recovery of:
- Francis Torres
- Mylene Lingad
- Ester Marcelo
- Shiappee
- Christy Chin
- Conchita T.
… for the special intentions: San Juan de Dios Hospital
… for the physical and spiritual well-being of Rocel
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Adrian Colin Yao
- Birthday: Zenaida S. Entereso
- Birthday: Johannson Jimmy Tee Jr.
- Birthday: Susan L. Chung
- Birthday: Winnie V. Morabe
- Birthday: Boniface Htwai Aung
- Wedding Anniversary: Patrick & Christy Chin
- Wedding Anniversary: Wilson Lim & Estela Lim
- Wedding Anniversary: Eric and Cynthia Gale
… 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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JUNE 4, 2009
THURSDAY 9TH WEEK ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

TOBIT 6:10-11; 7:1, 9-17;8:4-9A
When they had entered Media and were getting close to Ecbatana,
Raphael said to the boy, "Brother Tobiah!" He answered, "Yes, what is
it?" Raphael continued: "Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a
relative of yours. He has a daughter named Sarah, When they entered
Ecbatana, Tobiah said, "Brother Azariah, lead me straight to our
kinsman Raguel." So he brought him to the house of Raguel, whom they
found seated by his courtyard gate. They greeted him first. He said to
them, "Greetings to you too, brothers! Good health to you, and
welcome!" When he brought them into his home, Afterward, Raguel
slaughtered a ram from the flock and gave them a cordial reception.
When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael,
"Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry my kinswoman Sarah."
Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy: "Eat and drink and
be merry tonight, for no man is more entitled to marry my daughter
Sarah than you, brother. Besides, not even I have the right to give
her to anyone but you, because you are my closest relative. But I will
explain the situation to you very frankly. I have given her in
marriage to seven men, all of whom were kinsmen of ours, and all died
on the very night they approached her. But now, son, eat and drink. I
am sure the Lord will look after you both." Tobiah answered, "I will
eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me." Raguel
said to him: "I will do it. She is yours according to the decree of
the Book of Moses. Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!
Take your kinswoman; from now on you are her love, and she is your
beloved. She is yours today and ever after. And tonight, son, may the
Lord of heaven prosper you both. May he grant you mercy and peace."
Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him. He took
her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words: "Take her
according to the law. According to the decree written in the Book of
Moses she is your wife. Take her and bring her back safely to your
father. And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and
prosperity." He then called her mother and told her to bring a scroll,
so that he might draw up a marriage contract stating that he gave
Sarah to Tobiah as his wife according to the decree of the Mosaic law.
Her mother brought the scroll, and he drew up the contract, to which
they affixed their seals. Afterward they began to eat and drink. Later
Raguel called his wife Edna and said, "My love, prepare the other
bedroom and bring the girl there." She went and made the bed in the
room, as she was told, and brought the girl there. After she had cried
over her, she wiped away the tears and said: "Be brave, my daughter.
May the Lord of heaven grant you joy in place of your grief. Courage,
my daughter." Then she left. When the girl's parents left the bedroom
and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his
wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on
us and to grant us deliverance." She got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words:
"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever
and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and
support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is
not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like
himself.' Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not
because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me
and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age." They
said together, "Amen, amen," and went to bed for the night. But Raguel
got up and summoned his servants. With him they went out to dig a
grave,

MARK 12:28-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of
all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O
Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and
with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than
these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in
saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with
all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt
offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with
understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of
God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

REFLECTION
The two great commandments that Jesus proclaims in today's Gospel are
the very heart and soul of Christianity. They sound so simple.
However, living them and putting them into practice in our daily lives
is quite a different matter. What does it mean that "the Lord, our God
is Lord alone?" If we truly love God so thoroughly, is there any room
left for anything or anyone else? It is precisely through the people
whom we see and interact with, that we express our love and commitment
to God.

If God truly takes up our whole heart and soul, then everything that
we see reflects His image. Everything that we do or experience just
makes God's love and presence more vivid to us. God is not excluding
anything in His demand that we make Him our whole life. He is giving
us more than we could ever imagine if He did not hold such a position
in our hearts.

The second great commandment rightly follows the first. To love God,
we must love all those whom God has made. In fact, the way we show
love for God, whom we cannot see, is to love God's creatures whom we
can see. Love for our neighbors demands fairness and justice in our
dealings with them, charity and consideration towards their needs and
concerns. With these principles firmly in place, the misuse of
authority and position, or the accumulation of wealth for selfish
purposes can never take first place in our minds and hearts. Love God,
love our neighbor. These are simple words but they take us a lifetime
to achieve. As Jesus assured the scribe in today's Gospel, when we
fully understand these commandments, we are not far from the kingdom
of God.

These commandments are God's direction to help us reach our
destination: heaven. They come from God's goodness and wisdom. They
are our best path, effective and make the road shorter. With them, we
need less energy to arrive at our destination.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the healing and speedy recovery of:
- Francis Torres
- Mylene Lingad
- Ester Marcelo
- Shiappee
- Christy Chin
- Conchita T.
… for the special intentions: San Juan de Dios Hospital
… for the physical and spiritual well-being of Rocel
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Dr. & Dra. Santiago & Ida de los Angeles
- Birthday: Gloria Co
- Wedding Anniversary: Hon. Isidro & Adelina S. Rodriguez
… 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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To subscribe email: dailyhomily@gmail.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to:
daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2009 Daily-Homily
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