DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 9, 2010
FRIDAY 14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

HOSEA 14:2-10
Israel, come back to Yahweh your God your guilt was the cause of your
downfall. Provide yourself with words and come back to Yahweh. Say to
him, 'Take all guilt away and give us what is good, instead of bulls
we will dedicate to you our lips. Assyria cannot save us, we will not
ride horses any more, or say, "Our God!" to our own handiwork, for you
are the one in whom orphans find compassion.' I shall cure them of
their disloyalty, I shall love them with all my heart, for my anger
has turned away from them. I shall fall like dew on Israel, he will
bloom like the lily and thrust out roots like the cedar of Lebanon; he
will put out new shoots, he will have the beauty of the olive tree and
the fragrance of Lebanon. They will come back to live in my shade;
they will grow wheat again, they will make the vine flourish, their
wine will be as famous as Lebanon's. What has Ephraim to do with idols
any more when I hear him and watch over him? I am like an evergreen
cypress, you owe your fruitfulness to me. Let the wise understand
these words, let the intelligent grasp their meaning, for Yahweh's
ways are straight and the upright will walk in them, but sinners will
stumble.

MATTHEW 10:16-23
Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as
snakes and yet innocent as doves. 'Be prepared for people to hand you
over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be
brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them
and to the gentiles. But when you are handed over, do not worry about
how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you
when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; the
Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you. 'Brother will betray
brother to death, and a father his child; children will come forward
against their parents and have them put to death. You will be
universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to
the end will be saved. If they persecute you in one town, take refuge
in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in
another. In truth I tell you, you will not have gone the round of the
towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.

REFLECTION
In the first reading today, Hosea shares Yahweh's hopes for the
reconciliation with Israel by inviting them to "Provide yourselves
with words." These words act as an alternative to the traditional
sacrifice which Israel offers to Yahweh. By calling on them to provide
words, Yahweh is urging them to humble themselves and ask for
forgiveness and to speak with Him directly. Thus, the power of words
to clarify what went wrong and to share what we hope for the future.

Connected to the first reading are the words of Christ in the gospel
which challenge us with the meaning of discipleship. From the humility
of the first reading we are confronted with the difficulty of
following Christ in the gospel. We are confronted with the suffering
and pain that following Christ will create for us. But we also rely on
God to provide encouragement for us in the face of those challenges.

We might think about relationships that are strained in our own lives.
Have we been silent for too long in letting someone know how we feel
about them? How they have hurt us? Today's readings provide an
opportunity for us to reflect on the people around us, the
relationships we have, to discover what we might share with them and
ask God to help us find the right words to repair those wounds and
difficulties.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Atty. Anthony Aparte
- Dolores Segui, JR Dolor & Adyn Bolos
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Mon Torres
- Brenda
- Henry Tan
- Zhyndel Bueno
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Josheil Dapo
- Veronica Yap
- Atty. Jose O. Cortez
- Nikolai Cortez
- Aydin Cortez
- Karl Cortez
- Maureen Cortez
- Patrick and Mary Ann
- Lawrence and Mary Wong
- Shantell Ponce de Leon-Bancaso
… for the safe journey of Celestino M. Condor and Rosa Maria V.
Condor
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Marlene A. Maloles
- Wedding Anniversary: Junn & Marianella Agbayani
… 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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