Wednesday, August 17, 2011

 

THURSDAY 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

AUGUST 18, 2011
MEMORIAL, BL ALBERTO HURTADO CRUCHAGA, PRIEST
THURSDAY 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Jgs 11:29-39 / Ps 40:5, 7-8, 8-9, 10 / Mt 22:1-14

JUDGES 11:29-39
The Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah. He went through Gilead and
Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and then entered the
territory of the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh: "If you
make me victorious, I shall sacrifice to you whoever first comes out
of my house to meet me when I return from battle. He shall be for
Yahweh and I shall offer him up through the fire." Jephthah crossed
the territory of the Ammonites to fight against them, and Yahweh gave
him victory. He pursued them from the city of Aroer to the entrance of
Minnith and Abel Keramim, seizing twenty towns. So he defeated the
Ammonites. When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came
out to meet him. She was so happy to see her father that she danced to
the sound of her tambourine. She was an only child; besides her he had
no other daughter or son. When Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes
and cried out, "My daughter, you have shattered me; you have brought
me misfortune. For I have made a foolish vow to Yahweh, and now I
cannot take it back." She answered him, "Father, even if you have made
such a foolish vow, you have to do to me just as you promised, for
Yahweh has avenged you and crushed your enemies. I only beg of you to
give me two months to live with my companions in the mountains. There
I shall lament because I will never marry." Jephthah said to her, "Go
then." And he sent her away for two months. She and her companions
went to the mountains and wept because she would never marry. At the
end of two months, she returned to her father and he fulfilled the vow
he had made. The young girl had never known a man. From this comes the
Israelite custom

MATTHEW 22:1-14
Jesus said: "A king celebrated the wedding of his son. He sent his
servants to call the invited guests to the wedding feast, but the
guests refused to come. "Again he sent other servants ordering them to
say to the invited guests: `I have prepared a banquet, slaughtered my
fattened calves and other animals, and now everything is ready; come
then, to the wedding feast.' But they paid no attention and went away,
While the rest seized the servants of the king, insulted them and
killed them. "The king became angry. He sent his troops to destroy
those murderers and burn their city. Then he said to his servants:
`The wedding banquet is prepared, but the invited guests were not
worthy. Go, then, to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to
the wedding feast.' The servants went out at once into the streets and
gathered everyone they found, good and bad alike, "The king came in to
see those who were at table, and he noticed a man not wearing the
festal garment. So he said to him: `Friend, how did you get in without
the wedding garment?' But the man remained silent. So the king said to
his servants: `Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the dark
where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Know that many are
called, but few are chosen."

REFLECTION
What does God ask each and everyone of us? The responsorial psalm
summarizes for us the life of Jesus: "Behold I come to do Your will."
Jesus tells us that the Law and the prophets can be summed up in the
law of Love – to love God with our whole heart, with our whole
strength, with our whole soul, with our whole mind; and to love our
neighbor as ourselves. God wants us to do His will which is summed up
in the law of Love.

The Kingdom of God here on earth is a celebration of the union of God
and each one of us. When we live in love, loving our God with our
whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind and our whole strength, we
experience joy beyond description. And when we refuse to heed the
invitation to be one with our Lord, to have a personal relationship of
love with him each time, we hurt God in so many ways, even "killing"
his servants.

In baptism we were consecrated to God. Like the daughter of Jepthah we
were consecrated by a vow made by our parents to live as his children
– to love God totally and our neighbor as ourselves. Our challenge
today is to live our vows, to fulfill our vows to the Lord.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Delores, Netta, Nick, Kurt & Barb
- Wilfredo Tadiosa
- Anna Limpe McAvoy
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Jonathan Salazar
- Wally Torres
- Mon Torres
… for the personal intentions of
- Fr. Sergio Dias
- Josheil Dapo
- Pauline
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- In Memoriam (+): Ngo Cahu (Mar 12, 1909-Aug 18, 1998)+
- In Memoriam (+): Vivencio A. Dizon
… 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!

