DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 16, 2011
MEMORIAL, OUR LADY OF CARMEL
SATURDAY 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Ex 12:37-42 / Ps 136:1, 23-24, 10-12, 13-15 / Mt 12:14-21

EXODUS 12:37-42
The Israelites left Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand
of them on the march, counting the men only, and not the children. A
great number of other people of all descriptions went with them, as
well as sheep and cattle in droves. With the dough they had brought
with them from Egypt, they made cakes of unleavened bread. It had not
risen, for when they were driven from Egypt they could not delay and
had not even provided themselves with food. The Israelites had been in
Egypt for four hundred and thirty years. It was at the end of these
four hundred and thirty years to the very day that the armies of
Yahweh left Egypt. This is the watch for Yahweh who brought Israel out
of Egypt. This night is for Yahweh, and all the Israelites are also to
keep vigil on this night, year after year, for all time.

MATTHEW 12:14-21
The Pharisees went out and made plans to get rid of Jesus. As he was
aware of the plot, he went away from that place. Many people followed
him and he cured all who were sick. Then he gave them strict orders
not to make him known. In this way Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled:
"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, and with whom
I am pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him and he will announce my
judgment to the nations. He will not argue or shout, nor will his
voice be heard in the streets. The bruised reed he will not crush, nor
snuff out the smoldering wick. He will persist until justice is made
victorious and in him all the nations will put their hope."

REFLECTION
Today's reflection has two key words: Sabbath and Mt. Carmel. The
Gospel reading takes up the issue of which is more important: honoring
the Sabbath or the Lord of the Sabbath. The lesson always is that if
by strictly and literally observing the Sabbath one conveniently
avoids doing what would have been more pleasing to the Lord, then the
Sabbath loses its purpose and meaning: that it is a rest day to be
spent solely in giving glory the Lord. A misplaced focus on the
Sabbath might as well be a shameless worshiping of a false god.

This brings us to the second key word, Mt. Carmel. Today we celebrate
the memorial of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, a very important date not just
for all Carmelites. Carmel was the biblical place where the prophet
Elijah triumphed over the pagan King Ahab and his idol god Baal. The
Book of Kings narrates that King Ahab has started to at tract the Jews
by means of colorful rituals. A number of prophets denounced such
paganism and the king's wife Jezebel had them all killed. Only Elijah
escaped. In the final showdown, a prophet of Baal and the Lord's
prophet Elijah each built a stone altar topped with firewood on which
was a sacrificial bull. Whose god it is who can send fire upon the
altar will be deemed the one true god. The prophets of Baal prayed,
danced, and sang but nothing happened. Before Elijah prayed, he even
poured water on the altar. When he called upon the Lord, a fire bolt
quickly descended and consumed not only the bull but even the stone
altar.

Let us go through this day rekindled and confidently firm in the
belief that our Lord is indeed above the Sabbath and above Baal. And
may we all be worthy and practicing believers.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Father William VonAllman
- Wally Torres
- Ditas dela Paz
- Jaydon Conger
… for the personal intentions of
- Andrew
- Nikolai Cortez, Aydin Cortez, Karl Cortez, Maureen Cortez, Rex
Cortez
- Josheil Dapo
- Pauline
- Estelita Escamilla- Andrew
- Glenda and Joel Bisco
- Ma. Fe and Florante De Castro
- Fe Edralyn and Domingo Barayoga Sr.
- Julie and Glenn Manzon
- Churchill and Marichu Barayoga
- Mary Ann Castro
- John Dale and Glenn Dale Manzon
- Pinky Siblio
- Julie Manzon
- Valerie
- Lorna Guibani
- Griff and Zaida Diaz
- Reggie and Iris Velasco
… In Thanksgiving: Manzon and Barayoga Families
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Lutgarda Sison Cortez
- Ong Chong Chong
- Joel Dingcong
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: Arnel Hernandez
- Birthday: Cheryl Baguiao
- Birthday: Charlene Blanche Yu
- Birthday: Jason P. Salvador
- Birthday: Dino Datu
- Birthday: Anjanette B. Tan
- Birthday: Marissa Gimbol
- Wedding Anniversary: Sheryl & Peter Lim Iii
- Prayer Intention: Denis & Cheloy Tan & Family
- In Memoriam (+): Geronimo Z. Velasco (Oct 6, 1927-July 16, 2007)+
- In Memoriam (+): Lim Giok Chat (1906-1987)
- In Memoriam (+): Alfredo C. Torres
… 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!

**************************************************

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