Wednesday, December 26, 2012

 

MEMORIAL, ST. JOHN

DECEMBER 27, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. JOHN
OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

1 Jn 1:1-4 / Jn 20:1a, 2-8

1 JOHN 1:1-4
This is what has been from the beginning, and what we have heard and have seen with our own eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, I mean the Word who is Life… The Life made itself known, we have seen Eternal Life and we bear witness, and we are telling you of it. It was with the Father and made himself known to us. So we tell you what we have seen and heard, that you may be in fellowship with us, and us, with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And we write this that our joy may be complete.

JOHN 20:1A, 2-8
Now, on the first day after the Sabbath, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning while it was still dark, and she saw that the stone blocking the tomb had been moved away. She ran to Peter, and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have laid him." Peter then set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down and saw the linen cloths lying flat, but he did not enter. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and entered the tomb; he, too, saw the linen cloths lying flat. The napkin, which had been around his head, was not lying flat like the other linen cloths, but lay rolled up in its place. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed.

REFLECTION
John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, shares his experience of Jesus with those of his time as well as with us now. He was with Jesus all the time, witnessing all that Jesus did and listening to all that Jesus was teaching.

In today's Gospel we read about John's humility and selflessness, even though he knew that he was the beloved of Jesus. When the disciples heard from Mary Magdalene that the tomb was empty, they all ran to see it. Being younger and faster than Peter, John reached the tomb first, but he did not enter before Peter, respecting his leadership. John saw the folded linen and believed what he heard from Jesus. The body of Jesus was gone. Jesus had resurrected.

While Adam and Eve destroyed our relationship with the Father through sin, the sufferings and death of Jesus opened our friendship with the Father once again. In his first Letter (verse 3) John says, "We are telling you of Eternal Life." Because of the Father's great love for us, we, too, will rise again to join the Trinity in the heavenly Kingdom.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we say, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The Kingdom of heaven is rooted on earth. It is premised on the choices and decisions we make in our lives. Nowadays, many things drive us away from the Kingdom. We have all the pleasures before us, beautiful places to visit, money and power to make us forget that His Kingdom is here. God's Kingdom seems to be far away. Let us appreciate the gifts the Lord has given us.

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
- Andy Lecaros
… for the personal intentions of
- Andrew G
- Pauline
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Lydia Cu
- Birthday: Athena LKK Sybuenasenso
- Birthday: Cyril Addison
- Birthday: M. Cecilla Calaguas OP
- Wedding Anniversary: John & Cynthia Tan
- Wedding Anniversary: Butch & Rose Narciso
- In Memoriam (+): Salvadora R. Reyes
… 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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MEMORIAL, ST. STEPHEN

DECEMBER 26, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. STEPHEN
OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

Acts 6:8-10; 7:54- 59 / Mt 10:17-22

ACTS 6:8-10; 7:54- 59
Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. Some persons then came forward, who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia. They argued with Stephen but they could not match the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. When they heard this reproach, they were enraged and they gnashed their teeth against Stephen. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes on heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at God's right hand, so he declared: "I see the heavens open and the Son of Man at the right hand of God." But they shouted and covered their ears with their hands and rushed together upon him. They brought him out of the city and stoned him, and the witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen prayed saying: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

MATTHEW 10:17-22
Be on your guard with people, for they will hand you over to their courts, and they will flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought to trial before rulers and kings because of me, so you may witness to them and the pagans. But when you are arrested, do not worry about what you are to say, or how you are to say it; when the hour comes, you will be given what you are to say. For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of your Father in you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved.

REFLECTION
Christianity today is so different from what it was in the times of the early Christians. Like St. Stephen, the early Christians so bravely preached the Good News to very hostile environments. We can only imagine how St. Stephen endured and courageously suffered because of his belief in and love for Jesus.

Nowadays, we take our religion for granted. We are more caught up with the material side of the Christmas season. Many times we've been reminded to make the Lord's birthday more meaningful, and yet year after year we're stuck with our exchange gift-giving tradition rather than truly giving. We made this season so commercialized that we end up tired and feeling meaningless.

Perhaps as a change, let us give to those who can't give us anything in return. Let us give without expecting anything back or a favor in return. Let us give to the ones who cannot even utter a word of thanks back. Let us give to those whom we do not like; let us give to those who do not know who gave to them. Give silently and sincerely to make Christmas truly memorable for others.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of Andrew G
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Mac Daveth Limbo Dimaculangan
- Birthday: Dionisio R. Opelanio
- Birthday: Celso F. Bate
- Wedding Anniversary: Mr. & Mrs. Mark Pocholo Soriano
- In Memoriam (+): Teotimo Tio Tiam
… 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

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