DAILY- HOMILY

APRIL 13, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST. MARTIN I, POPE AND MARTYR
WEDNESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 / Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 / Jn 8:31-42

DANIEL 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden
statue I have set up? If you hear now the sound of horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipes and other instruments, will you fall down
and worship the statue I made? If you won't, you know the punishment:
you will immediately be thrown into a burning furnace. And then what
god can deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
answered, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we need not defend ourselves be - fore
you on this matter. If you order us to be thrown into the furnace, the
God we serve will rescue us. But even if he won't, we would like you
to know, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship
the golden statue you have set up." Nebuchadnezzar's face reddened
with fury as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered
the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of
his strongest soldiers to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and
throw them into the burning furnace.

JOHN 8:31-42
Jesus went on to say to the Jews who believed in him: "You will be my
true disciples if you keep my word. Then you will know the truth and
the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are the
descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone. What do
you mean by saying: You will be free?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, I
say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave. But the slave doesn't stay
in the house forever; the son stays forever. They answered him, "Our
father is Abraham." Then Jesus said, "If you were Abraham's children,
you would do as Abraham did. But now you want to kill me, the one who
tells you the truth—the truth that I have learned from God." The Jews
said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father,
God." Jesus replied, "If God were your Father you would love me, for I
came forth from God, and I am here. And I didn't come by my own
decision, but it was he himself who sent me."

REFLECTION
Every day when we get up in the morning, we live as we please, whether
we engage in the positive or negative aspect of existence. We do
things nonstop or not at all, because we have been granted freedom by
the Father. The purpose of freedom has been devalued because we make
it an excuse to pursue selfish passions and surrender ourselves to the
illusions of sin. Unfortunately, we find ourselves abusing the
blessings God has granted us, especially our free will. We are
imprisoned by our own callousness and ignorance, and we have grown
accustomed to this fake environment borne out of our own doing.

Jesus was then sent to free us from our sins. The freedom that he
wants us to have is freedom from fear, egocentricity and inordinate
desires. He granted us the power of his Holy Spirit to help us take
the path towards his way of love and holiness. He wants us to listen
deep within our hearts. We shouldn't close ourselves up with material
goods and other useless anxieties.

Jesus addresses his truth to those who believe in him and says "If you
remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples and you will know
the truth and the truth will set you free." Only in him will we know
how it is to be truly released from the bonds of avarice and pride. By
trusting in Jesus, by following his teachings, we can be saved and
hopefully, we diligently learn to very grateful for this true freedom
that he gives.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Mr. Roland and Mrs. Elaine PDL Cuenca and Russell
- Myrna Borja
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Allen P.
… for the personal intentions of:
- Wilfredo L. De Leon
- Pauline
- Josheil Dapo
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Bob Finlay. Eternal rest grant
unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and all the
dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Samuel Tiu
- Birthday: Mayette Gayares
- Birthday: JY Bautista
… 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