Tuesday, June 19, 2012

 

TUESDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

JUNE 19, 2012
TUESDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
MEMORIAL, SAINT ROMUALD

1 Kgs 21:17-29 / Mt 5:43-48

1 KINGS 21:17-29
Then Yahweh spoke to Elijah of Tishbe, "Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria. He is taking possession of the vineyard of Naboth. Say to him: `Have you killed and have taken possession at the same time?' Then give him this word of mine: `Dogs shall lick your blood in the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth.'" Ahab then said to Elijah, "Who, better than my enemy, could find me here and now!" Elijah answered, "I have come to you because you have done what Yahweh abhors. This is Yahweh's word: I will bring disgrace on you. I will sweep you away and cut off every male of your family, from the lowliest to the greatest. Your family will disappear like the families of Jeroboam and Baasa, because you have offended me and have dragged Israel into sin. There is another word of Yahweh to Jezebel: `The dogs shall devour Jezebel within the territory of Jezreel.' If anyone of Ahab's line dies in the city, he shall be devoured by dogs; if in the green country, the birds of the air shall feed on him." There was no one like Ahab, urged by his wife Jezebel, in doing what Yahweh abhorred. He did horrible things and ran after unclean idols just as the Amorites had done, from whom Yahweh had taken the land to give it to Israel. On hearing these words, Ahab tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He fasted as he lay in sackcloth and moved around despondently. Then Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself? Because of this I will not bring about the disaster during his reign; during his son's reign disgrace will fall on his family."

MATTHEW 5:43-48
You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and do not do good to your enemy. But this I tell you: love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. For he makes his sun rise on both the wicked and the good, and he gives rain to both the just and the unjust. If you love those who love you, what is special about that? Do not even tax collectors do as much? And if you are friendly only to your friends, what is so exceptional about that? Do not even the pagans do as much? As for you, be righteous and perfect in the way your heavenly Father is righteous and perfect.

REFLECTION
How many times have we had to control our temper after someone opposed or hurt us? How many times did we react by forgiving our enemy and praying for him? Centuries ago, a man was whipped to the point of death, dragged through the streets, nailed to a cross, and displayed so that everyone could see his humiliation. On the same fateful day, that man looked at his persecutors, prayed for them, forgave them, and died.

When someone has hurt us, would forgiving them be the most difficult thing to do? If we remember how our Lord suffered for us but forgave those who caused his suffering, this should give us the inspiration and enough strength and compassion to pray for our enemies and forgive them for what they have done.

No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. But we can strive to become better Christians by following the Lord's example. Today, let us recall who may have hurt us. Let us strive to take the initiative for reconciliation, making the Lord proud of what he has created in his own image.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Tom B, Jack, Brian, Michael, Gene L, Linda O, Mary Ann, Delores & Fr Larry
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Fr. Ismael Zuloaga, SJ
… for the personal intentions of
- Dana, Rita & Pam, Ben, Eugene R
- the men and women of Solar News & Current Affairs
- Pauline
- Dr Ugonna Anyaugo,Mr.Ogechi Anyaugo,Barr & Barr (Mrs) Obinna Okoronkwo, Engr Ifeanyi Matt Anyaugo,Mr.Chuba Anyaugo and Cordelia Anyaugo
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Gabriel Gaskell
- Mr. John Lim Chin
- Mr. Franciso Maramag
- Elena Lao Lo
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.
- Birthday: Aung San Suu Kyi
- Wedding Anniversary: Freddie & Rita Atienza
- Prayer Intention: Emelinda Teck Yu
… 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

 

MONDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

JUNE 18, 2012
MONDAY 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

1 Kgs 21:1-16 / Mt 5:38-42

1 KINGS 21:1-16
Now Naboth, a man from Jezreel, owned a vineyard just beside the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab asked Naboth, "Give me your vineyard which is near my house that I may use it for a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you its price." But Naboth said to Ahab, "Yahweh forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers." So Ahab went home angry and sad because of what Naboth had told him, that he would not give him the inheritance of his fathers. So he lay down on his bed with his face turned toward the wall and refused to eat. His wife Jezebel came to him and said, "Why are you so angry that you refuse to eat?" He answered, "I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and asked him to sell me his vineyard or to exchange it for another better one but he answered: I will not give you my vineyard." His wife Jezebel said to him, "Are you not king of Israel? Get up and eat and be joyful, for I will give you the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel." So Jezebel wrote letters using Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and important persons living near Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters, "Declare a fast and put Naboth on trial. Get two worthless fellows to accuse him in this way: `You have cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death." The people, the elders and the important persons who lived in his city did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters she sent to them. They declared a fast and put Naboth on trial. The two worthless fellows came in and sat facing him, accusing Naboth before the people, "Naboth cursed God and the king!" So the people took him outside the city and stoned him to death. They then sent word to Jezebel that Naboth had been stoned and was dead. As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, she told Ahab, "Now take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the man of Jezreel who refused to sell it to you, for Naboth is now dead." As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went down to the vineyard of Naboth and took possession of it.

MATTHEW 5:38-42
You have heard that it was said: An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you this: do not oppose evil with evil; if someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn and offer the other. If someone sues you in court for your shirt, give him your coat as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give when asked, and do not turn your back on anyone who wants to borrow from you.

REFLECTION
When Jesus gave this Sermon, he raised us above the Old Testament "eye for an eye" spirituality, which can be so easily warped into revenge-seeking for the sake of getting even. Basically, he said: When others hurt you, love them, forgive them, do good to them, pray for them. This is how we stay connected to God, who is love, so that he can turn our problems around and produce a greater good.

People hurt us without understanding that they are actually hurting themselves. By sinning, they close the door to God's love. But if we love them, we give God to them. He reaches them through us. If we refuse to give them love, we are refusing to give them God, and we are closing our own doors to God's love. If someone strikes out at us verbally, don't strike back; give him love. This is the spiritual principle of mercy. Think of a time when we did not deserve God's love or act of kindness. What did it feel like when we realized that He cared about us anyway? How did it change us? This is what we can do for those who sin against us.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Tom B, Jack, Brian, Michael, Gene L, Linda O, Mary Ann, Delores & Fr Larry
… for the personal intentions of
- Dana, Rita & Pam, Ben, Eugene R
- the men and women of Solar News & Current Affairs
- Pauline
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Gabriel Gaskell
- Mr. John Lim Chin
- Mr. Franciso Maramag
- Elena Lao Lo
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.
- Birthday: John Paul T. Dy
- Birthday: Alfred Johnson Gotamco Dy
- Birthday: Emmanuel Choachuy
- Birthday: Fr. Efren Esmilla
- Wedding Anniversary: Wilbert Lim & Regina Lim
- Wedding Anniversary: Lawrence & Ma. Valentine Chongson Yang
- In Memoriam (+): Tony Ng Chu Chee (Nov 1, 1919 - Jun 18, 2005)+
… 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

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?