DAILY- HOMILY

JANUARY 31, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST. JOHN BOSCO, PRIEST
MONDAY 4TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Readings: Heb 11:32-40 / Ps 31:20, 21, 22, 23, 24 / Mk 5:1-20

HEBREWS 11:32-40
Do I need to say more? There is not enough time to speak of Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, as well as Samuel and the prophets.
Through faith they fought and conquered nations, established justice,
saw the fulfillment of God's promises, shut the mouths of lions,
quenched raging fire, escaped the sword, were healed of their
sicknesses; they were weak people who were given strength to be brave
in battle and repulse foreign invaders. Some women recovered their
dead by resurrection but there were others—persecuted and tortured
believers—who, for the sake of a better resurrection, refused to do
what would have saved them. Others suffered chains and prison. They
were stoned, sawn in two, killed by the sword. They fled from place to
place with no other clothing than the skins of sheep and goats,
lacking everything, afflicted, ill-treated. These people of whom the
world was not worthy had to wander through wastelands and mountains,
and take refuge in the dens of the land. However, although all of them
were praised because of their faith, they did not enjoy the promise
be¬cause God had us in mind and saw beyond. And he did not want them
to reach perfection except with us.

MARK 5:1-20
Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of the lake in the
region of the Gerasenes. No sooner did Jesus leave the boat than he
was met by a man with evil spirits who had come from the tombs. When
he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell at his feet and cried with a
loud voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High
God? For God's sake I beg you, do not torment me." He said this
because Jesus had commanded, "Come out of the man, evil spirit." And
when Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" he replied, "Legion is my
name, for we are many." Now, a great herd of pigs was feeding on the
hillside, and the evil spirits begged him, "Send us to the pigs and
let us go into them." So Jesus let them go. The evil spirits came out
of the man and went into the pigs, and immediately the herd rushed
down the cliff and all were drowned in the lake. The herdsmen fled and
reported this in the town. They were afraid. And when those who had
seen it told what had happened to the man and to the pigs, the people
begged Jesus to leave their neighborhood. When Jesus was getting into
the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to stay with him.
Jesus would not let him and said, "Go home to your people and tell
them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on
you."

REFLECTION
Fr. Mon Bautista, S.J., said in a talk that the meaning of vocation is
a call to us from God so that He could do great things for us. God
invites us to allow Him to do great things for us. He doesn't force us
but patiently waits for our answer.

The first reading is full of Old Testament stories of people who
allowed God to do wonderful things for them although there were costs
involved.

The Gospel tells us of a man whom Jesus healed of the demons
possessing him. Jesus wanted to do great things for him and sent him
on mission to tell others how Jesus healed him. He obeyed, amazing
those to whom he told his story.

There was another reaction to the man's healing from those who
witnessed it. They were so disturbed and frightened by what Jesus had
done that they asked him to leave their neighborhood.

When God invites us to go on mission, do we obey or are we so
frightened we ask him to leave our "neighborhood"?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Vicky Fabella
- Susan
- Nel de Leon
… for the personal intentions of
- Cherie Torres
- Aileen and Gabriel
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Edward Lam
- Gabriella Wong
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: Bianca Anne Reyes
- Wedding Anniversary: Randy & Dowa Manaloto
- Wedding Anniversary: Kit & Menchi Narciso
… 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

© 2011 Daily-Homily