DAILY- HOMILY

October 16, 2013

Wednesday 28^th Week in Ordinary Time - Year I

Memorial, Saint Hedwig, religious or Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin

Rom 2:1-11 / Ps 62: 2-3. 6-7. 9 / Lk 11:42-46

Romans 2:1-11

Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you are, if you are able to judge others. For in judging your neighbor, you condemn yourself, for you practice what you are judging. We know that the condemnation of God will justly reach those who commit these things, and do you think that by condemning others you will escape from the judgment of God, you who are doing the same? This would be taking advantage of God and his infinite goodness, patience and understanding, and not to realize that his goodness is in order to lead you to conversion. If your heart becomes hard and you refuse to change, then you are storing for yourself a great punishment on the day of judgment, when God will appear as just judge. He will give each one his due, according to his actions. He will give everlasting life to those who seek glory, honor and immortality and persevere in doing good. But anger and vengeance will be the lot of those who do not serve truth but injustice. There will be suffering and anguish for everyone committing evil, first the Jew, then the Greek. But God will give glory, honor and peace to whoever does good, first the Jew then the Greek, because one is not different from the other before God.

Luke 11:42-46

A curse is on you, Pharisees; to the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. These ought to be practiced, without neglecting those. A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you, for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people don't notice them, and make themselves unclean by stepping on them." Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, "Master, when you speak like this, you insult us, too." And Jesus answered, "A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves don't move a finger to help them.

REFLECTION

God's ways are completely the opposite of the actions and attitudes of the Pharisees whom Jesus condemns in the gospel. The Pharisees put importance on external observances and to be greeted in the market squares. They wanted to be praised for their self-righteous deeds because deep down they loved themselves and not God. Often they neglected the needs of the poor and the oppressed in their society. They did not defend the rights of the widows and orphans, the defenseless ones in society. In fact they would even exploit them and swallow up their resources. Therefore Jesus strongly rebuked them hoping that they would amend their ways.

Jesus also lashed out at the lawyers who loaded on men burdens that were too heavy for them to carry. They imposed on them obligations which they did not have the capacity to fulfill. So many people do this nowadays. We ourselves are guilty of this at times. Instead of helping people, we expect them to be good, to accept injustices and sufferings. In return for our services, we impose exorbitant fees on them. We tax the poor when we lend money to them at high interest.

True religion promotes loving our fellowmen as ourselves. This would mean respecting their rights and treating them with compassion. It would also mean defending them against those who maltreat and oppress them. We are called, by virtue of our baptism, to correct sinful men and denounce their sinful actions. But first, we must make sure that we are not oppressing or maltreating anyone ourselves.

Prayer Requests

We pray …

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

… for the speedy recovery and healing of

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

Joy Droke

… for the personal intentions of

Julita Fallaria

Ma. Angeli Marmeto

Ma.Amparo H. Dedios

Beny Chua

… for the eternal repose of the souls of

-               Larry Erickson, Wally Hingten, Dick Thomas,Adrian Peterson Jr.

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: Ernani S. Escopete

Wedding Anniversary: Fulgencio & Camilla Yu Contreras

In Memoriam (+): Paciencia Reyes

In Memoriam (+): Isabel Y. Sim

… 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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