DAILY- HOMILY

FEBRUARY 1, 2010
MONDAY 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

2 SAMUEL 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13
A messenger came and told David, 'The men of Israel have shifted their
allegiance to Absalom.' David said to all his retinue then with him in
Jerusalem, 'Up, let us flee, or we shall not escape from Absalom!
Leave as quickly as you can, in case he mounts a sudden attack,
overcomes us and puts the city to the sword.' David then made his way
up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, his head covered and his
feet bare. And all the people with him had their heads covered and
made their way up, weeping as they went. As David was reaching
Bahurim, out came a man of the same clan as Saul's family. His name
was Shimei son of Gera and, as he came, he uttered curse after curse
and threw stones at David and at all King David's retinue, even though
the whole army and all the champions formed an escort round the king
on either side. The words of his curse were these, 'Off with you, off
with you, man of blood, scoundrel! Yahweh has paid you back for all
the spilt blood of the House of Saul whose sovereignty you have
usurped; and Yahweh has transferred the sovereign power to Absalom
your son. Now your wickedness has overtaken you, man of blood that you
are.' Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, 'Why should this dead
dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut his head off.' But
the king replied, 'What concern is my business to you, sons of
Zeruiah? Let him curse! If Yahweh has said to him, "Curse David!" what
right has anyone to say, "Why have you done so?" ' David said to
Abishai and all his retinue, 'Why, the son sprung from my own body is
now seeking my life; all the more reason for this Benjaminite to do
so! Let him curse on, if Yahweh has told him to! Perhaps Yahweh will
look on my wretchedness and will repay me with good for his curses
today.' So David and his men went on their way, and Shimei kept pace
with him along the opposite mountainside, cursing as he went, throwing
stones and flinging dust.

MARK 5:1-20
They reached the territory of the Gerasenes on the other side of the
lake, and when he disembarked, a man with an unclean spirit at once
came out from the tombs towards him. The man lived in the tombs and no
one could secure him any more, even with a chain, because he had often
been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and
broken the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. All
night and all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl
and gash himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance,
he ran up and fell at his feet and shouted at the top of his voice,
'What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? In God's
name do not torture me!' For Jesus had been saying to him, 'Come out
of the man, unclean spirit.' Then he asked, 'What is your name?' He
answered, 'My name is Legion, for there are many of us.' And he begged
him earnestly not to send them out of the district. Now on the
mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding, and the unclean
spirits begged him, 'Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.' So he
gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into
the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the
cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned. The men looking
after them ran off and told their story in the city and in the country
round about; and the people came to see what had really happened. They
came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there -- the man who had
had the legion in him -- properly dressed and in his full senses, and
they were afraid. And those who had witnessed it reported what had
happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they
began to implore Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. As he was getting
into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to be allowed to
stay with him. Jesus would not let him but said to him, 'Go home to
your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for
you.' So the man went off and proceeded to proclaim in the Decapolis
all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.

REFLECTION
The gospel presents a demoniac who lived in the tomb and could not be
shackled. St. Paul speaks of another possession. This is the person
who is ruled entirely by his own physical desires and ideas, who only
lives sensual lives, "men steeped in all sorts of depravity,
rottenness, greed and malice, and addicted to envy, murder, wrangling,
treachery and spite, without love, pity and honor" (Ro. 1: 29-30).

Christ himself tells us that this is the situation within our heart
"evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery,
avarice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. This is what
makes man unclean" (Mk 7: 21-23). This is our pitiable situation that
is why out of immense love of God for us, He sent His only Son, Christ
to save us and give us the new possibility to transform our lives. We
can be clothed with the Holy Spirit and our senses directed towards
God and our neighbor.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the strength and healing of:
- Gemma
- Davis Danao
- Renan Lacida
- Walter Stamatelaky
- Francis Torres
- Mon Torres
- Jessy
- Jo Marcelo
… for the personal intentions of:
- Josheil Dapo
- Mariano M.
- Abraham A.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Benjamin A. Castillo Jr.
- Birthday: Ramon Antonio G. Castro
- Birthday: Dr. Jennifer Chua
- Birthday: John Henry Dee
- In Memoriam (+): Evelyn C. Ong
- In Memoriam (+): Cesar D. Guevarra
… 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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