DAILY- HOMILY

November 8, 2013

Friday 31st Week in Ordinary Time - Year I

Rom 15:14-21 / Ps 98: 1. 2-3ab. 3cd-4 / Lk 16:1-8

Romans 15:14-21

As for me, brothers and sisters, I am convinced that you have goodwill, knowledge and the capacity to advise each other; nevertheless I have written boldly in some parts of this letter to remind you of what you already know. I do this according to the grace God has given to me when I was sent to the pagan nations. I dedicated myself to the service of the Good News of God as a minister of Christ Jesus, in order to present the non-Jews to God as an agreeable offering consecrated by the Holy Spirit. This service of God is for me a cause of pride in Christ Jesus. Of course, I would not dare to speak of other things but what Christ himself has done through me, my words and my works, with miracles and signs, by the power of the Holy Spirit—so that non-Jews may obey the faith. In this way I have extended the Good News to all parts, from Jerusalem to Illiricum. I have been very careful, however, and I am proud of this, not to preach in places where Christ is already known, and not to build upon foundations laid by others. Let it be as Scripture says: Those not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

Luke 16:1-8

At another Time Jesus told his disciples, "There was a rich man, whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.' The steward thought to himself, 'What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do: I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.' So he called his master's debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, 'How much do you owe my master?' The reply was, 'A hundred jars of oil.' The steward said, 'Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.' To the second debtor he put the same question, 'How much do you owe?' The answer was, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' Then the said: 'Take your bill and write eighty. The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness: for the people of this world are more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.

Reflection

In the first reading, St. Paul insists on the need to preach the Good News to those who have not heard of it yet. This is because he knew, as we also know, that many people live in darkness and are full of problems, and they do not know the solutions to these problems. The Good News answers them and gives them hope – hope of change, hope of salvation and hope of a new life in Christ. The Good News tells us simply that true life and happiness is in experiencing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The gospel is a bit tricky. It seems the steward is causing his master to lose money just so he makes friends with his master's debtors. But when the master hears of what he has done, he was not angry and he even praised his steward for his astuteness. Obviously the master is not concerned about the loss of some of his money. For him, if we can give up some money to gain friends, why not? Therefore, money must not be worshipped or hoarded endlessly. Instead it should be used by us to gain friends and so generosity is the order of the day. The master is very wise because he knows the real purpose of money – to be shared and used properly for the benefit of others.

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

Bill Fosbre

Bud Finley, James Kinney

Lorenzo Meoli

… for the personal intentions of Kudzai and Paida

… In Thanksgiving: Carol

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

Birthday: Paul Alarde

Birthday: Patrocinio "Pat" Co, Ang

Birthday: Nelson Yu

In Memoriam (+): Wilhelmina 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!

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