Tuesday, March 19, 2013
WEDNESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I
MARCH 20, 2013
WEDNESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I
Dn 3:14-20,91-92,95 / Dn 3: 52. 53. 54. 55. 56 / Jn 8:31-42
DANIEL 3:14-20,91-92,95
King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up? If you hear now the sound of horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and other instruments, will you fall down and worship the statue I made? If you won't, you know the punishment: you will immediately be thrown into a burning furnace. And then what god can deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abedne go answered, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we need not defend ourselves before you on this matter. If you order us to be thrown into the furnace, the God we serve will rescue us. But even if he won't, we would like you to know, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up." Nebuchadnezzar's face reddened with fury as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of his strongest soldiers to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning furnace. Then king Nebuchadnezzar suddenly rose up in great amazement and asked his counselors, "Did we not throw three men bound into the fire?" They answered, "Certainly." The king said, "But I can see four men walking about freely through the fire without suffering any harm, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who sent his angel to free his servants who, trusting in him, disobeyed the king's order and preferred to give their bodies to the fire rather than serve and worship any other god but their God.
JOHN 8:31-42
Jesus went on to say to the Jews who believed in him, "You will be my true disciples, if you keep my word. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are the descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone. What do you mean by saying: You will be free?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave. But the slave doesn't stay in the house forever; the son stays forever. So, if the Son makes you free, you will be really free. I know that you are the descendants of Abraham; yet you want to kill me because my word finds no place in you. For my part, I speak of what I have seen in my Father's presence, but you do what you have learned from your father." They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." Then Jesus said, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do as Abraham did. But now you want to kill me, the one who tells you the truth—the truth that I have learned from God. That is not what Abraham did; what you are doing are the works of your father." The Jews said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, God." Jesus replied, "If God were your Father you would love me, for I came forth from God, and I am here. And I didn't come by my own decision, but it was he himself who sent me.
REFLECTION
Every day we are bombarded with words from the radio, the television and the newspapers. What we hear can also shape our minds and even our future. But Christ invites us to make his Word our home. He also says that everything passes away but the Word of God remains because it is eternal. It is God Himself. Human history raised up many truths and philosophies. Dynasties and empires rose and fell. The world is constantly changing and evolving. To know the truth, we need discernment. We need a spiritual anchor that can withstand the test of time. The word of God "instructs, refutes falsehood, corrects errors, gives encouragement." (2 Tm 4:2) It also goes beyond the limits of time. But it should not only be listened to but put into practice as well so that we can gather fruits of faith, hope and charity.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of
- Pauline
- Beny Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Chaelda M. Del Carmen
- Birthday: Thelma N. Factoran
- Birthday: Jose V. Duenas
- Birthday: Ernest James Yu
- In Memoriam (+): Yu Tiong (1921-2002)
… 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.
+================================================+
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WEDNESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I
Dn 3:14-20,91-92,95 / Dn 3: 52. 53. 54. 55. 56 / Jn 8:31-42
DANIEL 3:14-20,91-92,95
King Nebuchadnezzar questioned them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up? If you hear now the sound of horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and other instruments, will you fall down and worship the statue I made? If you won't, you know the punishment: you will immediately be thrown into a burning furnace. And then what god can deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach and Abedne go answered, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we need not defend ourselves before you on this matter. If you order us to be thrown into the furnace, the God we serve will rescue us. But even if he won't, we would like you to know, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up." Nebuchadnezzar's face reddened with fury as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of his strongest soldiers to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the burning furnace. Then king Nebuchadnezzar suddenly rose up in great amazement and asked his counselors, "Did we not throw three men bound into the fire?" They answered, "Certainly." The king said, "But I can see four men walking about freely through the fire without suffering any harm, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who sent his angel to free his servants who, trusting in him, disobeyed the king's order and preferred to give their bodies to the fire rather than serve and worship any other god but their God.
