DAILY- HOMILY

JUNE 9, 2011
MEMORIAL, BL. JOSEPH DE ANCHIETA, PRIEST
THURSDAY 7TH WEEK OF EASTER – YEAR I

Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 / Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 / Jn 17:20-26

ACTS 22:30; 23:6-11
The next day the commander wanted to know for certain the charges the
Jews were making against Paul. So he released him from prison and
called together the High Priest and the whole Council; and they
brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul knew that part
of the Council were Sadducees and others Pharisees; so he spoke out in
the Council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee. It is for
the hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial here." At
these words, an argument broke out between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees and the whole assembly was divided. For the Sadducees claim
that there is neither resurrection, nor angels nor spirits, while the
Pharisees acknowledge all these things. Then the shouting grew louder,
and some teachers of the Law of the Pharisee party protested, "We find
nothing wrong with this man. Maybe a spirit or an angel has spoken to
him." With this the argument became so violent that the commander
feared that Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He therefore or
dered the soldiers to go down and rescue him from their midst and take
him back to the fortress. That night the Lord stood by Paul and said,
"Courage! As you have borne witness to me here in Jerusalem, so must
you do in Rome."

JOHN 17:20-26
Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed, "I pray not only for these but
also for those who through their word will believe in me. May they all
be one as you Father are in me and I am in you. May they be one in us;
so the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the
Glory you have given me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them
and you in me. Thus they shall reach perfection in unit y and the
world shall know that you have sent me and that I have loved them just
as you loved me. "Father, since you have given them to me, I want them
to be with me where I am and see the Glory you gave me, for you loved
me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world has
not known you but I have known you, and these have known that you have
sent me. As I revealed your Name to them, so will I continue to reveal
it, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I also
may be in them."

REFLECTION
Jesus prays to God for strength and unity among his disciples. He
knows that he is about to leave the world to return to the Father, so
he asks that his apostles receive the same gifts he had been given so
that they can continue his mission.

If the reader, or the prayer (to use Fr. Tom Green, S.J.'s term) were
to go through the whole chapter, he would notice the repetitiveness of
the message and intentions: "Father, my work is nearly done. Please be
with my friends; protect them and love them as you have loved me."

It is a heartbreaking prayer for someone who knows his end is near.
And as he also knows what each of his disciples will endure in pursuit
of their vocation, he must have agonized even more. It is very human
to want bad things to happen to one's self instead of watching loved
ones bear them. This very emphatic prayer gives us a glimpse of how
intimate the bond between Jesus and his apostles is. It is both
painful and beautiful: ultimately, he obeys his Father to be the
world's Sacrificial Lamb.

In all of his divinity, Jesus could only do as much as suffer and die
for us. He cannot dictate upon our free will to ensure that we all
enter God's kingdom. Thus, he repeatedly pleaded for God to understand
us, "to be one with us."

Are we one in Christ's prayer?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Pat, Chuck, Maria, Ben, Pam
- Ditas dela Paz
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Bert Villacorta
- Ely Lara
- Rita P. Cuerva
… for the personal intentions of
- Josheil Dapo
- Pauline
- Mary T
- Nick
- Veronica Yap
- Titong Villacorta
… In Memoriam: John Laurence Carpio
.. Birthday: Carmel Joan Carpio
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Bert Relatado. Eternal rest
grant unto him and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he and all
the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Alexis Tsoi
- Wedding Anniversary: Ted & Elisa Sta. Ana
- In Memoriam (+): Amada Deseo (Dec 2, 1908-Jun 9, 1985)+
- In Memoriam (+): Miguel C. Uy (Aug 4, 1931-Jun 9, 2003)+
… 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