DAILY- HOMILY

September 13, 2013

Memorial, Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor

Friday 23^rd Week in Ordinary Time – Year I

1 Tim 1:1-2,12-14 / Ps 16: 1b-2a and 5. 7-8. 11 / Lk 6:39-42

1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14

From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by a command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, to Timothy, my true son in the faith. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy and peace. I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trust worthy and appointed me to his service, although I had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy. How - ever he took mercy on me because I did not know what I was doing when I opposed the faith; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, together with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Luke 6:39-42

And Jesus offered this example, "Can a blind person lead another blind person? Surely both will fall into a ditch. A disciple is not above the master; but when fully trained, he will be like the master. So why do you pay attention to the speck in your brother's eye, while you have a log in your eye, and are not conscious of it? How can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take this speck out of your eye,' when you can't remove the log in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the log from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your neighbor's eye.

Reflection

The first verse of Psalm 1 asks "O Lord, who will dwell in your tent and reside on your holy mount?" In other words, it is asking God "Who deserves to be in your presence?" In the first reading, Paul writes that he certainly did not deserve to be in the presence of the Lord nor be in His service because he was "a blasphemer, a persecutor and a rabid enemy"; but, Jesus had mercy on him and changed his heart on the road to Damascus. Jesus gifted him with faith and love, making him trustworthy to be in his service. The same theme can be seen in today's gospel. A disciple of Jesus is one "who is not above the master, but when fully trained, he will be like his master." As true disciples, we are to behave like our Master. We are to conform our hearts to the heart of Jesus who is not critical of us and accepts us as sinners. Jesus encourages us to look into ourselves instead of judging those around us. So that we may follow his teachings more closely, we need his grace and his strength, as Paul says. We cannot do this on our own but only through God's gracious permission. We pray that one day, our character may mirror that of Jesus.

When was the last time I judged someone? What changes can I make in my behavior today through the help of Jesus? Can I entrust myself to Jesus to shape my character according to his wishes?

Prayer Requests

We pray …

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the speedy recovery and healing of

Arceli Capitly

Dinah Marzan

Ditas dela Paz, Toots Monfort, Virginia Hernandez, and Fleur Torres

Deacon Nick Vietri, Annette Sturhmans

… for the personal intentions of

Father William

Andrew Guri

Beny Chua

… In Memoriam: 

Bernardo Santiago Jr.

Ruben M. Pasion

… for the eternal repose of the soul of Dindo Quilona. 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: Acero, Analyn Cu

Birthday: Amy Muñoz Go

Birthday: Bing A. Courtney

In Memoriam (+): Artemio Reyes

In Memoriam (+): Manuel Diaz

… 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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