JOHN 8:31-42
Jesus went on to say to the Jews who believed in him, "You will be my true disciples, if you keep my word. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are the descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves of anyone. What do you mean by saying: You will be free?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave. But the slave doesn't stay in the house forever; the son stays forever. So, if the Son makes you free, you will be really free. I know that you are the descendants of Abraham; yet you want to kill me because my word finds no place in you. For my part, I speak of what I have seen in my Father's presence, but you do what you have learned from your father." They answered him, "Our father is Abraham." Then Jesus said, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do as Abraham did. But now you want to kill me, the one who tells you the truth—the truth that I have learned from God. That is not what Abraham did; what you are doing are the works of your father." The Jews said to him, "We are not illegitimate children; we have one Father, God." Jesus replied, "If God were your Father you would love me, for I came forth from God, and I am here. And I didn't come by my own decision, but it was he himself who sent me.
REFLECTION
Every day we are bombarded with words from the radio, the television and the newspapers. What we hear can also shape our minds and even our future. But Christ invites us to make his Word our home. He also says that everything passes away but the Word of God remains because it is eternal. It is God Himself. Human history raised up many truths and philosophies. Dynasties and empires rose and fell. The world is constantly changing and evolving. To know the truth, we need discernment. We need a spiritual anchor that can withstand the test of time. The word of God "instructs, refutes falsehood, corrects errors, gives encouragement." (2 Tm 4:2) It also goes beyond the limits of time. But it should not only be listened to but put into practice as well so that we can gather fruits of faith, hope and charity.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the personal intentions of
- Pauline
- Beny Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Chaelda M. Del Carmen
- Birthday: Thelma N. Factoran
- Birthday: Jose V. Duenas
- Birthday: Ernest James Yu
- In Memoriam (+): Yu Tiong (1921-2002)
… 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.
+================================================+
--
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Archive: http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
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SOLEMNITY, SAINT JOSEPH HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
MARCH 19, 2013
SOLEMNITY, SAINT JOSEPH HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
TUESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I
Num 21:4-9 / Ps 89: 2-3. 4-5. 27 and 29 / Jn 8:21-30
NUMBERS 21:4-9
From Mount Hor they set out by the Red Sea road to go around the land of Edom. The people were discouraged by the journey and began to com plain against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna." Yahweh then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, speaking against Yahweh and against you. Plead with Yahweh to take the serpents away." Moses pleaded for the people and Yahweh said to him, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.
JOHN 8:21-30
Again Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and though you look for me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." The Jews wondered, "Why does he say that we can't come where he is going? Will he kill himself?" But Jesus said, "You are from below and I am from above; you are of this world and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you shall die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He." They asked him, "Who are you?"; and Jesus said, "Just what I have told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the One who sent me is truthful and everything I learned from him, I proclaim to the world." They didn't understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself, but I say just what the Father taught me. He who sent me is with me and has not left me alone; because I always do what pleases him." As Jesus spoke like this, many believed in him.
REFLECTION
"Will he kill himself?" The Jews could only react to Jesus' words in a literal and narrow sense. At the least, this showed their inability to comprehend his true message, and at worst, their unwillingness to do so. This is not surprising. The Jews after all were in the habit of making literal interpretations of their own rules. During the Sabbath, for example, they didn't allow charitable acts if these entailed any form of work. If they were so blind to the meaning of their own laws, how could they even begin to understand Jesus' new message of salvation? Jesus touches on the cause of this narrow-mindedness and blindness when he says "...you are of this world and I am not of this world." Being of this world, we tend to be pre-occupied with things of this world – the pursuit of security, health, a good reputation. For the Jews, being of this world meant the preoccupation with power over their subjects, and the great wealth they were able to extract as a result of that power. Jesus therefore tells us that the only way they can truly understand what he's talking about is if we lose our attachment to these worldly preoccupations. Jesus goes on, giving us the key to doing so when he says, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man." Indeed, it is when we have learned to understand the meaning of his sacrifice, which was the ultimate detachment from his life, that we will understand his message. This is certainly not easy, and most of us will go through our entire lives without fully comprehending the meaning of his sacrifice. The good news is that Jesus doesn't require comprehension, only a lifting up or a sharing in his sacrifice. That's enough because he'll do the rest in guiding us towards truly understanding him.
