DAILY- HOMILY

December 20, 2013

Friday 3^rd Week of Advent - Year I

Is 7:10-14 / Ps 24: 1-2. 3-4ab. 5-6 / Lk 1:26-38

Isaiah 7:10-14

Once again Yahweh addressed Ahaz, "Ask for a sign from Yahweh your God, let it come either from the deepest depths or from the heights of heaven." But Ahaz answered, "I will not ask, I will not put Yahweh to the test." Then Isaiah said, "Now listen, descendants of David. Have you not been satisfied trying the patience of people, that you also try the patience of my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The Virgin is with child and bears a son and calls his name Immanuel.

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth. He was sent to a young virgin, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the family of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you." Mary was troubled at these words, wondering what this greeting could mean. But the angel said, "Do not fear, Mary, for God has looked kindly on you. You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call him Jesus. He will be great, and shall rightly be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the kingdom of David, his ancestor; he will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his reign shall have no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the holy child to be born of you shall be called Son of God. Even your relative Elizabeth is expecting a son in her old age, although she was unable to have a child; and she is now in her sixth month. With God nothing is impossible." Then Mary said, "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you have said." And the angel left her.

Reflection

"Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you." When the angel first uttered these words, Mary was disturbed. And yet we see that after Mary's fiat that day, we can greet each other today saying, "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you." We are in fact, a grace-filled people. The Lord has chosen to be with us always until the end of time. Pause for a while and listen while we say these words to ourselves, "Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you". I know that our hearts will surely be stirred by these words. God, in His love and mercy, continues to live within us despite our shortcomings. How can we ever be worthy to stand in front of Him knowing what we know about ourselves? And yet, here we are, filled with His grace. What more is there to want?

Today most specially, we are invited to remember how our Lord loves us, how He longs to be with us, how we cannot be complete without Him. Our hearts pour out in gratitude that our Lord has chosen to be one like us. We thank Mary for her decision to say yes to the invitation of the Lord.

Lord, keep us close to you, do not let us stray too far from you. Keep our hearts grateful for the many graces of your love and mercy. Grant us the grace, so that like Mary, we can keep constantly at prayer, recognize your voice and be ready to say yes to your invitation.

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

-                  Joy Droke

-                  Eric

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

… for the personal intentions of

-                  Feliciana Bonsol

-                  Beny Chua

-                  Pauline

-                  Fred de Leon

… for the eternal repose of the souls of Enriqueta Velasco Prado. 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: Marcus Ng

-                  In Memoriam (+): Mary Yang

… 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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