DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 11, 2010
MEMORIAL, ST. CLARE, VIRGIN
WEDNESDAY 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

EZEKIEL 9:1-7; 10:18-22
Then he shouted loudly for me to hear, 'The scourges of the city are
approaching, each carrying his weapon of destruction!' Immediately six
men advanced from the upper north gate, each holding a deadly weapon.
Among them was a man dressed in linen, with a scribe's ink-horn in his
belt. They came in and halted in front of the bronze altar. The glory
of the God of Israel rose from above the winged creature where it had
been, towards the threshold of the Temple. He called to the man
dressed in linen with a scribe's ink-horn in his belt and Yahweh said
to him, 'Go all through the city, all through Jerusalem, and mark a
cross on the foreheads of all who grieve and lament over all the
loathsome practices in it.' I heard him say to the others, 'Follow him
through the city and strike. Not one glance of pity; show no mercy;
old men, young men, girls, children, women, kill and exterminate them
all. But do not touch anyone with a cross on his forehead. Begin at my
sanctuary.' So they began with the old men who were in the Temple. He
said to them, 'Defile the Temple; fill the courts with corpses; then
go out!' They went out and hacked their way through the city. The
glory of Yahweh then came out over the Temple threshold and paused
over the winged creatures. These raised their wings and rose from the
ground as I watched, and the wheels were beside them. They paused at
the entrance to the east gate of the Temple of Yahweh, with the glory
of the God of Israel over them, above. This was the winged creature I
had seen beneath the God of Israel by the River Chebar; I knew that
they were winged creatures. Each had four faces and four wings and
what seemed to be human hands under their wings. Their faces were like
those I had seen by the River Chebar. Each one moved straight forward.

MATTHEW 18:15-20
'If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him
alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won
back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along
with you: whatever the misdemeanour, the evidence of two or three
witnesses is required to sustain the charge. But if he refuses to
listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to
listen to the community, treat him like a gentile or a tax collector.
'In truth I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 'In
truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask
anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For
where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them.'

REFLECTION
Today we commemorate the death of St. Clare. She lived a colorful
life, as we learn how she ran away from home just to be able pursue
her vocation under the tutelage of a saintly priest who impressed her
so much.

One particular detail of St. Clare's life that stands out was her
defense of the vow of poverty. St. Clare was the co-founder of the
Order of the Poor Clares which was characterized by absolute poverty.
They chose not to own anything. Pope Gregory IX pressured her to ease
up on the vow of poverty saying owning material things was necessary
for growth of their Order. She remained unmoved and called on the Lord
Jesus to help her stay steadfast. The pope relented and remained
respectful of her stand. When St. Clare died, Pope Innocent IV and his
cardinals came to take care of the funeral. One lesson here is that
St. Clare could have rebelled against the pope and packed up. Rather,
St. Clare proved that her being strong-willed was in fact helpful to
her Order and thus helpful to the Church which the pope headed.

This story fits the reading for today which is a guide on how to
correct someone whom we love. Those around us at one time or another
have done us wrong, intentional or not. Before we condemn him, we are
told to take up the issue first with him. If it does not work, we are
to seek a third party to work with. If still it does not work, we are
to ask help from the church. Only then can we consider the hard-hear
ted wrongdoer as a pagan or an outcast.

St. Clare' story and today's reading remind us that personal
relationships are precious. At the same time, they are fragile. There
are instances when we get hurt or just as often, we hurt others.
Before we let go of a good relationship we need to think twice or, as
the reading today implies, we need to think thrice. As it often turns
out, our patience and understanding in how we nurture friendships of
ten pays off. The obverse, we experience the pain and remorse in
cutting off or ending a relationship. If we insist on having only
perfect friends or ideal relationships, we may end up frustrated and
lonely indeed we shall be in the end.

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
- See Yung Hui
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Elmo Estinos
- Jazmine and Brenda
- Patrick and Mary Ann
- Donna
- J.E.S.
- Elaine, Mesh, Lourdes, Jun and Angel, John and Rica, Jojo and
Eunice, Jack and Maryann, Paul and Judy, Sheldon and Kristine
- Pauline
- Arnold Cabatingan
- Margie Ponce de Leon
… for safe travel: AB and LARS
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Ulysses Antonio Yap
- Rodolfo E. Venturanza
- William Guanzon, Asilda Guanzon, Jose Cezar Sr, Dulce Cezar
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: Enrique G. Cunanan
- Birthday: Francisco Hing
… 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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