DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 27, 2010
SATURDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR II

EZEKIEL 37:21-28
"The Lord Yahweh says this: I shall take the Israelites from the
nations where they have gone. I shall gather them to- gether from
everywhere and bring them home to their own soil. I shall make them
into one nation in the country, on the mountains of Israel, and one
king is to be king of them all; they will no longer form two nations,
nor be two separate kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves
with their foul idols, their horrors and any of their crimes. I shall
save them from the acts of infidelity which they have committed and
shall cleanse them; they will be my people and I shall be their God.
My servant David will reign over them, one shepherd for all; they will
follow my judgements, respect my laws and practise them. They will
live in the country which I gave to my servant Jacob, the country in
which your ancestors lived. They will live in it, they, their
children, their children's children, for ever. David my servant is to
be their prince for ever. I shall make a covenant of peace with them,
an eternal covenant with them. I shall resettle them and make them
grow; I shall set my sanctuary among them for ever. I shall make my
home above them; I shall be their God, and they will be my people. And
the nations will know that I am Yahweh the sanctifier of Israel, when
my sanctuary is with them for ever." '

JOHN 11:45-57
Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did,
believed in him, but some of them went to the Pharisees to tell them
what Jesus had done. Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a
meeting. 'Here is this man working all these signs,' they said, 'and
what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way everybody
will believe in him, and the Romans will come and suppress the Holy
Place and our nation.' One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that
year, said, 'You do not seem to have grasped the situation at all; you
fail to see that it is to your advantage that one man should die for
the people, rather than that the whole nation should perish.' He did
not speak in his own person, but as high priest of that year he was
prophesying that Jesus was to die for the nation- and not for the
nation only, but also to gather together into one the scattered
children of God. From that day onwards they were determined to kill
him. So Jesus no longer went about openly among the Jews, but left the
district for a town called Ephraim, in the country bordering on the
desert, and stayed there with his disciples. The Jewish Passover was
drawing near, and many of the country people who had gone up to
Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves were looking out
for Jesus, saying to one another as they stood about in the Temple,
'What do you think? Will he come to the festival or not?' The chief
priests and Pharisees had by now given their orders: anyone who knew
where he was must inform them so that they could arrest him.

REFLECTION
The Pharisees were extremely jealous and fearful of the popularity of
Jesus among the crowds. They could not abide with his teachings. They
sneered at the miracles he wrought. They tested him and questioned his
sympathies for tax collectors and prostitutes. In short, they made
every movement of Jesus suspect. So they kept `convening' among
themselves as to how they could have him arrested and eventually put
to death. Finally, they succeeded. Jesus was arrested, scourged and
crucified.

Do we have examples of Pharisee-ian machinations in this day and age?
The plotting does not have to result in the death of a person, but how
about the death of a democracy? Modern Pharisees think themselves
untouchable and above the dictates of ethics and morality. They
disregard the rights and basic needs of the common populace.

Unwittingly, the Pharisees were guided by a `hand,' a destiny that
brought to fruition the prophesies foretold by the old biblical
prophets.

In the case of a democracy, whose `hand' has been motivating the drive
of the distinguished untouchables? Certainly not a holy hand, but the
hand of misused power, greed and selfaggrandizement. This hand is
mortal and can only be deflected by people willing to defend
democracy.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the personal intentions of
- Ma. Angeli
- Francis Torres
- Mon Torres
- Jessy
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Veronica Yap
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Mr. Yong
.. Birthday:
- Aileen Mendoza
- Fr. Jason Dy
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Felix Asilo
- Gaudencio Ogatis
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: Art Manuel
- Birthday: Alfredo D. Masigan
- Wedding Anniversary: Dom & Nimfa Ferrer
- Wedding Anniversary: Alex & Dins Macapagal
- In Memoriam (+): Ruben Saulog
… 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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