DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 20, 2010
FRIDAY 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

EZEKIEL 37:1-14
The hand of Yahweh was on me; he carried me away by the spirit of
Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley, a valley full of
bones. He made me walk up and down and all around among them. There
were vast quantities of these bones on the floor of the valley; and
they were completely dry. He said to me, 'Son of man, can these bones
live?' I said, 'You know, Lord Yahweh.' He said, 'Prophesy over these
bones. Say, "Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh. The Lord Yahweh says
this to these bones: I am now going to make breath enter you, and you
will live. I shall put sinews on you, I shall make flesh grow on you,
I shall cover you with skin and give you breath, and you will live;
and you will know that I am Yahweh." ' I prophesied as I had been
ordered. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a clattering
sound; it was the bones coming together. And as I looked, they were
covered with sinews; flesh was growing on them and skin was covering
them, yet there was no breath in them. He said to me, 'Prophesy to the
breath; prophesy, son of man. Say to the breath, "The Lord Yahweh says
this: Come from the four winds, breath; breathe on these dead, so that
they come to life!" ' I prophesied as he had ordered me, and the
breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet, a
great, an immense army. Then he said, 'Son of man, these bones are the
whole House of Israel. They keep saying, "Our bones are dry, our hope
has gone; we are done for." So, prophesy. Say to them, "The Lord
Yahweh says this: I am now going to open your graves; I shall raise
you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of
Israel. And you will know that I am Yahweh, when I open your graves
and raise you from your graves, my people, and put my spirit in you,
and you revive, and I resettle you on your own soil. Then you will
know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and done this -- declares the Lord
Yahweh." '

MATTHEW 22:34-40
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they
got together and, to put him to the test, one of them put a further
question, 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?'
Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the
greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must
love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the
whole Law, and the Prophets too.'

REFLECTION
How many of us live a life-of-the-living-dead, like the Sadducees and
teachers of the law in today's Gospel, burdened by our worries about
the future or by obsessing about our petty concerns in the present,
even if it were moral minutiae?

Jesus today gives us a summary of the law, which St. Augustine further
simplified to a single word: "Love, and do what you will." A real love
of God and neighbor frees us from the self-imposed burden of moral
compulsion. Instead of being obsessed with the law and burdened by its
letter, we are brought to life again by its life-giving spirit that
has as it fruit the joy of freely giving ourselves to God and others.
Our worries about the future soon vanish in the bliss of loving in the
present moment. For love gives us hope, the eager expectation that is
the strength of the law and the song of the prophets — all because our
God of love is a God of the loving who will always be living, and not
of the dead.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Rita P. Cuerva
- Henni
- See Yung Hui
- Jo Marcelo, Jun Lee, Mon Torres
- Boyet Balilla
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Vincent
- J.E.S.
- Patrick and Mary Ann
- Cherie Torres
… Birthday: Roque B. Suede
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Avelina Sesaldo
- Boy Afable
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: Hilda T. So
- Birthday: Teresita Ronquillo
- Birthday: Felipe Santos
- Birthday: Bebet Gaston
- Birthday: Michelle Sison
- Birthday: Kimmi Co
- Birthday: Alice Fong
- Birthday: Ronald Allan Poe
- Birthday: Florecita Mariano
- Birthday: Erlinda Gonzales
- Birthday: Thelma Kimpo Panganiban
… 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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