DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 5, 2010
DEDICATION OF THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARY MAJOR IN ROME
THURSDAY 18TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

JEREMIAH 31:31-34
'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shall make a new
covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), but not
like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by
the hand to bring them out of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even
though I was their Master, Yahweh declares. No, this is the covenant I
shall make with the House of Israel when those days have come, Yahweh
declares. Within them I shall plant my Law, writing it on their
hearts. Then I shall be their God and they will be my people. There
will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbour or brother,
saying, "Learn to know Yahweh!" No, they will all know me, from the
least to the greatest, Yahweh declares, since I shall forgive their
guilt and never more call their sin to mind.'

MATTHEW 16:13-23
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this
question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?' And
they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say
I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a
blessed man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you
but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on
this rock I will build my community. And the gates of the underworld
can never overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.' Then he gave the
disciples strict orders not to say to anyone that he was the Christ.
From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that
he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands
of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and
to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter
started to rebuke him. 'Heaven preserve you, Lord,' he said, 'this
must not happen to you.' But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind
me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking
not as God thinks but as human beings do.'

REFLECTION
In today's gospel, Jesus asks his disciples what he means to them
individually and personally. Jesus was not testing his disciples if
they knew the facts and background data about his life. He was more
interested to know about their personal and intimate relationship with
him, and how they defined this connection. Indeed, though the Jesus is
the Savior of all mankind, let us not forget that a one-on-one,
meaningful rapport with him is equally important.

Imagine if Jesus himself asked us the question: "Who do you say I am?"
After going through a lengthy discourse about the details of his life,
his ministry, and reciting the words to every memorized prayer, he
smiles and says: "Okay, that's all on the record, but who am I to
you?" What would be our answer?

In a song entitled "How Real am I?", a part of the lyrics goes, "My
Body and Blood, or just bread and wine? Does it come from your heart,
or just from your mind?" Are we Catholic-Christians by mere
instruction, or true commitment? Is our familiarity with our Faith
based on textbook knowledge, or living experience? Do we know Jesus in
our heads, but not in hearts?

Who do we say he is?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Mon Torres
- Brenda
- Vincent P. Yuson
- Grace V. Pasion
- Becca Monis
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Patrick and Mary Ann
- Atrero family
- Jazmine
- Trinna
… Birthday: Cely
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- William Guanzon and Asilda Guanzon
- Alberto F. Atrero
- Rogelio Sanchez Tamoria
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: Joey V. Garcia
- Birthday: Irene Dee
- In Memoriam (+): Theresa Yang
… for world peace and reconciliation.

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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