Thursday, January 10, 2013

 

FRIDAY AFTER EPIPHANY – YEAR I

JANUARY 11, 2013
FRIDAY AFTER EPIPHANY – YEAR I

1 Jn 5:5-13 / Ps 147: 12-13. 14-15. 19-20 / Lk 5:12-16

1 JOHN 5:5-13
Who has overcome the world? The one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus Christ was acknowledged through water, but also through blood. Not only water but water and blood. And the Spirit, too, witnesses to him for the Spirit is truth. There are then three testimonies: the Spirit, the water and the blood, and these three witnesses agree. If we accept human testimony, with greater reason must we accept that of God, given in favor of his Son. If you believe in the Son of God, you have God's testimony in you. But those who do not believe make God a liar, since they do not believe his words when he witnesses to his Son. What has God said? That he has granted us eternal life and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has life, the one who do not have the Son of God do not have life. I write you, then, all these things that you may know that you have eternal life, all you who believe in the Name of the Son of God.

LUKE 5:12-16
One day, in another town, a man came to Jesus covered with leprosy. On seeing Jesus, the man bowed down to the ground, and said, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean." Stretching out his hand, Jesus touched the man and said, "Yes, I want to. Be clean." In an instant the leprosy left him. Then Jesus instructed him, "Tell this to no one. But go and show yourself to the priest. Make an offering for your healing, as Moses prescribed; that will serve as evidence for them." But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and large crowds came to him, to listen and to be healed of their sickness. As for Jesus, he would often withdraw to solitary places and pray.

REFLECTION
At one point or another, many of us would experience some kind of doubt about our worthiness. For some of us, we can occasionally feel unsure of our capacity to do a job well. There are also those of us who are unconvinced that another person would genuinely like us if they knew everything about us. And so, we keep the so-called undesirable parts of us hidden. We are unsure if we are indeed lovable.

For us faithful, today's Gospel provides some very convincing evidence that God's love for us is beyond our own valuations of our worth. It is a reminder that there is such a thing as unconditional love, and God willingly gives it to us. We only need to be open to this grace that is freely given.

In order to open ourselves up to this grace of unconditional love, we need to follow the example of the leper in the Gospel. When he learned that Jesus was coming his way, he did not let the shame of his condition get in the way of asking for what he needed. And yet, he was not so bold as to assume that he deserved Jesus' healing attention. Instead, he humbled himself and bowed down to the ground. Only with this emptying of himself did he say, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean." He expressed what he wanted Jesus to do for him, and yet he showed his openness to whatever outcome his request might bring about. He put his life totally in God's hands.

Not surprisingly, the story continues with Jesus saying, "Yes, I want to. Be clean." This is proof that He really accepts us unconditionally. This is the experience of encountering Jesus. Even if we do not get what we originally asked for, He surely makes things right for us.

To what extent are we able to empty ourselves to God in this way? The invitation of today's readings is for us to just this. He knows our faults and failings, and our doubts of worthiness even before we recognize them. We then need to let go of our own desires and seek the grace to accept His will for 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
- Virginia Hernandez
- Cecilia Katigbak and Miguel Katigbak
- Nelly de Guzman
- Mabel Perlas
- Fr. Jun Embile, S.J.
… for the personal intentions of Pauline
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Minerva Quesada
- Eddie del Rosario
- Elean Flores
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: Go Rose/Rosa
- Wedding Anniversary: Rolly & Cora Cabral
… 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
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
 
© 2013 Daily-Homily
 
 

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?