DAILY- HOMILY

NOVEMBER 19, 2009
THURSDAY 33RD WEEK ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

1 MACCABEES 2:15-29
The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy came to
the city of Modein to organize the sacrifices. Many of Israel joined
them, but Mattathias and his sons gathered in a group apart. Then the
officers of the king addressed Mattathias: "You are a leader, an
honorable and great man in this city, supported by sons and kin. Come
now, be the first to obey the king's command, as all the Gentiles and
the men of Judah and those who are left in Jerusalem have done. Then
you and your sons shall be numbered among the King's Friends, and
shall be enriched with silver and gold and many gifts." But Mattathias
answered in a loud voice: "Although all the Gentiles in the king's
realm obey him, so that each forsakes the religion of his fathers and
consents to the king's orders, yet I and my sons and my kin will keep
to the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the
law and the commandments. We will not obey the words of the king nor
depart from our religion in the slightest degree." As he finished
saying these words, a certain Jew came forward in the sight of all to
offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein according to the king's order.
When Mattathias saw him, he was filled with zeal; his heart was moved
and his just fury was aroused; he sprang forward and killed him upon
the altar. At the same time, he also killed the messenger of the king
who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. Thus he
showed his zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did with Zimri, son of
Salu. Then Mattathias went through the city shouting, "Let everyone
who is zealous for the law and who stands by the covenant follow after
me!" Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons, leaving behind
in the city all their possessions. Many who sought to live according
to righteousness and religious custom went out into the desert to
settle there.

LUKE 19:41-44
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it,
saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is
hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your
enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and
hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your
children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another
within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

REFLECTION
In today's Gospel Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and the journey is
almost over. In the verse just before this reading, the people were
singing and shouting for joy as they accompanied Jesus. Suddenly there
is a change of mood. Jesus himself is weeping. Luke gives us the
Beatitudes and the woes, the Pharisee and the tax collector in the
Temple, the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus lamented over Jerusalem. He
wept. Jesus did not weep because he hated cities. He wept because he
loved. Love is the right reason for most things. Jesus' words were
almost entirely of quotations from Old Testament prophets: Jeremiah,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea. Jesus was not the first to grieve over
Jerusalem; nor was he the last.

Across the valley from the city of Jerusalem there is a little church
called "Dominus flevit", which means "The Lord wept". On the base of
the altar there is a small mosaic showing a mother hen with her
chicks. The chicks are under her wings for protection, some of them
peering out in the way that little chicks do. This is a beautiful
representation of Jesus' saying that he wished he could gather the
people of Jerusalem to him in the way a hen gathers her chicks. It is
a motherly image, warm and protective.

If we think it is too sentimental an image we can think of it as
follows: We used to call the Church on earth "the Church militant," an
image suggesting fundamentalist violence. But it meant to convey that
we are struggling with sin, or in other words, with ourselves. The
trouble with us is that we find it all too easy to oppose, to be
militant against other people, but we are like chickens when it comes
to struggling with ourselves.

Jesus loves us more than we can know. He shares intimately in our
lives, rejoicing in our victories and weeping in our sorrows. He
delights to see that same love alive in us, in our concern for others,
and in the praise and adoration we offer for all his blessings.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Francis Torres
- Mon Torres
- Anastacio Manago
- Brenda Domingo-Solis
… for the personal intentions of
- Mark and Mycel
- Catherine and Selena
- Josheil Dapo
- Patrick C.
… for the victims of natural disasters
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Rodolfo Lagunda
- Wedding Anniversary: Emelinda & Dr. Timoteo L. Yu
- In Memoriam (+): Charlie Falcon (Jul 22, 1948-Nov 19, 2002)+
… 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!

**************************************************
Parish Priests' e-mail:
Fr. J. Cesar R. Marin, S. J. parishpriest@marythequeen.org

Assistant Parish Priests' e-mails:
Fr. R. Hart, S. J. rodneyhart@marythequeen.org
Fr. Thomas O'Gorman, S. J. thogorman@marythequeen.org
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