**************************************************

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.
+================================================+

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WEDNESDAY 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

AUGUST 17, 2011
MEMORIAL, ST CLARE OF MONTEFALCO, FOUNDRESS
WEDNESDAY 20TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I

Jgs 9:6-15 / Ps 21:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 / Mt 20:1-16

JUDGES 9:6-15
Then all the lords of Shechem and the whole council assembled together
by the oak at the pillar in Shechem, and proclaimed Abimelech king.
When Jotham was told about this, he went to the top of Mount Gerizim.
There he cried out to them, "Listen to me, lords of Shechem, that God
may listen to you! The trees once set out to find and anoint a king.
They said to the olive tree, `Be our king.' The olive tree answered,
`Am I going to renounce the oil by which—thanks to me—gods and people
are honored, to hold sway over the trees?' The trees said to the fig
tree: `Come and reign over us.' The fig tree answered them, `Am I
going to renounce my sweetness and my delicious fruit, to hold sway
over the trees?' The trees said to the vine: `Come and reign over us.'
The vine answered, `Am I going to renounce my juice which cheers gods
and people to hold sway over the trees?' Then the trees said to the
bramble bush: `Come, reign over us.' The bramble bush answered the
trees, `If you come in sincerity to anoint me as your king, then come
near and take shelter in my shade; but if not, let fire break out of
the bramble bush to devour even the cedars of Lebanon.'

MATTHEW 20:1-16
Jesus said to his disciples, "A landowner went out early in the
morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay the workers
a salary of a silver coin for the day, and sent them to his vineyard.
He went out again at about nine in the morning, and seeing others idle
in the square, he said to them: `You, too, go to my vineyard and I
will pay you what is just.' So they went. The owner went out at midday
and again at three in the afternoon, and he did the same. Finally he
went out at the last working hour and he saw others standing there.
The master said: `Go and work in my vineyard.' When evening came, the
owner of the vineyard said to his manager: `Call the workers and pay
them their wage,' Those who had come to work at the eleventh hour
turned up and were given a denarius each (a silver coin). When it was
the turn of the first, they thought they would receive more. But they,
too, received a denarius each. So, on receiving it, they began to
grumble against the landowner. The owner said to one of them: `Friend,
I have not been unjust to you. Did we not agree on a denarius a day?
So take what is yours and go. I want to give to the last the same as I
give to you. Don't I have the right to do as I please with my money?
Why are you envious when I am kind?' "So will it be: the last will be
first, the first will be last."

REFLECTION
Many of us work tirelessly. We don't count the hours we put in just to
meet our deadlines. We often do what is expected without complaints.
At the end of the day, we receive no rewards, no kudos or a hearty
thank you. Then, comes along someone who receives the highest of all
praises just because that person was able to deliver one piece of the
work we have done. It is truly frustrating and it is not fair. Is this
what life is all about?

The many expectations we have about ourselves and others zap the joy
from entering our lives. Many times we are tangled up in our
obligations for the sake of simply fulfilling them. Therefore, when
others receive more, we tend to miss the point. We forget that we have
accomplished something worthwhile that makes life better for other
people, our families and ourselves. We forget to understand that our
work is done and that Jesus wants us now to celebrate the fruits of
our labor. We forget to stop and think of the extra blessings we
receive after being able to work.

Let us not miss the point. We have agreed to work and we have been
paid. Now it's time to be grateful.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Delores, Netta, Nick, Kurt & Barb
- Wilfredo Tadiosa
- Anna Limpe McAvoy
…In Thanksgiving: Nick & G
… for the personal intentions of
- Fr. Sergio Dias
- Josheil Dapo
… In Memoriam: Corazon Balares
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Ma Cecilia P. Navarro
- Birthday: Billie C. Syling
- Birthday: Aaron John Almazan
… 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!

**************************************************

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


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