DAILY- HOMILY

APRIL 10, 2011
5TH SUNDAY OF LENT – A

Ez 37:12-14 / Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 / Rom 8:8-11 / Jn 11:1-45 or
11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33-45

EZEKIEL 37:12-14
This is what Yahweh says, "I am going to open your tombs, I shall
bring you out of your tombs, my people, and lead you back to the land
of Israel. You will know that I am Yahweh, O my people! when I open
your graves and bring you out of your graves, when I put my spirit in
you and you live. I shall settle you in your land and you will know
that I, Yahweh, have done what I said I would do."

ROMANS 8:8-11
Brothers and sisters, those walking according to the flesh cannot
please God. Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit,
because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the
Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to him. But Christ is within
you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the
spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead is within you, He who raised Jesus Christ from among the
dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, he will do it
through his Spirit who dwells within you.

JOHN 11:1-45
Martha and Mary sent this message to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is
sick." On hearing this Jesus said, "This illness will not end in
death; rather it is for God's glory and the Son of God will be
glorified through i t." It is a fact that Jesus loved Martha and her
sister and Lazarus; yet, after he heard of the illness of Lazarus, he
stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Only then did he say
to his disciples, "Let us go into Judea again." They replied, "Master,
recently the Jews wanted to stone you. Are you going there again?"
Jesus said to them, "Are not twelve working hours needed to complete a
day? Those who walk in the day time shall not stumble, for they see
the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, for
there is no light in them." After that Jesus said to them, "Our friend
Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him." The disciples
replied, "Lord, a sick person who sleeps will recover." But Jesus had
referred to Lazarus' death, while they thought that he had meant the
repose of sleep. So Jesus said plainly, "Lazarus is dead and for your
sake I am glad I was not there, for now you may believe. But let us go
there, where he is." Then Thomas called the Twin, said to his fellow
disciples, "Let us also go that we may die with him." When Jesus came,
he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. As Bethany
is near Jerusalem, about two miles away, many Jews had come to Martha
and Mary to offer consolation at their brother's death. When Martha
heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him while Mary remained
sit ting in the house. And she said to Jesus, "If you had been here,
my brother would not have died. But I know that whatever you ask from
God, God will give you." Jesus said, "Your brother will rise again."
Martha replied, "I know that he will rise in the resurrection, at the
last day." But Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection; whoever
believes in me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes
in me will never die. Do you believe this?" Martha then answered,
"Yes, Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of
God, he who is coming into the world." As for Mary, when she came, she
fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother
would not have died." Then he asked, "Where have you laid him?" They
answered, "Lord, come and see." And Jesus wept. The Jews said, "See
how he loved him!" But some of them said, "If he could open the eyes
of the blind man, could he not have kept this man from dying?" Jesus
was deeply moved again and drew near to the tomb. It was a cave with a
stone laid across it. Jesus ordered, "Take the stone away." Martha
said to him, "Lord, by now he will smell, for this is the fourth day."
Jesus replied, "Have I not told you that if you believe, you will see
the glory of God?" So they removed the stone. Jesus lifted up his eyes
and said, "Father, I thank you for you have heard me. I knew that you
hear me always; but my prayer was for the sake of these people, that
they may believe that you sent me." When Jesus had said this, he cried
out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his
hands and feet bound with linen strips and his face wrapped in a
cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

REFLECTION
We are alive if our life is shaped of love: if our life is centered
not on ourselves, but on a whole little world around us. We are alive
if joy suffuses our whole self – a joy that lends joy to all we touch.
We are alive if we are at peace – at peace with ourselves, at peace
with our sisters and brothers. We are alive if we are patient: if we
can take the slings and arrows of each day with a measure of calm,
with a minimum of complaint. We are alive if we are kind, not only to
our own kind, but to such as bore us to tears. We are alive if we are
generous – not only liberal in giving, a free spender and not a
freeloader, but free from meanness of mind, from smallness of spirit.
We are alive if we are faithful: if we are full of faith in God and
our fellows, if we inspire faith and trust in others. We are alive if
we are gentle: if we are caring, courteous, and considerate. We are
alive if we are in control – not of others but ourselves, master of
whatever passions make us less human, less a mirror of the Christ in
whose image we were molded.

This is what is meant by "to be alive in the Spirit," to be fully
alive. Does it sound impossible? The glorious thing about life in the
Spirit is that it is a gift. It is the Spirit who brings us to life,
if only we want to come alive, if we ask for it with all our heart.

The Christian Gospel, the "good news" is not simply that we are alive
now; the good news is that we are destined to be alive forever. That
promise spans our entire life. It began when water was poured on our
head in baptism and the Lord Jesus made us not merely members of an
earthbound human race, but heir of heaven. It is repeated every
Sunday, day after day, when our body and spirit are charged not with
bare symbols but with the Bread of immortality. The promise courses
through our very veins at this very moment, the pledge of days without
end: "If [you] love me, my Father will love [you], and we will come to
[you] and make our home with [you]." Today's grace is our pledge of
tomorrow's glory.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Marge, Pat, Chuck, Gene, Frank, Maria, Kristin, KD, Alex
- Jo Marcelo, Jun Lee, Allen P.
- Mrs. Borja
… for the personal intentions of:
- Andrew
- Nick
- Josheil Dapo
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Fr. Rodolfo Valdes, SJ
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: Ederlyn G. Basit
- Birthday: Imelda Cunanan Inocentes
- Birthday: Miggy N. Morabe
- Birthday: Avelina VS Mallonga
- Wedding Anniversary: Barbara & David Lim
… 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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