DAILY- HOMILY

December 13, 2013

Friday 2^nd Week of Advent - Year I

Memorial, Saint Lucy of Syracuse, virgin and martyr

Is 48:17-19 / Ps 1: 1-2. 3. 4 and 6 / Mt 11:16-19

Isaiah 48:17-19

Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, Yahweh, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go. Had you paid attention to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your right- eousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from my presence.

Matthew 11:16-19

Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, about whom their companions complain: 'We played the flute for you, but you would not dance. We sang a funeral song, but you would not cry!' For John came fasting, and peo ple said, 'He is possessed.' Then the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and people said, 'Look at this man! A glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet the outcome will prove Wisdom to be right."

Reflection

Nowadays, it is so important that we get our facts straight. We check and double check to make sure that the information we have is accurate. And so we ask questions, clarify and analyze so that we can arrive at a correct judgment about our information. Simple, isn't it? And yet, we find in the gospel how in our want to be accurate we fail to see the truth. We miss out on the truth about who Christ is. We read that when the Son of Man came, he ate and he drank and everyone. Some said he was a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts. No one seemed to recognize him to be the Christ, the Messiah, the King.

The people today may be compared to children sitting in the marketplace, seemingly uninvolved with the on-goings around them. Music is played but people don't dance. Funeral songs are sung but no one is crying. What has happened to us? The innocence of a child is no more. We use our minds to make sense of all that we experience but we miss out on the more important aspect of believing and having faith in the One who loves us. As we see in the gospel today, it was difficult for the people then to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Sadly, it can also be quite a challenge for us to recognize Christ today. If we keep our minds at work and fail to recognize the Lord with the eyes of our hearts, it would be such a big loss for us.

My Lord, help me to recognize you in my daily comings and goings. Grant me your grace to see and recognize you always – in every person and in everything around me.

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

… for the personal intentions of

Pauline

Beny Chua

Joshua Chua

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

Birthday: Harold S. Macasaquit

Birthday: Rong S. Hua

Birthday: James Lim Yu

Birthday: Jessica Ho Gotamco

Birthday: Christian Emmanuel Ching

Birthday: Sofia Magalona

In Memoriam (+): James Yao E. Heong

… 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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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. 

  +================================================+

December 12, 2013

Thursday 2^nd Week of Advent - Year I

Memorial, Our Lady of Guadalupe

Is 41:13-20 / Ps 145:1, 9-13 / Mt 11:11-15

Isaiah 41:13-20

For I, Yahweh, your God, take hold of your right hand and say to you: "Fear not, I am your assistance." Fear not, Jacob, poor worm, and you, people of Israel, so frail. I am your redeemer, says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, your helper. I will make you a thresher, new and with sharp double teeth: you will thresh hills and mountains, crushing them and reducing them to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will carry them off and the storm will scatter them. But you will rejoice in Yahweh and glory in the Holy One of Israel. The poor and the afflicted seek water, and find none. Their tongues are parched with thirst. But I, Yahweh, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open up streams over the barren heights and let the rivers flow through all the valleys; I will turn the desert into lakes and brooks and the thirsty earth into a land of springs. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle and the olive; I will plant in the wasteland fir, cypress and pine—that all may see and know, consider and understand, that the hand of Yahweh has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Matthew 11:11-15

I tell you this: no one greater than John the Baptist has come forward from among the sons of women, and yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is something to be conquered, and violent men seize it. Up to the time of John, there was only prophesy: all the prophets and the Law. And if you believe me, John is that Elijah, whose coming was predicted. Let anyone with ears listen!

Reflection

In this Gospel, Jesus presents us with the message of John the Baptist. The people revered him and accepted his teaching, freely receiving his baptism of repentance. Those who knew the Jewish law and unkindly imposed it on the poor would be found wanting. But those who listened to John the Baptist's teaching about repentance, love, and forgiveness would reap the benefits of this practice. Jesus invites those who have ears to listen to John's message, which is to pave the way in our hearts for Jesus' coming.

This Advent, let us pray for the grace to fully accept the teaching of John the Baptist, to prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts, making room for Jesus when he is born to us anew this Christmas.

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

… for the personal intentions of

Pauline

Beny Chua

Joshua Chua

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

Wedding Anniversary: Al & Cita Conception

Wedding Anniversary: James & Julie Marantan

In Memoriam (+): Benito Yap So

… 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. 

  +================================================+