Holy Spirit, teach us to share in Jesus' sacrifice. Help us to place ourselves in his hands. Give us the courage to accept Jesus' invitation to lift him up as high and as often as we can so that we can, like him, be not of this world.
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, Andy Lecaros, Virginia Hernandez, Mon Torres, and Fleur Torres
… for the personal intentions of
- Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Oge Anyaugo, Barr (Mrs) adaugo Barbara Okoronkwo, Engr. Ifeanyi Matt Anyaugo, Chuba Anyaugo and Ezinne Cordelia Anyaugo
- Pauline
- Beny Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Pearlie Chan
- Birthday: Graziano & Joji Negroni
- In Memoriam (+): Francisco Sun
- In Memoriam (+): Angel Limqueco
… 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
Archive: http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2013 Daily-Homily
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SOLEMNITY, SAINT JOSEPH HUSBAND OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
TUESDAY 5TH WEEK OF LENT – YEAR I
Num 21:4-9 / Ps 89: 2-3. 4-5. 27 and 29 / Jn 8:21-30
NUMBERS 21:4-9
From Mount Hor they set out by the Red Sea road to go around the land of Edom. The people were discouraged by the journey and began to com plain against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna." Yahweh then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, speaking against Yahweh and against you. Plead with Yahweh to take the serpents away." Moses pleaded for the people and Yahweh said to him, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.
JOHN 8:21-30
Again Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and though you look for me, you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." The Jews wondered, "Why does he say that we can't come where he is going? Will he kill himself?" But Jesus said, "You are from below and I am from above; you are of this world and I am not of this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. And you shall die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He." They asked him, "Who are you?"; and Jesus said, "Just what I have told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the One who sent me is truthful and everything I learned from him, I proclaim to the world." They didn't understand that Jesus was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself, but I say just what the Father taught me. He who sent me is with me and has not left me alone; because I always do what pleases him." As Jesus spoke like this, many believed in him.
REFLECTION
"Will he kill himself?" The Jews could only react to Jesus' words in a literal and narrow sense. At the least, this showed their inability to comprehend his true message, and at worst, their unwillingness to do so. This is not surprising. The Jews after all were in the habit of making literal interpretations of their own rules. During the Sabbath, for example, they didn't allow charitable acts if these entailed any form of work. If they were so blind to the meaning of their own laws, how could they even begin to understand Jesus' new message of salvation? Jesus touches on the cause of this narrow-mindedness and blindness when he says "...you are of this world and I am not of this world." Being of this world, we tend to be pre-occupied with things of this world – the pursuit of security, health, a good reputation. For the Jews, being of this world meant the preoccupation with power over their subjects, and the great wealth they were able to extract as a result of that power. Jesus therefore tells us that the only way they can truly understand what he's talking about is if we lose our attachment to these worldly preoccupations. Jesus goes on, giving us the key to doing so when he says, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man." Indeed, it is when we have learned to understand the meaning of his sacrifice, which was the ultimate detachment from his life, that we will understand his message. This is certainly not easy, and most of us will go through our entire lives without fully comprehending the meaning of his sacrifice. The good news is that Jesus doesn't require comprehension, only a lifting up or a sharing in his sacrifice. That's enough because he'll do the rest in guiding us towards truly understanding him.
Holy Spirit, teach us to share in Jesus' sacrifice. Help us to place ourselves in his hands. Give us the courage to accept Jesus' invitation to lift him up as high and as often as we can so that we can, like him, be not of this world.
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, Andy Lecaros, Virginia Hernandez, Mon Torres, and Fleur Torres
… for the personal intentions of
- Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Oge Anyaugo, Barr (Mrs) adaugo Barbara Okoronkwo, Engr. Ifeanyi Matt Anyaugo, Chuba Anyaugo and Ezinne Cordelia Anyaugo
- Pauline
- Beny Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Pearlie Chan
- Birthday: Graziano & Joji Negroni
- In Memoriam (+): Francisco Sun
- In Memoriam (+): Angel Limqueco
… 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
Archive: http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2013 Daily-Homily
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