DAILY- HOMILY

March 18, 2014
Tuesday Second Week of Lent 
[St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church]

Is 1:10, 16-20  / Ps 50:8-9,16BC-17, 21 and 23 / Mt 23: 1-12 

Reading: Is 1: 10, 16-20 
Hear the warning of Yahweh, rulers of Sodom. Listen to the word of God, people of Gomorrah." Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove from my sight the evil of your deeds. Put an end to your wickedness and learn to do good. Seek justice and keep in line the abusers; give the fatherless their rights and defend the widow." "Come," says the Lord, "let us reason together. Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they be as crimson red, they will be white as wool. If you will obey me, you will eat the goods of the earth; but if you resist and rebel, the sword will eat you instead." Truly the Lord has spoken.   
   
Gospel: Mt 23:1-12     
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees sat on the seat of Moses. So you shall do and observe all they say, but do not do as they do, for they do not do what they say. They tie up heavy burdens and load them on the shoulders of the people, but they do not even raise a finger to move them. They do everything in order to be seen by people; so they wear very wide bands of the Law around their foreheads, and robes with large tassels. They enjoy the first place at feasts and reserved seats in the synagogues, and being greeted in the marketplace and being called 'Master' by the people. But you, do not let yourselves be called Master because you have only one Master, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Neither should you call anyone on earth Father, because you have only one Father, he who is in heaven. Nor should you be called leader, because Christ is the only leader for you. Let the greatest among you be the servant of all. For whoever makes himself great shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be made great."

Reflection:
       The first reading reminds us of our social responsibilities as Christians. We cannot profess to be followers of Christ if we mistreat our workers, cheat the government and neglect the widows and orphans. Christianity has slowly made many peoples more humane and adopt laws that benefit the poor and the oppressed. But the world has forgotten its Christian roots and become godless, selfish, arrogant and unkind. We should reflect on our own lives and how we can become better Christians. It could be by sharing our blessings with the poor, giving more quality time to our families, not condoning unjust social practices, etc.  We must be happy to be Christians and strive to bring justice and love to others.
        The gospel is an indictment of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees during the time of Jesus.  Their sin was not to practice what they preached. This is what we might also be doing. So people do not listen to us anymore, our children do not obey us, and our neighbors speak behind our backs. Therefore, we need to reevaluate our actions and behavior and then ask God's help to reform our lives. This is the purpose of the season of Lent: to convert to the Lord, to His ways of thinking and doing. We are called to humility, to accept corrections, and even humiliations and injustices.  We are called to save men and bring love and forgiveness to the most hardened and unbelieving of men. Let us save the world by following the footsteps of the crucified Christ.

Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
... for families who are in need of healing.
     * John The Keat Hoe, Tay Tian Hock
     * Fred
     * Sr. Mary, Audie, Phidelis, Elizabeth
     * Denzil and Sanyato
     * Helen
... for healing of broken relationships
     * the two married couples
... for world peace and reconciliation.
     * peace between two larger groups
... for personal intentions
     * Beny Chua
     * Ma. Angeli Marmeto (wisdom and enlightenment for final exams)
     * The visa applicant
     * Success in business and good health
... for thanksgiving
     * Erick Hernandez and Maricar Hernandez   
     * the Jobseeker
... for the repose of the soul
     * Annie

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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