DAILY- HOMILY

MARCH 30, 2011
WEDNESDAY 3RD WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I

Dt 4:1, 5-9 / Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 / Mt 5:17-19

DEUTERONOMY 4:1, 5-9
And now, Israel, listen to the norms and laws which I teach that you
may put them into practice. And you will live and enter and take
possession of the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, gives
you. See, as Yahweh, my God, ordered me, I am teaching you the norms
and the laws that you may put them into practice in the land you are
going to enter and have as your own. If you observe and practice them,
other peo¬ples will regard you as wise and intelligent. When they come
to know of all these laws, they will say, "There is no people as wise
and as intelligent as this great nation." For in truth, is there a
nation as great as ours, whose gods are as near to it as Yahweh, our
God, is to us whenever we call upon him? And is there a nation as
great as ours whose norms and laws are as just as this Law which I
give you today? But be careful and be on your guard. Do not forget
these things which your own eyes have seen nor let them depart from
your heart as long as you live. But on the contrary, teach them to
your children and to your children's children.

MATTHEW 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not think that I have come to remove
the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to remove but to fulfill
them. I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the
smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is
fulfilled. "So then, whoever breaks the least important of these
commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in
the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, whoever obeys them and
teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven."

REFLECTION
Do we follow edicts? Do we practice good citizenship? Do we respect
the norms of society out of love of country or out of fear of
punishment? The general argument when it comes to maintaining peace
and order in our land is that we have enough laws, but we lack strict
enforcement. That's why reckless motorists fearlessly beat the red
light; apathetic pedestrians blatantly jaywalk; and our poor
neighborhoods reek from the stench of uncollected garbage. We are a
mess not because we lack guidelines. It's just that no one bothers to
follow them and stand by them.

Some public utility vehicles don't care if they're causing a traffic
jam as long as they're able to pick up passengers on their route. Even
if corrupt practices are frowned upon, they seem to be more the norm
than the exception. One cannot legislate good behavior unless it
starts from within.

That's why Jesus came to fulfill the spirit of each letter of the law
through love. When we look after the welfare of each other, maybe we
won't want to cut each other off or run over each other when the
street begins to look like a parking lot. Maybe we'll learn to
segregate and dispose our garbage properly because we want to save the
planet. Maybe when we see Christ in the other, we will serve that
person to the best of our abilities.

Let's pray that love fulfills all our aspirations and desires for a
more just, more free, more decent country in our lifetime for our sake
and definitely, for our children's sake.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Helen Marx
- Tessa C. Yang
- Gabriela Garber, Bruce Clyde, Molly DeSimone, Nestle Joy Escaro,
Carol K., Lori Ramalho, Diane Hayes, Maria Martin Asunsion, Jody
Bruno, Gerald Stutts, Patrick Wheeler, Mike Grady, Fr. Patrick McHugh,
Robert Bohne Atticus, Charlie, Stephanie Boen, Deanne, Gerald
McClellan, Angela, John Sinclare, Honga Yap
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
… for the personal intentions of:
- Glenda Bisco, Estelita Manzanilla, Julie Manzon, Glenn Dale Manzon,
John Dale Manzon, Glenn Manzon
- Mary Wong
… Thanksgiving: Manzon Family and Barayoga Family
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Sister Bertilla, Muriel Cullen, Sarah Bingham, Sr. Mary Roth, Baby
Caylee, Linda Tamborino, Paul Reed, Anita Fuller, Freddie Rincon,
Carlton Hokama, Rosendo Vivdanes, Darren George's mother, Harold
Figueroa, Dennis Daniel, Nadine Williams, Ron Olguin, Doris Guzman,
Fred Truitt, Louie DeLeva, John Rose, Ronald Weurch, Harold Cochran,
Annie May Ishman, and Msgr Michael Lenihan
- Josefina Hong
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: Victoria Faicol
- Birthday: Vima M. Mendoza
- Birthday: Qit Abola
- In Memoriam (+): Dr. Pura Borja Gonzales
… 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