DAILY- HOMILY

SEPTEMBER 7, 2009
MELCHIOR GRODZIECKI AND STEPHAN PONGRACZ, MARTYRS
MONDAY 23RD WEEK ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

COLOSSIANS 1:24-2:3
Brothers and sisters: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in
my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his Body, which is the Church, of which I am a minister
in accordance with God's stewardship given to me to bring to
completion for you the word of God, the mystery hidden from ages and
from generations past. But now it has been manifested to his holy
ones, to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for glory.
It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone
with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. For
this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power
working within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I am
having for you and for those in Laodicea and all who have not seen me
face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged as they are brought
together in love, to have all the richness of assured understanding,
for the knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

LUKE 6:6-11
On a certain sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught, and
there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and
the Pharisees watched him closely to see if he would cure on the
sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him. But he
realized their intentions and said to the man with the withered hand,
"Come up and stand before us." And he rose and stood there. Then Jesus
said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?"
Looking around at them all, he then said to him, "Stretch out your
hand." He did so and his hand was restored. But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

REFLECTION
Today's Gospel reading is not a story primarily about healing. It is
about priorities. According to Jesus, the Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath. The intent of the Jewish Sabbath rest was to
set aside a time to be refreshed and to worship God. When the scribes
and Pharisees remain silent to Jesus' question, Jesus himself gives
the answer to his question by healing the withered man's hand. Since
the scribes and the Pharisees were really not looking for the truth,
this healing left them angry with Jesus. This action of Jesus gives us
an example of how we might be called to demonstrate the truth of our
faith by our actions rather than just words.

There are certainly times when formal teaching and reasoned arguments
are appropriate and even necessary. However, we must be willing to act
on our beliefs as a convincing demonstration of our faith. Our belief
in a compassionate God should inspire us to reach out to those who
suffer. Our belief in God's universal love can be shown through our
actions towards those who are different from us. Our belief in God's
call for justice becomes our call as we take action for the relief of
poverty. These are times when our actions must speak louder than our
words.

Let us pray for the grace to see the world and the circumstances of
our life with a pure heart, a heart not clouded by selfishness, envy,
anger or greed. Let us keep all of the moral do's and don'ts in the
proper perspective of glorifying God by doing good. Let us never turn
God's moral law into our own selfish argument in order to condemn
anyone.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Arnold Cabatingan
- Francis Torres
- Shiappee
- Richy Ozoa
- Brenda Domingo-Solis
- Lisa
- Inday Tan
… for the personal intentions of Vicsyd Valera and family
… for the safety of San Juan de Dios Hospital
… In thanksgiving: Jazmine
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Jerry Tan
… 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!

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Group Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily

To subscribe from this mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

Join our group on Facebook | FoodForThought and post your views,
comments and feedbacks on the reflection. Click below:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142903436398

© 2009 Daily-Homily
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---