Wednesday, June 26, 2013

 

THURSDAY 12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YR I

JUNE 27, 2013
MEMORIAL, SAINT CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP AND DOCTOR
THURSDAY 12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YR I

Gen 16:1-12,15-16 / Ps 106: 1b-2. 3-4a. 4b-5 / Mt 7:21-29

Genesis 16:1-12,15-16
Sarai, Abram's wife had not borne him a child, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar, and she said to Abram, "Now, since Yahweh has kept me from having children, go to my servant; perhaps I shall have a child by her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. Abram had been in the land of Canaan ten years when Sarai, his wife, took Hagar, her Egyptian maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as wife. He went in to Hagar and she became pregnant. When she was aware of this, she began to despise her mistress. Sarai said to Abram, "May this injury done to me be yours. I put my servant in your arms and now that she knows she is pregnant, I count for nothing in her eyes. Let Yahweh judge between me and you." Abram said to Sarai, "Your servant is in your power; do with her as you please." Then Sarai treated her so badly that she ran away. The angel of Yahweh found her near a spring in the wilderness and said to her, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I'm running away from Sarai, my mistress." The angel of Yahweh said to her, "Go back to your mistress and humbly submit yourself to her." The angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will so increase your descendants, that they will be too numerous to be counted." Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, "Now you are with child and you will have a son, and you shall name him Ishmael, for Yahweh has heard your distress. He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, defiant towards all his brothers." Hagar gave birth to a son and Abram called the child Hagar bore him, Ishmael. Abram was eighty- six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Matthew 7:21-29
Not everyone who says to me, `Lord! Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in your name?' Then I will tell them openly, `I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!' "So then, anyone who hears these words of mine, and acts accordingly, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!" When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way he taught, because he taught with authority, unlike their teachers of the Law.

REFLECTION
"Anyone who hears these words of mine and acts accordingly is like a wise man... But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act accordingly is like a fool...." "What good is it, my brothers and sisters to profess our faith without showing works? Such faith has no power to save." James 2: 14

There are many good people in our world today who want to walk with God. They want to know and embrace truth and live good Christian lives, but they just don't know how to practically apply the principles of the gospel to their everyday lives. They ask this question: "What does it mean to live a holy life and how do I live it in my daily life?"

Matthew Kelly in his book Rediscover Catholicism says, "The loss of our essential purpose is the cause of modern madness. Living holy lives is the goal of the Christian life and our essential purpose. When we separate the daily activities of our lives from our essential purpose, the very meaning of our lives, it is only a matter of time before boredom and despair take hold of us." He defines holy lives as "letting our decisions be guided by the Holy Spirit. It means allowing each moment to be all it can be."

Even Albert Einstein said: "Nothing truly valuable arises from ambition or from a mere sense of duty; it stems rather from love and devotion towards men."

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Elizabeth Lim
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Cecilia Katigbak
- Nestor Nunag
- Eric
- Ditas dela Paz, Toots Monfort, Virginia Hernandez, and Fleur Torres
… In Memoriam:
- Arnold Allan V. Cabatingan
- Carina Corazon A. Deniega
… 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
- Beny Chua
- Pauline
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Ramon Torres, Pilar David, and Alejandro Lecaros
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.
- Wedding Anniversary: Enrique & Lizanne Castillo
- Thanksgiving: Elsa & Paolo
- In Memoriam (+): Bayani Mendiola Castillo
- In Memoriam (+): Rosalinda Chua Tan (Apr. 6, 1954 - Jun 27, 2012)
… 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:

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| Distributed free and for personal use only.
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WEDNESDAY 12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YR I

JUNE 26, 2013
WEDNESDAY 12TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YR I

Gen 15:1-12,17-18 / Ps 105: 1-2. 3-4. 6-7. 8-9 / Mt 7:15-20

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18
After this the word of Yahweh was spoken to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great!" Abram said, "My Lord Yahweh, where are your promises? I am still childless and all I have will go to Eliezer of Damascus. You have given me no children, so a slave of mine will be my heir." Then the word of Yahweh was spoken to him again, "Eliezer will not be your heir, but a child born of you (your own flesh and blood) will be your heir." Then Yahweh brought him outside and said to him, "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that." Abram believed Yahweh who, because of this, held him to be an upright man. And he said, "I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession." Then Abram asked, "My Lord, how am I to know that it shall be mine?" Yahweh replied, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove and a young pigeon." Abram brought all these animals, cut them in two, and laid each half facing its other half, but he did not cut the birds in half. The birds of prey came down upon them, but Abram drove them away. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep came over Abram, and a dreadful darkness took hold of him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the halves of the victims. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this country from the river of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.

Matthew 7:15-20
Beware of false prophets: they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are wild wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree always produces good fruit, a rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire. So you will know them by their fruit.

REFLECTION
In the first reading, God repeats to Abraham His commitment to the promises He had made to him. He not only repeats His promise to make a great nation out of his posterity, but He seals this promise as well with a covenant in which He tells Abraham He will take the initiative. Unlike what most people think, God often takes the lead in our growth as Christians by sending people, events and graces to keep us on the right track. We just have to listen and recognize His actions in our lives.

In the gospel, Jesus warns us about false prophets. How can you tell if someone is genuine or not, if he is a true prophet or not? Here Jesus connects soundness with bearing good fruit. A good and healthy tree is sound, free of defect or decay, and could therefore bear good fruit. For us, to bear good fruit means living a sound life according to moral truth and uprightness. Man cannot live a life of saint and sinner at the same time. This is the contradiction found in a false prophet. He seemingly speaks words of wisdom but lives a life contrary to the gospel. He is prone to anger, judgment and condemnation of others, lust for power, illicit desires, etc. The fruits of a false prophet are contrary to the teachings of Jesus, contrary to the cross of Christ. Oftentimes he wants us to think lightly of sin and in the process, leads us to perdition, to the wrong path.

How do we avoid these falsehoods? By being faithful to God, to His Word and to His graces. Those who are true to God know that their strength lie not in themselves but in the faithfulness of God. And because God is faithful and gracious to him, the true disciple bears good fruit.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Elizabeth Lim
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Cecilia Katigbak
- Nestor Nunag
- Eric
… 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
- Beny Chua
- Pauline
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Ruby Jane G. Naval
- Wedding Anniversary: Boyce & Cheryl Liao
- In Memoriam (+): Paterno Luym
- In Memoriam (+): Luisita R. Chua
… 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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