Thursday, November 22, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. CECILIA
NOVEMBER 22, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. CECILIA
THURSDAY 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
Rv 5:1-10 / Lk 19:41-44
REVELATION 5:1-10
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written on both sides, sealed with seven seals. A mighty angel exclaimed in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open this and break the seals?" But no one in heaven or on earth or in the netherworld was found able to open the book and read it. I wept much when I saw that no one was found worthy to open the book and read it. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Shoot of David, has conquered; he will open the book of the seven seals." And I saw next to the throne with its four living creatures and the twenty-four elders a Lamb standing, although it had been slain. I saw him with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth. The Lamb moved forward and took the book from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed before the Lamb. They all held in their hands harps and golden cups full of incense which are the prayers of the holy ones. This is the new song they sang: You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you purchased for God people of every race, language and nation; and you made them a kingdom and priests for our God and they shall reign over the land.
LUKE 19:41-44
When Jesus had come in sight of the city, he wept over it, and said, "If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Yet days will come upon you, when your enemies will surround you with barricades, and shut you in, and press on you from every side. And they will dash you to the ground, and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone within you, for you did not recognize the time and the visitation of your God."
REFLECTION
The focus of today's Gospel is on the gift of free will, which God has given us. It allows us to choose how we spend our life on earth and in eternity. We see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem as he knows the destruction that will come to the city because its people will choose their own greed and pride over his message of salvation. Their lack of faith will mean devastation, but Jesus cannot stop it. He must allow them to make the choice and then live with the consequences.
These are harsh lessons. Yet they relate to many of the choices we must make every day. We may not be asked to defy the government, but we may be challenged to defy popular culture, our friends or our boss to follow God's command. How closely do we count the loss when we need to make such a choice? How well do we identify the consequences, in terms of our eternal life, when deciding on what is important to us?
Some people turn against God when God does not intervene to solve their problems or grant their desires or when the correct choice carries with it a serious consequence that is not to their liking. We may read the story of the persecution and death of Jesus and say that we would have been loyal to him to the end. Look back at the choices you have made in the past and see if any of them compromised God's mission for the sake of social acceptance, to keep peace in your family or to satisfy a personal hunger. God is a loving God, but he is not an easy God. He requires obedience and loyalty and gives us free will to obey or not to obey. The consequence then becomes our own doing.
In Jesus Christ we have a Savior who weeps over our misfortunes and whose blood, given on the cross, purchases each and every one of us for God on the condition that we acknowledge our sinfulness and return to His loving embrace.
Let us ask ourselves: Looking around our personal communities, is there a person or group of people that our heart weeps for?
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Mon Torres, Fleur Torres, Ditas dela Paz, Tony Guanzon, Karin, Lorraine
- Angel T. Uichanco, Anita Gatbonton, Alexander Cruz
- Renan Lacida and Josefa Ortiz
… for the personal intentions of
- Beny Chua
- Diane, Kristen, Delores, Mary Ann M, Elena, Johnnie, Ben & Nancy & Fr Larry
- Pauline
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Pedro Mata
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.
- Wedding Anniversary: Judith & Geraldo L. Yu
- In Memoriam (+): Yu Lim Giok Chang (1916-2005)+
- In Memoriam (+): Celso de las Alas
… 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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To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
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© 2012 Daily-Homily
MEMORIAL, ST. CECILIA
THURSDAY 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
Rv 5:1-10 / Lk 19:41-44
REVELATION 5:1-10
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written on both sides, sealed with seven seals. A mighty angel exclaimed in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open this and break the seals?" But no one in heaven or on earth or in the netherworld was found able to open the book and read it. I wept much when I saw that no one was found worthy to open the book and read it. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Look, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Shoot of David, has conquered; he will open the book of the seven seals." And I saw next to the throne with its four living creatures and the twenty-four elders a Lamb standing, although it had been slain. I saw him with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth. The Lamb moved forward and took the book from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders bowed before the Lamb. They all held in their hands harps and golden cups full of incense which are the prayers of the holy ones. This is the new song they sang: You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, for you were slain and by your blood you purchased for God people of every race, language and nation; and you made them a kingdom and priests for our God and they shall reign over the land.
LUKE 19:41-44
When Jesus had come in sight of the city, he wept over it, and said, "If only today you knew the ways of peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Yet days will come upon you, when your enemies will surround you with barricades, and shut you in, and press on you from every side. And they will dash you to the ground, and your children with you, and not leave stone upon stone within you, for you did not recognize the time and the visitation of your God."
REFLECTION
The focus of today's Gospel is on the gift of free will, which God has given us. It allows us to choose how we spend our life on earth and in eternity. We see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem as he knows the destruction that will come to the city because its people will choose their own greed and pride over his message of salvation. Their lack of faith will mean devastation, but Jesus cannot stop it. He must allow them to make the choice and then live with the consequences.
These are harsh lessons. Yet they relate to many of the choices we must make every day. We may not be asked to defy the government, but we may be challenged to defy popular culture, our friends or our boss to follow God's command. How closely do we count the loss when we need to make such a choice? How well do we identify the consequences, in terms of our eternal life, when deciding on what is important to us?
Some people turn against God when God does not intervene to solve their problems or grant their desires or when the correct choice carries with it a serious consequence that is not to their liking. We may read the story of the persecution and death of Jesus and say that we would have been loyal to him to the end. Look back at the choices you have made in the past and see if any of them compromised God's mission for the sake of social acceptance, to keep peace in your family or to satisfy a personal hunger. God is a loving God, but he is not an easy God. He requires obedience and loyalty and gives us free will to obey or not to obey. The consequence then becomes our own doing.
In Jesus Christ we have a Savior who weeps over our misfortunes and whose blood, given on the cross, purchases each and every one of us for God on the condition that we acknowledge our sinfulness and return to His loving embrace.
Let us ask ourselves: Looking around our personal communities, is there a person or group of people that our heart weeps for?
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Mon Torres, Fleur Torres, Ditas dela Paz, Tony Guanzon, Karin, Lorraine
- Angel T. Uichanco, Anita Gatbonton, Alexander Cruz
- Renan Lacida and Josefa Ortiz
… for the personal intentions of
- Beny Chua
- Diane, Kristen, Delores, Mary Ann M, Elena, Johnnie, Ben & Nancy & Fr Larry
- Pauline
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Pedro Mata
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.
- Wedding Anniversary: Judith & Geraldo L. Yu
- In Memoriam (+): Yu Lim Giok Chang (1916-2005)+
- In Memoriam (+): Celso de las Alas
… 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
© 2012 Daily-Homily
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 4:51 AM 
