DAILY- HOMILY

September 23, 2013

Monday 25^th Week in Ordinary Time - Year I

Memorial, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), priest

Ezra 1:1-6 / Ps 126: 1b-2ab. 2cd-3. 4-5. 6 / Lk 8:16-18

Ezra 1:1-6

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, Yahweh willed to fulfill the word he had said through the prophet Jeremiah, so he moved the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to issue the following command and send it out in writing to be read aloud everywhere in his kingdom, "Thus speaks Cyrus, king of Persia: Yahweh, the God of heavens, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has ordered me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah. To everyone belonging to his people, may his God be with him! Let them go up to Jerusalem with the help of their God and there build the House of Yahweh, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. In every place where the rest of the people of Yahweh live, let the people of those places help them for their journey with silver, gold and all kinds of goods and livestock. Let them also give them voluntary offerings for the House of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem." Then they rose up—the heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, the priests and the Levites, and all those whose spirit God had stirred up—and they decided to go and build the House of Yahweh. And all their neighbors gave them all kinds of help: gold, silver, livestock and precious objects in great quantity, besides every kind of voluntary offering.

Luke 8:16-18

No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather he puts it on a lampstand, so that people coming in may see the light. In the same way, there is nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret that shall not be known clearly. Now, pay attention and listen well, for whoever produces will be given more, but from those who do not produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them."

Reflection

The light, in today's gospel, is likened to Christ who came to earth to lead the way, to show the path. When Jesus was to talking to his disciples, he was talking about himself and he was saying that soon this prophecy of the Messiah would be realized and the truth will be out. Those who listened and followed will learn to understand yet those who thought they knew what they knew will soon realize the fallacy of what they believed in. Thus, they will be stripped of their spiritual authority and those who followed Christ will be given more responsibilities in spreading the Word.

In our current situation, where the birth, the death and the resurrection is part of our spiritual history, as Christians we are the light that Christ mentioned in Luke 8:16. As we walk in faith, it is but inevitable that people will notice us especially when we do what is opposite of the norm. As followers of Christ, it is in our nature to act responsibly in any situation. This we do not do boastfully or with pride but with humility and faith that in all of this there is God whom we are serving faithfully. In turn, it is reminding us to pay heed and not act as if we are better than other people in our community lest we gull ourselves into believing that we are infallible. Instead, Jesus instructs us to listen and to act. Mere listening is a superficial act. When one does what one is told, people will see the depth of our faith. As Christians it is very easy to fall into complacency, where we think the mere routine of going to church, listening to homilies, getting involved in parish socials is enough. The act of true faith is manifested in how one openly shares with his brethren. In the Last Supper, Jesus enjoins us to do what he does. As Jesus willingly and gratefully served others, so must we be to our fellowmen.

Have you prayed for the grace of true service lately? It is costly, but then again Jesus did this to show us.

Prayer Requests

We pray …

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

… for the speedy recovery and healing of

Brenda

Joy Droke

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

… for the personal intentions of

Lavanya

Techie

… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.

… 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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