DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 13, 2010
FRIDAY 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

EZEKIEL 16:59-63
"For the Lord Yahweh says this: I shall treat you as you have deserved
for making light of an oath and breaking a covenant, but I shall
remember my covenant with you when you were a girl and shall conclude
a covenant with you that will last for ever. And you for your part
will remember your behaviour and feel ashamed of it when you receive
your elder and younger sisters and I make them your daughters,
although this is not included in my covenant with you. I shall renew
my covenant with you; and you will know that I am Yahweh, and so
remember and feel ashamed and in your confusion be reduced to silence,
when I forgive you for everything you have done -- declares the Lord
Yahweh." '

MATTHEW 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached him, and to put him to the test they said,
'Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife on any pretext
whatever?' He answered, 'Have you not read that the Creator from the
beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a
man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and
the two become one flesh? They are no longer two, therefore, but one
flesh. So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.'
They said to him, 'Then why did Moses command that a writ of dismissal
should be given in cases of divorce?' He said to them, 'It was because
you were so hard-hearted, that Moses allowed you to divorce your
wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. Now I say this to
you: anyone who divorces his wife -- I am not speaking of an illicit
marriage -- and marries another, is guilty of adultery.' The disciples
said to him, 'If that is how things are between husband and wife, it
is advisable not to marry.' But he replied, 'It is not everyone who
can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted.
There are eunuchs born so from their mother's womb, there are eunuchs
made so by human agency and there are eunuchs who have made themselves
so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who
can.'

REFLECTION
In the first reading, God promises to restore Israel based on the
covenant He gave at the exodus. Here He proves that though Israel may
have forgotten, God has not. His love and compassion is everlasting.
And so He bestows the undeserved forgiveness to Israel and renews His
covenant with them.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the permanent union of married couples
as God's original intent for all of us. He leads us to reflect on the
God's purpose for the world before it was marred by sin. The ultimate
issue is not the right to divorce, but God's original desire for
spouses to be united in love. But the reality is that the preservation
of a marriage depends not merely on God but on the freedom of both
husband and wife. The preservation of any relationship relies on each
individual's will to keep it. Jesus also reveals that it is God who
gives us the capability to remain single for the sake of the Kingdom.
Celibacy remains a special vocation and grace from God.

Let us revisit God's covenant with the Israelites and reflect on our
particular contexts. What can we do to have the marriage that God
desires? How can we celebrate the single life that we may be called
to? How can we, in a particular contexts, remain faithful to the
covenant God calls us to live?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Glenda Bisco, Carmelita Brauso, Pat Manzon, Linda Manzon
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- 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
- Patrick C.
- Julie and Glenn Manzon, John Dale and Glenn Dale Manzon, Mary Ann
Castro, Ma. Fe and Florante De Castro, Estilita and Salvador
Escamilla, Glenn and Joel Bisco
- Sue and Andy
… for safe travel: AB and LARS
… in Thanksgiving: Manzon Family, Barayoga Family
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Lourdes and Domingo Barayoga Sr., Cecile Pangilinan, Allan
Manzanilla, Ronnie Salamat
- Alberto F. Atrero
- Anastasia
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: Rose Escamillan
- Prayer Intention: Joyce Lim Gotamco
- Prayer Intention: Vinci Jurado Tan
- In Memoriam(+): Sotero S. Bate
… 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!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only.
Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends,
colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the
following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2010 Daily-Homily