DAILY- HOMILY

OCTOBER 17, 2010
29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C

EXODUS 17:8-13
The Amalekites then came and attacked Israel at Rephidim. Moses said
to Joshua, 'Pick some men and tomorrow morning go out and engage
Amalek. I, for my part, shall take my stand on the hilltop with the
staff of God in my hand.' Joshua did as Moses had told him and went
out to engage Amalek, while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of
the hill. As long as Moses kept his arms raised, Israel had the
advantage; when he let his arms fall, the advantage went to Amalek.
But Moses' arms grew heavy, so they took a stone and put it under him
and on this he sat, with Aaron and Hur supporting his arms on each
side. Thus his arms remained unwavering till sunset, and Joshua
defeated Amalek, putting their people to the sword.

SECOND TIMOTHY 3:14--4:2
You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true;
remember who your teachers were, and how, ever since you were a child,
you have known the holy scriptures -from these you can learn the
wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All
scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for
guiding people's lives and teaching them to be upright. This is how
someone who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for
any good work. Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge
of the living and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing
and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome,
insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement --
but do all with patience and with care to instruct.

LUKE 18:1-8
Then he told them a parable about the need to pray continually and
never lose heart. 'There was a judge in a certain town,' he said, 'who
had neither fear of God nor respect for anyone. In the same town there
was also a widow who kept on coming to him and saying, "I want justice
from you against my enemy!" For a long time he refused, but at last he
said to himself, "Even though I have neither fear of God nor respect
for any human person, I must give this widow her just rights since she
keeps pestering me, or she will come and slap me in the face." ' And
the Lord said, 'You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now, will
not God see justice done to his elect if they keep calling to him day
and night even though he still delays to help them? I promise you, he
will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of
man comes, will he find any faith on earth?'

REFLECTION
Today is Mission Sunday. Who is a missionary? A missionary is one who
shares his or her faith in Jesus Christ with other people and thus
brings them to Christ and his Good News.

Sharing one's faith with others is the privilege and responsibility of
every believer. We can do this by becoming active missionaries,
leaving our homes and country and going out to unknown places and
people. We can also carry out this responsibility by prayer, sacrifice
and offerings. This is what St. Monica did. Her unceasing prayers
brought her husband, who was a pagan, and her son to Jesus.

This is what St. Teresa of the Child Jesus did. Even though St. Teresa
never left her convent for mission work, she is proclaimed by the
Church, along with St. Francis Xavier, as the patron saint of the
missions. She felt that her special task was to assist priests and
missionaries with her prayers and sacrifices. To love Jesus and to
bring people to Jesus, was her life's ambition. Prayer is the force
that brings people to conversion of heart and mind. Prayer is also the
weapon that gains victory over the evil forces of the world. This is
the message that we find in today's scripture readings.

Today's first reading talks about the power of prayer that the
Israelites experienced when they faced enemies on their way to the
Promised Land. The prayer of Moses was decisive for their victories.
The message of the reading is that victory is the result of a
combination of action and prayer. In all our under takings we must do
our best and at the same time seek God's help in prayer. We need
people who will venture out into action and also people who will
prayer for the success of the action. The unceasing prayer of a person
or of a community never goes unheeded.

This is what Jesus tells us through the parable of the unjust judge
and the nagging widow in today's gospel reading. St. Luke introduces
this parable by stating the reason why Jesus said this, namely, to
encourage people to pray continuously without losing heart, even when
they do not get immediate results. God will certainly come to our aid
in his own time and way, because he is a God who loves us.

There are people who give up prayer when they do not get what they ask
for. They will quote what Jesus said on one occasion: "Ask, and it
will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you". Some lament this way: "How many times I have asked for
this and that and nothing has happened".

When we pray, we should also try to listen to God. Genuine prayer is a
dialogue between you and God, not a soliloquy or a monologue, with you
alone doing all the talking. Our prayer should become a loving
conversation with God. Through the scriptures God speaks to us. It is
far more important to listen to what God has to say to us than we
might tell him because he knows everything, even before we tell him
our problems. When we listen to him, we will understand what his plans
are for us and how he has planned to give or not give what we have
asked for.

Let us put our faith in his words and continue to pray unceasingly.
The Eucharist is a solemn act of praise and thanksgiving in which we
remember, celebrate, and proclaim Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
Let our participation in this most perfect sacrifice make us true
missionaries.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
-Susan
-Jon and Malou Abundo
-Bob Barsotti and Harry Shearer
-Lina Ibanga
-Vilma Morales
-Ely Lara
-Bernardo Mitra
… Birthday:
-Bernardo Mitra
…In Thanksgiving:
-Bernardo Mitra
-Abraham Mitra
… for the personal intentions of
-Eunice Pdl Cuenca
-Gilda Malinit Lawrence
-Julio Perez
-Marrion V. Ponce de Leon
-Josheil Dapo
-Titong V.
… for the healing and peace of all families
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
-Wedding Anniversary: Garrick & Angeline Go
-In Memoriam (+): Sergio V. Lim, Sr.
… 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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