Friday, August 10, 2012
SATURDAY 18TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
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!
**************************************************
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:
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| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
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| Distributed free and for personal use only.
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FRIDAY 18TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
FRIDAY 18TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II
MEMORIAL, ST LAWRENCE
2 Cor 9:6-10 / Jn 12:24-26
2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-10
Remember: the one who sows meagerly will reap meagerly, and there shall be generous harvests for the one who sows generously. Each of you should give as you decided personally, and not reluctantly as if obliged. God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to fill you with every good thing, so that you have enough of everything at all times, and may give abundantly for any good work. Scripture says: He distributed, he gave to the poor, his good works last forever. God who provides the sower with seed will also provide him with the bread he eats. He will multiply the seed for you and also in - crease the interests of your good works.
JOHN 12:24-26
Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life. Whoever wants to serve me, let him follow me; and wherever I am, there shall my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
REFLECTION
In the first reading, St. Paul says that the more we sow, the more we will reap. He was referring to the help Christians give to their churches. It is true that if we are generous, it helps many people in our communities. But Jesus goes further. In the Gospel he says that when we offer our lives for others, the result is the salvation of many.
Today is the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. His glorious martyrdom made a strong impact on the Christians of his time. By offering his life cheerfully for Christ, he strengthened their faith. According to legend, as Lawrence was being burned to death, he jokingly remarked, "Please turn me over because I am already well-done on this side." God appreciates a cheerful giver. He wants us to offer our time and effort to helping others. We cannot do this just by ourselves but with the help of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel says that those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life. It is human nature to love life and to preserve it. Yet St. Lawrence did the opposite; he looked beyond his earthly life, desiring more to be with God in the next. This is exactly what Jesus did 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
- Mon Torres
- Ditas dela Paz
- Tito Oreta
- Elean Flores
- Kathy
… for the personal intentions of
- Pauline
- Donna V
… 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: Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales, D.D.
- Birthday: Mercedes Reyes
- Wedding Anniversary: Bong & Beth Navarro
- In Memoriam (+): Dy Ka Bian
… 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
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© 2012 Daily-Homily
