DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 9, 2011
TUESDAY 19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Dt 31:1-8 / Dt 32:3-4, 7, 8, 9, 12 / Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

DEUTERONOMY 31:1-8
When Moses finished telling all Israel these words, he said, "I am now
a hundred and twenty years old and I can no longer deal with anything—
Remember that Yahweh told me that I shall not cross the Jordan River.
Now Joshua shall be at your head, as Yahweh has said. He, your God,
will go before you to destroy these nations before you, and you will
drive them away. Yahweh shall deal with these cities as he dealt with
Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and their land, which he destroyed.
So when he has given these nations over to you, you shall do the same,
according to what I have commanded you. Be valiant and strong, do not
fear or tremble before them for Yahweh, your God, is with you; he will
not leave you or abandon you." After this, Moses called Joshua and
said to him in the presence of all Israel: "Be valiant and strong, you
shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh swore to their
ancestors he would give them and you shall give it to them as their
possession. Yahweh shall go before you. He shall be with you; he shall
not leave you or abandon you. Do not fear, then, or be discouraged."

MATTHEW 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?" Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in
the midst of the disciples, and said, "I assure you that unless you
change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom
of heaven. Whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in
the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in my name
receives me. "See that you do not despise any of these little ones,
for I tell you: their angels in heaven continually see the face of my
heavenly Father. "What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred
sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the
hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you: when he
finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-
nine that did not get lost. It is the same with your Father in heaven:
there they don't want even one of these lit tle ones to be lost."

REFLECTION
Have you ever wondered why, in his teachings about the Kingdom of God,
Jesus always used children and sheep? Even Jesus Christ himself, the
Son of the Most High, is the Lamb of God. A child will always be
completely dependent on his parents for his needs and will always have
this unwavering trust in them. A child who is separated from his
parents will feel lost and insecure and his survival is compromised. A
sheep is also completely dependent and trusting towards its master. A
sheep that is about to be slaughtered will not attempt to run away
even if someone opens the gate to set it free. It will not move from
its place unless it is led out by its master. The unconditional love,
loyalty, faith and confidence they show towards their keepers (the
child towards his parents, the sheep towards the shepherd) makes them
so endearing and vulnerable. Their innocence and littleness make them
big in God's eyes.

God calls on us today to come before Him as the child that we are and
in our littleness, we magnify His infinite greatness, mercy and love.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Ulysses Yap. 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: Lourdes B. Baretto
- Birthday: Belinda Vergel
… 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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