DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 24, 2011
17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – A

1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12 / Ps 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130 / Rom
8:28-30 / Mt 13:44-52 or 13:44-46

1 KINGS 3:5, 7-12
Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask what you want me
to give you." Solomon answered, "O Yahweh my God, you have made your
servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a young
boy who does not know how to under take any thing. Meantime, your
servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen—a people
so great that they can neither be numbered nor counted. Give me,
therefore, an understanding mind in governing your people that I may
discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this
multitude of people of yours?" Yahweh was pleased that Solomon had
made this request. And he told him, "Because you have requested this
rather than long life or wealth or even vengeance on your enemies;
indeed, because you have asked for yourself understanding to discern
what is right, I shall grant you your request. I now give you a wise
and discerning mind such as no one has had before you nor anyone af
ter you shall ever have."

ROMANS 8:28-30
Brothers and sisters, we know that in everything God works for the
good of those who love him, whom he has called according to his plan.
Those whom he knew beforehand, he has also predestined to be like his
Son, similar to him, so that he may be the Firstborn among many
brothers and sisters. And so, those whom God predestined he called,
and those whom he called he makes righteous, and to those whom he
makes righteous he will give his Glory.

MATTHEW 13:44-52
Jesus said to the crowds, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure
hidden in a field. The one who finds it buries it again; and so happy
is he, that he goes and sells everything he has, in order to buy that
field. Again the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who is looking for
fine pearls. Once he has found a pearl of exceptional quality, he goes
away, sells everything he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of
heaven is like a big fishing net let down into the sea, in which ever
y kind of fish has been caught. When the net is full, it is dragged
ashore. Then they sit down and gather the good fish in buckets, but
throw the worthless ones away. That is how it will be at the end of
time; the angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just and
throw them into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and gnash
their teeth." Jesus asked, "Have you understood all these things?"
"Yes," they answered. So he said to them, "You will see that every
teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom is like a
householder who can produce from his store things both new and old."

REFLECTION
The Gospel reading is about the parables of the hidden treasure and
the pearl of great price. In the first parable, the man found a
treasure hidden in a field. He must have deliberately searched for it
although what it was or where he could find it might not be very clear
to him at first. But what was clear to him was that he was in search
of something, a treasure. His actual encounter with the treasure was
the moment of truth for him. There and then he knew it was what he was
looking for. After deciding that this was what he wanted more than
anything, he let go of other things he had in order to acquire that
which was most precious to him.

In the second parable, the merchant looking for the pearl was as
deliberate although more focused than the one looking for the treasure
in the field. He knew exactly what he was looking for – the pearl of
great price. He might have encountered other pearls before, but
because he knew what he wanted, he continued on his search until
finally he settled with finality with the pearl most precious to him.

The kingdom of God is like the true treasure one is searching for. He
will not stop until the treasure is found. The true treasure is where
the hear t is most at peace. There lies in the true treasure what God
wants for his people. When the treasure or pearl of great price is
found, the finder should value it with his life and make the treasure
the reason for his existence. He is to protect and preserve the
treasure because it is what will give direction to his life. It is a
gift to him from God. And so, there should be no half measures in
taking care of the gift given by God. And God in his wisdom will help
the one looking for the true treasure to find it because it is what
will make his life charged with purpose and meaning, and that is what
God wants for us.

The life of the Christian is a search for the true treasure so that
hopefully when he finds it, he may have peace and serenity and joy in
the heart. But more often than not, we find out it is not an easy
search. There are so many treasures in the world vying for our
attention, each offering us all sorts of promises of satisfaction and
happiness Some of these supposed to be treasures make us even more
restless especially when we jealously cling to them. They do not give
us peace, yet we cannot seem to let go of them. And because they are
not the true treasures for us, we have invested wrongly on them and
much of our time and energy are wasted pursuing these things which do
not really help us grow as persons.

Some people pursue worldly honor and glory. Others pursue wealth
obsessively. Still others pursue greatness and power. They spend a lot
of time and energy acquiring these things and eventually get stuck on
them. We know that they are not true treasures because those who
possess them are not genuinely happy and free because they live in
constant pressure and suspicion and mistrust in other people. They
even dehumanize other people in the process.

The Gospel therefore reminds us to seek the true treasure and to
really put our hearts on where our true treasure lies. The true
treasure is willed by God and so it is what makes us fully human. It
is said that the deepest desire of the human heart is God's will.
God's will and man's deepest desire converge and come together in the
human heart. After all, what guides our deepest desire is the Spirit
of God who teaches us to pray. And the true prayer of the heart is the
expression of God's will. God's will is what brings us to the true
treasure in life. It is God's will, responded to by the best choices
and honest decisions we make, that gathers for us true treasures.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Wendy McClintock
- Ananias and Cornelia
… for the personal intentions of Ong family
… In Thanksgiving: for the Condor Family. Celestino M. Condor, Rosa
Maria V. Condor, Richard V. Condor, Vimla B. Condor, Viennah B.
Condor, Robert Dominic B. Condor, Raphael David B. Condor, Rophi
Dennish B. Condor, & Richard Daniel B. Condor
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Felixberto Valdez. 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: Alfredo C. Sumala
- Birthday: Benita Yao Sio Eng
- Birthday: Yvette Tan
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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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