DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 16, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST STEPHEN OF HUNGARY
TUESDAY 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Jgs 6:11-24 / Ps 85:9, 11-12, 13-14 / Mt 19:23-30

JUDGES 6:11-24
The Angel of Yahweh came and sat under the sacred tree at Ophrah,
which belonged to Joash, of the family of Abiezer. Gideon, the son of
Joash, was threshing the wheat in the winepress to hide it from the
Midianites. The Angel of Yahweh said to him, "Yahweh be with you,
valiant warrior." Gideon answered, "Please, my lord, if Yahweh is with
us, why is all this happening to us? Where are the wonders which our
fathers recounted to us? Did they not say that Yahweh led them up from
Egypt? Why has he abandoned us now and given us into the hands of the
Midianites?" Yahweh then turned to him and said, "Go, and with your
courage, save Israel from the Midianites. It is I who send you."
Gideon answered: "Pardon me, Lord, but how can I save Israel? My
family is the lowliest in my tribe and I am the least in the family of
my father." Yahweh said to him, "I will be with you and you shall
defeat the people of Midian with one single stroke." Gideon said to
him, "Please give me a sign that it is indeed you who speak. Do not
leave until I return with an offering and present it to you." Yahweh
responded, "I am going to wait for you here." Gideon went and prepared
a young goat, took a measure of flour and baked unleavened bread. He
put the broth in a pot and the meat in a basket, and went to present
them to the Angel under the tree. Then the Angel of God said to him,
"Take the meat and the bread; put them on this rock, and pour the
broth over them." Gideon did so. At that moment, the Angel of Yahweh
extended the staff he was holding and touched the meat and the bread.
Suddenly, fire blazed from the rock. The fire consumed the meat and
the bread, and the Angel of Yahweh disappeared. Gideon realized that
he was the Angel of Yahweh and said, "Alas, O Lord Yahweh! I have seen
the Angel of Yahweh face to face." But Yahweh said to him, "Peace be
with you. Do not fear for you shall not die." Gideon built an altar to
Yahweh in that place and called it Yahweh- Peace. To this day, it is
still in Ophrah of Abiezer.

MATTHEW 19:23-30
Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I say to you: it will be hard for
one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, believe me: it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the one
who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." On hearing this the
disciples were astonished and said, "Who, then, can be saved?" Jesus
looked steadily at them and answered, "For humans it is impossible,
but for God all things are possible." Then Peter spoke up and said,
"You see we have given up everything to follow you: what will be our
lot?" Jesus answered, "You who have followed me, listen to my words:
on the Day of Renewal, when the Son of Man sits on his throne in
glory, you, too, will sit on twelve thrones to rule the twelve tribes
of Israel. As for those who have left houses, brothers, sisters,
father, mother, children or property for my Name's sake, they will
receive a hundredfold and be given eternal life. Many who are now
first will be last, and many who are now last will be first."

REFLECTION
We often speak of detachment from earthly goods and riches whenever we
meditate this Gospel. But Jesus asks more than this: "And everyone who
has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land
for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also
inherit eternal life" (Mt 19:29). In our journey towards God, we must
ask ourselves: What do we have in our backpacks that are weighing us
down? Unhealthy relationships, bad habits, obsession with physical
beauty and health, ambitious pursuit of position and recognition,
preoccupation with TV and the internet, unrepented sin?

Complete abandonment to the will of God means abandoning a lifestyle
that is incongruent with a Christian life and giving up almost
anything that can diminish our time, effort and resources for doing
charitable work for our family, church and neighbor.

Let us use our God-given talents and blessings to do our daily work
conscientiously, help a friend in need, speak of God to someone who
needs encouragement, contribute to charity whatever we saved instead
of indulging, detach ourselves from the love of comfort and move a
step closer to the Kingdom of God.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Delores, Netta, Nick, Kurt &
Barb
…In Thanksgiving: Nick & G
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Aurelio Montinola
- Birthday: Norma B. Villegas
- Birthday: David S. Lim
- Birthday: Esperanza T. Lee
- Birthday: Janine Lin
- Birthday: Kristine Anne Villanueva
- Wedding Anniversary: Stewart & Susan Chongson
- In Memoriam (+): Vicente C. Aquino
… 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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