DAILY- HOMILY

JANUARY 12, 2012
THURSDAY 1ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

1 Sm 4:1-11 / Mk 1:40-45, Green

1 SAMUEL 4:1-11
At that time Samuel was a prophet of Israel. The Israelites went out
to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, while
the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines then drew up in
battle formation. They attacked Israel and after a fierce struggle,
Israel was defeated, leaving about four thousand men dead on the
battlefield. When the troops retreated to their camp, the elders of
Israel asked, "Why has Yahweh allowed us to be defeated by the
Philistines? Let us take the Ark of God from Shiloh and bring it here
so that Yahweh may be with us and save us from our enemies." So the
people sent messengers to Shiloh to take the Ark of Yahweh who is
seated on the cherubim. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phi ne has,
accompanied the Ark. As soon as the Ark of Yahweh entered the camp,
the Israelites began to cheer so loudly that the earth resounded. The
Philistines heard the shouting and asked, "What does this loud shout
in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" And they were told that the Ark of
Yahweh had been brought to the camp. The Philistines were overcome
with fear. They exclaimed, "A god has come into the camp. Woe to us!
For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can save us
from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the
Egyptians with all sorts of plagues—and in the desert. Take courage
and conduct yourselves like men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves
to the Hebrews the way they have been slaves to you. Be manly and
fight." So the Philistines fought and Isra el was defeated. Everyone
fled to his home. It was a disastrous defeat; thirty thousand foot
soldiers of Israel were killed. The Ark of God was captured and the
two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

MARK 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and begged him, "If you want to, you can make me
clean." Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him,
saying, "I do want to; be clean." The leprosy left the man at once and
he was made clean. As Jesus sent the man away, he sternly warned him,
"Don't tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest,
and for the cleansing bring the offering ordered by Moses; in this way
you will give to them your testimony." However, as soon as the man
went out, he began spreading the news everywhere, so that Jesus could
no longer openly enter any town. But even though he stayed in the
rural areas, people came to him from everywhere.

REFLECTION
Today's Gospel describes the leper kneeling and begging Jesus for
healing. "If you wish you can make me clean." What is striking is the
simplicity, the honesty, the openness of the leper's desire for
healing. Moreover he trusted Jesus' decision for him. Jesus' response
was pity. He did exactly what the leper begged him to do, and made the
leper clean, though with the condition not to tell anyone.

The trust of the leper reminds us of how our prayer of petition should
be. If we stop to listen to our prayers of petition, we come face to
face with our real need. God knows what we really need.

We simply have to put our total trust in the Lord as we present our
needs and desires to him. If we need to kneel and pray as the leper
did, why not? The Lord's response is always for our good. Let us allow
him then to take control of our life.

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
- Luis Torres
- Rakkie Villa
- John White
- Don Vickaryous
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Tung-Jou Sheh
- Cecilia Yu
… for the personal intentions of
- men and women of Solar News
- Marquez family
- Cherie Torres
- Pauline
- Dr. Ugo Anyaugo, Mr. Ogechi Anyaugo, Barr Obinna Okoronkwo, Barr Mrs
Barbs Adaugo Okoronkwo, Mr .Ifeanyi Anyaugo, Mr Chuboy Anyaugo,
Cordelia Anyaugo
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Francisco Tong
- Birthday: Manuel Tagle
… 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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