DAILY- HOMILY

NOVEMBER 8, 2012
THURSDAY 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

Phil 3:3-8a / Lk 15:1-10

PHILIPPIANS 3:3-8A
We are the true circumcised people since we serve according to the Spirit of God, and our confidence is in Christ Jesus rather than in our merits. I myself do not lack those human qualities in which people have confidence. If some of them seem to be accredited with such qualities, how much more am I! I was circumcised when eight days old. I was born of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; I am a Hebrew, born of Hebrews. With regard to the Law, I am a Pharisee, and such was my zeal for the Law that I persecuted the Church. As for being righteous according to the Law, I was blameless. But once I found Christ, all those things that I might have considered as profit, I reckoned as loss. Still more, everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I have let everything fall away and I now consider all as garbage, if instead I may gain Christ.

LUKE 15:1-10
Meanwhile tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So Jesus told them this parable: "Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together, and say, `Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!' I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent. What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp, and sweep the house in a thorough search, till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbors, and say, `Celebrate with me, for I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner."

REFLECTION
We need to remember that the tax collectors and sinners were also around Jesus, listening to him. The Pharisees were complaining how Jesus welcomed these sinners. Pharisees refused to deal with sinners, who made them feel corrupted and polluted.

This attitude is what St. Paul had to lose in order to gain Christ. St. Paul had to let go of the familiarity and security of belonging to people considered "holy" – the good guys, the righteous ones. He had to turn away from his old life to move toward the One whom he was persecuting.

What did St. Paul gain? In Luke Chapter 15, Jesus was clear in explaining the attitude of the Father toward those who repent. There's rejoicing over one repentant sinner. This is a great message for sinners, knowing that the door is open for those who ask for forgiveness. Even more, like the shepherd who searches the wilderness for his sheep, and the woman frantically sweeping her house for a lost coin, God searches for the sinners. St. Paul gained this immense, unimaginable love.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Aleli G. Romero, MD
- Ma. Theresa O. Bernardo
… for the personal intentions of
- Beny Chua
- Pauline
- Flor
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Patrocinio "Pat" Co Ang
- Birthday: Paul Alarde
- Birthday: Calida Sim Bate
- In Memoriam (+): Wilhelma K. Ochoa
… 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