DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 31, 2011
SOLEMNITY, ST IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, PRIEST
18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – A

Is 55:1-3 / Ps 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 / Rom 8:35, 37-39 / Mt 14:13-21

ISAIAH 55:1-3
Thus says the Lord: Come here, all you who are thirsty, come to the
water! All who have no money, come! Yes, without money and at no cost,
buy and drink wine and milk. Why spend money on what is not food and
labor for what does not satisfy? Listen to me, and you will eat well;
you will enjoy the richest of fare. Incline your ear and come to me;
listen, that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting
covenant, I will fulfill in you my promises to David.

ROMANS 8:35, 37-39
Brothers and sisters, who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Will it be trials, or anguish, persecution or hunger, lack of
clothing, or dangers or sword? No, in all of this we are more than
conquerors, thanks to him who has loved us. I am certain that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor spiritual powers, neither the
present nor the future, nor cosmic powers, were they from heaven or
from the deep world below, nor any creature whatsoever will separate
us from the love of God, which we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

MATTHEW 14:13-21
On hearing about the death of John the Baptist, Jesus set out secretly
by boat for a secluded place. But the people heard of it, and they
followed him on foot from their towns. When Jesus went ashore, he saw
the crowd gathered there and he had compassion on them. And he healed
their sick. Late in the afternoon, his disciples came to him and said,
"We are in a lonely place and it is now late. You should send these
people away, so they can go to the villages and buy something for
themselves to eat." But Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away;
you give them something to eat." They answered, "We have nothing here
but five loaves and two fishes." Jesus said to them, "Bring them here
to me." Then he made everyone sit down on the grass. He took the five
loaves and the two fishes, raised his eyes to heaven, pronounced the
blessing, broke the loaves and handed them to the disciples to
distribute to the people. And they all ate, and everyone had enough;
then the disciples gathered up the leftovers, filling twelve baskets.
About five thousand men had eaten there besides women and children.

REFLECTION
The late Jesuit priest, Fr. Horacio de La Costa, claimed that the
Filipino people have two treasures – faith and music. It is then not
surprising that we are known for having good entertainers particularly
singers. Of late, what has become more appreciated is that of
liturgical music that has definitely made our celebration of the
Eucharist truly alive and meaningful. One of the familiar songs,
namely, "Sinong Makapaghihiwalay" was composed by a nun inspired by
the second reading of the letter of Paul to the Romans which is about
God's love which no one and nothing can separate us from.

This short excerpt is a beautiful reminder of the love of Christ which
can never be taken away from us no matter what. Not even all the
problems, worries, struggles, persecution, and death can separate us
from the love of God that comes to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are indeed blessed because of God's unconditional love for us. Yet,
we know that this does not at all exempt us from having our share of
the cross that Jesus speaks about.

There are surely numerous crosses that we have to bear. There is that
of a dysfunctional family brought about by the separation of husband
and wife which affects the children. How about tragic events in life
like the untimely death of a child due to drowning? How about the
useless death of a student due to hazing? How about having a parent
stricken with cancer? Such crisis may not be necessarily confined to
individual concerns. How about our difficulties as a community or as a
people as evidenced in widespread poverty, rise in unemployment with
so many people going abroad to seek jobs and natural calamities, among
others?

Despite such grim realities in our lives, we can hopefully be consoled
by the thought of a loving Lord and his eternal love for us that not
even death can separate.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Gisselle, Rheinard, Leah
- G, Ben, Pam, Maria, Delores, Kristin, John C, Frank, Gene,Eugene R
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Jonathan Salazar
- Mon Torres
- Wally Torres
… In Memoriam (+): Ms. Tata Mondragon
… for the personal intentions of Trinna
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Partick Cicero Cabral
- Birthday: Kenzo Lucas Lim Bate
- Birthday: Michelle Alcones
- In Memoriam (+): Rolando Guieb Castillo
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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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