DAILY- HOMILY

DECEMBER 6, 2010
MONDAY 2ND WEEK OF ADVENT – YEAR II

ISAIAH 35:1-10
Let the desert and the dry lands be glad, let the wasteland rejoice
and bloom; like the asphodel, let it burst into flower, let it rejoice
and sing for joy. The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it, the
splendour of Carmel and Sharon; then they will see the glory of
Yahweh, the splendour of our God. Strengthen all weary hands, steady
all trembling knees and say to the faint-hearted, 'Be strong! Do not
be afraid. Here is your God, vengeance is coming, divine retribution;
he is coming to save you.' Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame will leap like a deer and
the tongue of the dumb sing for joy; for water will gush in the desert
and streams in the wastelands, the parched ground will become a marsh
and the thirsty land springs of water; the lairs where the jackals
used to live will become plots of reed and papyrus. And through it
will run a road for them and a highway which will be called the Sacred
Way; the unclean will not be allowed to use it; He will be the one to
use this road, the fool will not stray along it. No lion will be
there, no ferocious beast set foot on it, nothing of the sort be
found; it will be used by the redeemed. For those whom Yahweh has
ransomed will return, they will come to Zion shouting for joy, their
heads crowned with joy unending; rejoicing and gladness will escort
them and sorrow and sighing will take flight.

LUKE 5:17-26
Now it happened that he was teaching one day, and Pharisees and
teachers of the Law, who had come from every village in Galilee, from
Judaea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the
Lord was there so that he should heal. And now some men appeared,
bringing on a bed a paralysed man whom they were trying to bring in
and lay down in front of him. But as they could find no way of getting
the man through the crowd, they went up onto the top of the house and
lowered him and his stretcher down through the tiles into the middle
of the gathering, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith he said, 'My
friend, your sins are forgiven you.' The scribes and the Pharisees
began to think this over. 'Who is this man, talking blasphemy? Who but
God alone can forgive sins?' But Jesus, aware of their thoughts, made
them this reply, 'What are these thoughts you have in your hearts?
Which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to
say, "Get up and walk"? But to prove to you that the Son of man has
authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- he said to the paralysed
man-'I order you: get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.' And
immediately before their very eyes he got up, picked up what he had
been lying on and went home praising God. They were all astounded and
praised God and were filled with awe, saying, 'We have seen strange
things today.'

REFLECTION
It is interesting to note that Christ asked the man after healing him
to pick up his stretcher and go home. Usually if we broke a leg, and
it healed, we would not go around carrying our crutches. But here,
this man who was paralyzed picked up the stretcher that he was lying
on and went home praising God. It is important for us to remember the
stretcher or the cross in which God has healed us from. With the
stretcher we will remember to be grateful to the Lord. The cross
becomes glorious when enlightened, when it has meaning.

For the Christians, the cross becomes a source of salvation, something
which is alien and strange for pagans and those who do not believe in
Jesus Christ. That is why even if Jesus is resurrected, we see him in
the churches with the cross. We can never disassociate or distance
ourselves away from the cross. After all, it was in the cross that all
men were saved, it was in the necessary death on the cross that Jesus
would pay for our sins, forgive our sins and God raised him up for our
justification.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Deacon Joe Nicholas
- Jo Marcelo, Jun Lee, Mon Torres, Fleur Torres, Peping Torres, John
Lawrence
- Vicky Fabella
- Susan
… for the personal intentions of
- Luis Torres
- Josheil Dapo
- Cherie Torres
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Father Mel Sprute
- Terry Bowen
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.
- Wedding Anniversary: Don & Deng Salgado
- Wedding Anniversary: Thomas & Cathy Diokno
… 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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