DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 30, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, BISHOP
SATURDAY 17TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Lv 25:1, 8-17 / Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8 / Mt 14:1-12

LEVITICUS 25:1, 8-17
Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: When seven sabbaths of years
have passed, that is, seven times seven years, there shall be the time
of the seven weeks of years, that is forty-nine years. Then on the
tenth day of the seventh month sound the trumpet loudly. On this Day
of Atonement sound the trumpet all through the land. Keep holy the
fiftieth year and proclaim freedom for all the inhabitants of the
land. It shall be a jubilation year for you when each one shall
recover his property and go back to his family. In this fiftieth year,
your year of Jubilee, you shall neither sow nor reap the after growth,
nor gather the grapes from the uncultivated vines. This Jubilee year
shall be holy for you, and you shall eat what the field yields of
itself without cultivation. In this year of Jubilee each of you shall
recover his own property. When you sell something to your neighbor or
buy something from him, do not wrong one another. According to the
number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy it from your neighbor
and according to the number of years left for harvesting crops he
shall sell to you. When the years are many the price shall be greater
and when the years are few the price shall be less, for it is the
number of crops that he is selling to you. So you shall not wrong one
another but you shall fear your God, for I am Yahweh, your God.

MATTHEW 14:1-12
On one occasion the news about Jesus reached King Herod. And he said
to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. John has risen from
the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him." Herod
had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put
in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For
John had said to him, "It is not right for you to have her as wife."
Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the
people who regarded John as a prophet. On Herod's birthday the
daughter of Herodias danced in the midst of the guests; she so
delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she
asked. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, "Give me
the head of John the Baptist here on a dish." The king was very
displeased, but because he had made this promise under oath in the
presence of the guests, he ordered it to be given her. So he had John
beheaded in prison and his head brought on a dish and given to the
girl. The girl then took it to her mother. Then John's disciples came
to take his body and bury it. And they went to bring the news to
Jesus.

REFLECTION
The story of the death of John the Baptist is full of human interest.
We can be fascinated by the dramatic story of the dance of Herodias'
daughter and Herod's foolish oath and the request of the girl to have
John the Baptist's head on a platter. The background to the story is
that Herod had married his brother's wife. In doing so, from the
viewpoint of the Jewish law, he committed two crimes. The first was
that he divorced his first wife without good reason. The second was
that he married his sister-in-law, which was a prohibited
relationship. John fearlessly criticized the king for his behavior and
so was thrown into prison. The reasons for Herod's conduct are
complex. Maybe, he disliked John because, at heart, he knew that what
John said was right. We do not like to be told that something we are
doing is wrong, especially if we are trying to deceive ourselves that
what we are doing is all right. Herod knew that John was a holy man
and did not want to execute him, but he was not prepared to admit his
guilt.

John paid the price for speaking the truth without fear. This is
something that we are all called to do, though probably in less
dramatic ways. We should speak up against injustice and wrongdoing
wherever we see it. In this we are imitating not only John the Baptist
but also Jesus himself, who was put to death for speaking the truth;
and we can be sure that Jesus will be with us as we try to be his
ambassadors in a world that is often hostile to Christian values.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Antonio Evangelista
- Gisselle, Rheinard, Leah
- G, Ben, Pam, Maria, Delores, Kristin, John C, Frank, Gene,Eugene R
… for the personal intentions of Trinna
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Wedding Anniversary: Jonathan & Virginia Ho Gotamco
- In Memoriam (+): Ma. Brigida R. Alagar
- In Memoriam (+): Arch Florencio K. Tan (Sep 22, 1918-Jul 30, 1998)+
… 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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