DAILY- HOMILY

December 15, 2013

3rd Sunday of Advent – A

Is 35: 1-6,10 / Ps 146: 6-7. 8-9. 9-10 / James 5:7-10 / Mt 11:2-11

Isaiah 35: 1-6,10

Let the wilderness and the arid land rejoice, the desert be glad and blossom. Covered with flowers, it sings and shouts with joy, adorned with the splendor of Lebanon, the magnificence of Carmel and Sharon. They, my people, see the glory of Yahweh, the majesty of our God. Give vigor to weary hands and strength to enfeebled knees. Say to those who are afraid: "Have courage, do not fear. See, your God comes, demanding justice. He is the God who rewards, the God who comes to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unsealed. Then will the lame leap as a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing and shout. For water will break out in the wilderness and streams gush forth from the desert. For the ransomed of Yahweh will return: with everlasting joy upon their heads, they will come to Zion singing, gladness and joy marching with them, while sorrow and sighing flee away.

James 5:7-10

Be patient then, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. See how the sower waits for the precious fruits of the earth, looking forward patiently to the autumn and spring rains. You also be patient and do not lose heart, because the Lord's coming is near. Beloved, do not fight among your selves and you will not be judged. See, the judge is already at the door. Take for yourselves, as an example of patience, the suffering of the prophets who spoke in the Lord's name.

Matthew 11:2-11

When John the Baptist heard in prison about the activities of Christ, he sent a message by his disciples, asking him, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" Jesus answered them, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and good news is reaching the poor; and how fortunate is the one who does not take offense at me!" As the messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "When you went out to the desert, what did you expect to see? A reed swept by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? People who wear fine clothes live in palaces. What did you really go out to see? A prophet? Yes, indeed, and even more than a prophet. He is the man of whom Scripture says: I send my messenger ahead of you to prepare the way before you. 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.

Reflection

The gospel today talks about Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus and John are related by blood and they were born six months apart. We can presume that they shared many things in common when they were growing up. The scriptures would attest that they grew up to be pleasing in the eyes of God because of how they were conceived. John the Baptist was going to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Both had a hand in our salvation history. Compared to a present day musical concert set up, John the Baptist is the front act, while Jesus Christ is the main act.

When John the Baptist made his appearance as a preacher in the desert, his main theme was: "Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand." He was the one that scripture speaks of as the herald's voice in the desert: "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths." John the Baptist preached to the people to reform their lives. People believed in him and almost all of the whole region of Judea were going to him to be baptized as they confessed their sins. He reminded the people that he was baptizing them with water, but somebody greater than he will baptize them in the Holy Spirit and fire. From these accounts we can conclude they had admiration and respect for each other. Jesus even said of John that "history has not known a man born of a woman greater than John the Baptist."

At the beginning of the gospel passage, John the Baptist was in prison when he heard of the miracles, healings and teachings of Jesus Christ. John was curious about this and sent a disciple to ask him, "Are you the one?" Jesus told John's disciples to go back and tell John what they heard and saw. "Tell him all the good things I have done as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah: 'to bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners.'"

Today as we reflect on the life of John the Baptist and his deputation of Jesus Christ as the one who is to come, we cannot help but praise him for his courage. On the other hand we hear Jesus Christ witnessing to John the Baptist as a great man. We too can be like John to set aside our personal feeling towards others. Let us give way to people to shine on their own merits. Let us not be a stumbling block to progress. We can also be like Jesus Christ who is willing to accept anybody who can contribute to the welfare of the many to advance in life. We start asking ourselves what are the things we can do to change for the better? How can we become more faithful to God? How about my spiritual life? Masses, prayers, communion, scriptures – these are some of the things that probably we can start to be more concerned about. John has prepared the way for us to receive Jesus Christ. Jesus has already done his part. He died on the cross for our salvation. What more can we ask? It is but right to start our actions now. Let us open our hearts and soul to welcome the Holy Spirit so that we can continue the works of Jesus by loving and caring for others. Jesus will always be on our side. He will never leave us.

Prayer Requests

We pray …

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the speedy recovery and healing of

-                  Lorenzo Meoli

-                  Cely Katigbak

-                  Ditas dela Paz, Toots Monfort, Virginia Hernandez, and Fleur Torres

-                  Eric

… for the personal intentions of Feliciana Bonsol

… for the eternal repose of the souls of Victor Borja. 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: Arnold P. Paragsa

-                  Birthday: Celia Chua Jao

-                  In Memoriam (+): Yee Wei Koon

-                  In Memoriam (+): Vicente Dy Sun Sr.

… 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:

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   |  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 14, 2013

Saturday 2^nd Week of Advent - Year I

Memorial, Saint John of the Cross, priest and doctor

Sir 48:1-4,9-11 / Ps 80: 2ac and 3b. 15-16. 18-19 / Mt 17:10-13

Sirach 48:1-4,9-11

Then came the prophet Elijah like a fire, his words a burning torch. He brought a famine on the peo ple and in his zealous love had them reduced in number. Speaking in the name of the Lord he closed the heavens, and on three occasions called down fire. How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever boast of being your equal? You were taken up by a whirlwind of flames in a chariot drawn by fiery horses. It was written that you should be the one to calm God's anger in the future be - fore it broke out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their sons and to restore the tribes of Jacob. 11 Happy are those who will see you and those who die in love, for we too shall live.

Matthew 17:10-13

The disciples then asked him, "Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?" And Jesus answered, "So it is: first comes Elijah to set everything as it has to be. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, but they did not recognize him, and treated him as they pleased. And they will also make the Son of Man suffer." Then the disciples understood that Jesus was referring to John the Baptist.

Reflection

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. John of the Cross (Juan de la Cruz). A Carmelite priest from Spain, he was also a great mystic and poet and his works are now considered masterpieces of spirituality and Spanish literature. Together with his contemporary, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of Lisieux, both doctors of the Church, he is honored today as one among the three greatest figures of the Carmelite order whose lives and works greatly influenced the Catholic Church. However, in his time, for his efforts to reform the life of his religious confreres, he was very much misunderstood and even imprisoned by his Carmelite brothers. It was during this period of great desolation and anguish that he produced some of his greatest works on spirituality which are considered to be some of the greatest legacies of the Carmelite order to the Church.

As we reflect on the life of St. John of the Cross and our readings today from Matthew's gospel and the Old Testament, we can see that people have not changed through the centuries. The people then, and we now, still ignore the prophets and reformers in our midst. Through the centuries, our loving Father continues to speak to us and call us to reform our lives (metanoia) through human intervention – like the prophet Elijah to the ancient Israelites, St. John the Baptist at the time of our Lord, Juan de la Cruz in medieval Spain and through different people in our modern age. Surely we can recall that the Baptist had cried out in the wilderness to his hearers to make way for the advent of the Lord. Now, how can we prepare ourselves and respond more fully to God's invitation to effect a change in our hearts and lifestyles, keeping in mind that we are now approaching the celebration of the birth of the Son of Man at Christmas?

Prayer Requests

We pray …

… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.

… for the speedy recovery and healing of

-                  Lorenzo Meoli

-                  Cely Katigbak

-                  Ditas dela Paz, Toots Monfort, Virginia Hernandez, and Fleur Torres

-                  Eric

… for the personal intentions of

-                  Pauline

-                  Beny Chua

-                  Joshua Chua

-                  Feliciana Bonsol

… for the eternal repose of the souls of Victor Borja. 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: Paolo Gabriel Chikiamco

Birthday: Hubert See Co

Wedding Anniversary: Carlos & Lynda Lao

… 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. 

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