Monday, March 07, 2011

 

MEMORIAL, ST. PERPETUA AND ST. FELICITY, MARTYRS

MARCH 7, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST. PERPETUA AND ST. FELICITY, MARTYRS
MONDAY 9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Tb 1:1, 2; 2:1-9 / Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 / Mk 12:1-12

TOBIT 1:1, 2; 2:1-9
This is the story of Tobit son of Tobiel, son of Ananiel, son of
Adonel, son of Gabael of the race of Asiel, of the tribe of Naphtali.
In the days of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, Tobit was deported from
Thisbe, which is to the south of Kedesh of Naphtali in Galilee, above
Asher. When I returned to my house, my wife Anna and my son Tobias
were given back to me. At the feast of Pentecost, the sacred feast of
the Seven Weeks, they prepared a good meal for me and I sat down to
eat. I saw the many dishes and said to my son: "Go and bring as many
as you can find of our relatives who are in need and who remember the
Lord. I will wait here for them." When Tobias returned, he said:
"Father, one of ours has been strangled and thrown into the public
square." Before I ate anything I hurried out and carried this man into
the house and waited till sunset to bury him. When I returned home I
washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. I remembered the prophecy
which Amos uttered against Bethel: "Your feasts will be turned into
mourning. All your songs will be turned into lamentations," and I
wept. After sunset I went out and, after I had dug a trench, I buried
the man. My neighbors mocked me, saying: "He no longer fears to be put
to death for doing that; he had to flee but look he is again burying
the dead." That same night, after I had buried the body, I returned
home. I washed myself and went out into the courtyard to sleep against
the wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat.

MARK 12:1-12
Using parables, Jesus went on to say, "A man planted a vineyard, put a
fence around it, dug a hole for the wine press and built a watch
tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenants and went abroad. "In due
time he sent a servant to receive from the tenants his share of the
fruit. But they seized the servant, struck him and sent him back empty-
handed. Again the man sent another servant. They also struck him on
the head and treated him shamefully. He sent another and they killed
him. In the same way they treated many others; some they struck and
others they killed. One was still left, his beloved son. And so, last
of all, he sent him to the tenants, for he said: `They will respect my
son.' "But those tenants said to one another: `This is the one who is
to inherit the vineyard. Let's kill him and the property will be
ours.' So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the
vineyard. Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come
and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others." And Jesus
added, "Have you not read this text of the Scriptures: The stone which
the builders rejected has become the keystone. This was the Lord's
doing; and we marvel at it." They wanted to arrest him for they
realized that Jesus meant this parable for them, but they were afraid
of the crowd. So they left him and went away.

REFLECTION
The Gospel today is another parable, where a man planted a vineyard.
He prepared everything needed so that the one to take charge of it
would be able to make full use of it and have a bountiful harvest. Yet
the tenants instead of expressing gratitude allowed their hearts to be
filled with hatred and envy that they treated each and every emissary,
including the owner's beloved son, with shame and violence. Sometimes
we find ourselves at a point of having the same negative attitude.
Yet, Jesus in the parable teaches us another way…a way of peace and
love for others.

Wanting to follow Jesus, we can take a look at how we, as citizens,
respond to the plans of our good leaders. Perhaps it is time that we
fulfill our responsibilities to make good things happen. In our own
life, let us look at the times when we fail to recognize the good
heart of the Father and instead choose not to cooperate and even
reject a deeper relationship with him.

The Father, in His love for us, only wants a life that will help us
realize a grace filled life in Him. In freedom we have the option to
accept this with gratitude in our hearts or to reject and lose the
very life offered to us.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Nel de Leon
- Rita P. Cuerva
- Ely Lara
- Bert Villacorta
- Lydia Pe
- Juday Pe
- Marge, Pam, Maria, KD, Kristin, Alex, John C & Mary T
… for the personal intentions of Titong V.
.. Birthday: Reggie Lim
… for the eternal repose of the souls of Bill L, Marge G, Jimmy, Kathy
& John M. 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.
… 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.
+================================================+

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© 2011 Daily-Homily


 

TUESDAY 9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

MARCH 8, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST. JOHN OF GOD, RELIGIOUS
TUESDAY 9TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Tb 2:9-14 / Ps 112:1-2, 7-8, 9 / Mk 12:13-17

TOBIT 2:9-14
That same night, after I had buried the body, I returned home. I
washed myself and went out into the courtyard to sleep against the
wall; my face was uncovered because of the heat. I did not see that
there were sparrows on the wall of the courtyard and, as my eyes were
open, the hot droppings from the sparrows fell into my eyes and formed
a white film on my eyes. I went to find doctors to attend to me for
medical treatment but the more ointments they smeared on my eyes, the
more blind I became because of the film. Finally I became totally
blind. I suffered from blindness for four years. All my brothers were
burdened because of me. Ahikar kept me for two years before he
departed for Elymiade. My wife Anna worked hard at a woman's task,
weaving. On the seventh day of the month of March she cut the cloth
and delivered it to her employers. They paid her wages and gave her,
over and above, a young goat for food. When she returned home the kid
began to cry. I said to her, "Where does the little kid come from? Did
you steal it? Return it to its owners for we are not allowed to eat
anything that is stolen." But she said, "It is a gift which has been
given to me in addition to my wages." "I don't believe it. I tell you
to return it to its owners." I was ashamed of her. She replied, "What
about your own almsgiving and your good deeds? I have to put up with
all this from you."

MARK 12:13-17
Jewish leaders sent to Jesus some Pharisees with members of Herod's
par t y, with the purpose of trapping him in his own words. They came
and said to Jesus, "Master, we know that you are true; you are not
influenced by anyone, and your answers do not vary according to who is
listening to you but you truly teach God's way. Tell us, is it against
the Law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?" But Jesus
saw through their trick and answered, "Why are you testing me? Bring
me a silver coin and let me see it." They brought him one and Jesus
asked, "Whose head is this, and whose name?" They answered,
"Caesar's." Then Jesus said, "Return to Caesar what is Caesar's, and
to God what is God's." And they were greatly astonished.

REFLECTION
The mission of Jesus to bring the message of God's love to the world
was an uphill battle fought against the condemnation coming from the
religious leaders of the Jews. Death threats followed him as he made
his way across Palestine preaching the Good News.

The Pharisees specially were on a mission – to trap Jesus into
publicly declaring opinions that would cause him to be sentenced to
death. They first resorted to flattery, ostentatiously to keep Jesus
off-guard for the loaded question to follow: "Is it right to pay taxes
to Rome or not?"

A sly question, a double-edged sword from which they thought no escape
was possible. If Jesus said "Yes" he would be betraying his own
people, the Jews, who would then consider him a traitor. If he said
"No" they could have the Romans declare him a revolutionary, deserving
death.

Jesus saw through their treachery and asked to be shown a Roman coin.
He questions – "Whose picture and title are on it?" They reply: "The
Emperor's." And Jesus rebukes them with the incomparable wit of
divinity. "Therefore give to the Emperor what is his and everything
else that belongs to God must be given to God."

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Nel de Leon
- Rita P. Cuerva
- Ely Lara
- Bert Villacorta
- Lydia Pe
- Juday Pe
- Marge, Pam, Maria, KD, Kristin, Alex, John C & Mary T
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
… for the personal intentions of Titong V.
… for the eternal repose of the souls of Bill L, Marge G, Jimmy, Kathy
& John M. 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: Lanny Nañagas
- In Memoriam (+): Francisco T. Ong Sr.
… 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


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