DAILY- HOMILY

AUGUST 11, 2012
SATURDAY 18TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
MEMORIAL, ST CLARE; BLESSED JOHN HENRY NEWMAN

Hb 1:12-2:4 / Mt 17:14-20

HEBREWS 1:12-2:4
You will fold them like a cloak and change them. You, on the contrary, are always the same and your years will never end. God never said to any of his angels: Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet. For all these spirits are only servants, and God sends them to help those who shall be saved. So we must pay the closest attention to the preaching we heard, lest we drift away. If words spoken through angels became law and all disobedience or neglect received its due reward, how could we now escape if we neglect such powerful salvation? For the Lord himself announced it first and it was later confirmed by those who heard it. God confirmed their testimony by signs, wonders and miracles of every kind—especially by the gifts of the Holy Spirit that he distributed according to his will.

MATTHEW 17:14-20
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus, knelt before him and said, "Sir, have pity on my son, who is an epileptic and suffers terribly. He has often fallen into the fire, and at other times into the water. I brought him to your disciples but they could not heal him." Jesus replied, "You faithless and disoriented people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed. The disciples then gathered around Jesus and asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive out the spirit?" Jesus said to them, "Because you have little faith. I say to you: if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible to you.

REFLECTION
In today's Gospel, the disciples fail to drive out the demon that possesses the boy. They wouldn't have tried to drive the demon out of the boy had they not believed that they had the ability to do so. This implies a faith in themselves and their ability, but not a faith in the Lord's power.

Oftentimes, we find ourselves in the disciples' scenario: over-confident, forgetting God, forgetting that our abilities have been gifts from the Lord. Having become wealthy and successful in our careers, we begin to think that we are capable of anything; that our success was driven solely by our own abilities and they were not from God. As a result, often we forget to thank the Lord.

The Gospel today reminds us that all that we have is from God; it is through genuine faith in Him that we are able to overcome whatever challenges come our way. For it is when we have a genuine faith that we find every challenge an opportunity to open ourselves to God and experience His everlasting love for us.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, SJ
- Kathy
- Ananias
… In Memoriam: Lilia Gulapa Payawal
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Alberto Almoroto. 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: Enrique G. Cunanan
… 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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