DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 19, 2009
16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – B

JEREMIAH 23:1-6
Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my
sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will
take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant
of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring
them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I
will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they
need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the
LORD. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up
a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah
shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they
give him: "The LORD our justice."

EPHESIANS 2:13-18
Brothers and sisters: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have
become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made
both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his
flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that
he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus
establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body,
through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and
preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were
near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the
Father.

MARK 6:30-34
The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had
done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a
deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in
great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went
off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them
leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot
from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he
disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for
them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to
teach them many things.

REFLECTION
In the Gospel today, we see the apostles tired after their work. Jesus
then tells them to go and get some rest. Jesus realizes how hard
working the apostles were and that it was time to recoup one's
energies and strength by taking some time off from one's endeavors.
The crowds were still flocking to them and they did not want to leave
the people but it was necessary that they somehow had to take a break.

To rest after working hard is something that Jesus readily approves.
He legitimizes rest and recreation so that people can remain effective
in what they devote themselves into. Of course, this is sometimes
difficult considering that we live in an environment where our labor
can be on high demand. Besides, with life being so difficult, we
sometimes feel we have to work harder. The key is balance. We aim to
somehow enjoy the fruits of our labor. Looking at our schedules, do we
sense a balance? If not, do we intend to do something about it? How do
we somehow re-arrange our daily routines so that we are able to get
sufficient rest so that we may remain effective in our mission of
proclaiming the reign of Jesus in our lives?

We pray in this Eucharist for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit so
that we are able to sense a balance in our lives especially when we
tend to over work for whatever reasons, some of which may not be
helpful to our well-being. Let us remember that we are just
participants in the mission of Jesus. Let Jesus lead the way and let
us not feel guilty if Jesus encourages us to balance our work with
much needed rest.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the special intentions:
- Kath Umali
- Mariano Montemayor
… for the healing of:
- Ernie
- Francis Torres
- Mylene Lingad
- Shiappee
- Ester Marcelo
- Richy Ozoa
- Shaider Ilagan
- Monica Oral
- Gillian Ponce de Leon
… for the speedy recovery and healing of:
- Bp Jose
- Jay Ar
- Nerisse
- Rolando Antonio
… for the safety of the people of Sri Lanka, those affected by unrest
and terrorism
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Edgar Gan Yiu
- George Bautista
- Arch. Antonio D. Maliwat, Sr.
- Sr. Pilar Santos, OP
- Ernie Rodriguez
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: Lizabeth N. Cantuba
- In Memoriam (+): Chua Ching Ho +
… 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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