DAILY- HOMILY

FEBRUARY 24, 2011
THURSDAY 7TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Sir 5:1-8 / Ps 1:1-2, 3-4, 6 / Mk 9:41-50

SIRACH 5:1-8
Do not rely on your wealth. Do not say, "I am self-sufficient." Do not
let yourself be carried away by greed and violence; they would make
you their slave. Do not say, "Who can stop me?" For the Lord has power
to punish you. Do not say, "I have sinned and nothing has happened!"
For the Lord bides his time. Do not be so sure of pardon when you are
heaping sin upon sin. Do not say, "His compassion is great! He will
forgive the vast number of my sins!" For with him is mercy but also
anger; his fury will be poured out on sinners. Do not delay your
return to the Lord, do not put it off from day to day. For suddenly
the anger of the Lord will blaze forth and you will perish on the day
of reckoning. Do not rely on riches wrongfully acquired for they will
be of no use to you on the day of wrath.

MARK 9:41-50
If anyone gives you a drink of water because you belong to Christ and
bear his name, truly, I say to you, he will not go without reward. If
anyone should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to
stumble and sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea
with a great millstone around his neck. If your hand makes you fall
into sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a
hand than with two hands to go to hell, to the fire that never goes
out. And if your foot makes you fall into sin, cut it off! It is
better for you to enter life without a foot than with both feet to be
thrown into hell. And if your eye makes you fall into sin, tear it
out! It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye
than, keeping both eyes, to be thrown into hell where the worms that
eat them never die, and the fire never goes out. The fire itself will
preserve them. Salt is a good thing; but if it loses its saltiness,
how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at
peace with one another."

REFLECTION
Jesus commends those who are kind to others because of Christ, but he
rebukes those who lead others to commit sin. In detailed explanation
Jesus tells his apostles and all of us that we have to make the
difference. How?

We have to remove the cause of our downfall. He enumerates examples
such as cutting off, tearing out a part of ourselves that leads us
away from God. However, a part of us does not act independently. We
the whole being are responsible. These are all gifts given to us for a
good purpose. But at times we use them not to glorify the giver but
the receiver.

Hence Jesus tells all of us that we will all be salted with fire
(verse 4-7). If we use salt we preserve the food from being spoiled.
To preserve with fire would even be different. Fire burns and changes
the matter. What does that mean for us Christians? Verse 50 states
that if salt becomes insipid, how can it regain its nature? It is only
God who can preserve us from sin. The salting can come in different
forms but if we remain steadfast in our faith in God Jesus assures us
of a reward. Surely the Lord will help us to be the salt.

As Christians, God wants us to love each other as brothers and sisters
because we are all His children. We should not allow the evil spirit
to divide us. Loving and caring for our less fortunate brothers and
sisters is the best way of showing God how much we love Him because
this is what Jesus taught us in his life time.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
.. healings for: Marge, Gene, Frank, KDTX, Kristen MS, Maria PA, Alex
& Mrs T
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
… for the personal intentions of
- Josheil Dapo
- Cherie Torres
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Maye Anthoniette Yao Co Say
- Birthday: Roberto Cristobal Nazal
- Birthday: Maye Anthoniette Y. Co Say
- In Memoriam (+): Marie O'Ggorman
… 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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