DAILY- HOMILY

August 23, 2014
Saturday 20TH Week in Ordinary Time
[St. Rose of Lima]

Ez 43: 1-7ab / Ps 85: 9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14 / Mt 23: 1-12

Reading: Ez 43: 1-7ab
He took me to the gate, facing east. Then I saw the Glory of the God of Israel approaching from the east with a sound like the sound of the ocean, and the earth shone with his Glory. This vision was like the one I had seen when he came for the destruction of the city, and like the one I had seen on the bank of the river Chebar. Then I threw myself to the ground. The Glory of Yahweh arrived at the Temple by the east gate. The spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court: the Glory of Yahweh was filling the House. And I heard someone speaking to me from the Temple while the man stood beside me. The voice said, "Son of man, you have seen the place of my throne, where I will place the soles of my feet, and live among the Israelites forever.   

Gospel: Matthew 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:
     Do the words that we say conform to the way we act and the way we live? Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for being hypocrites for they know all the teachings and memorize all the biblical verses, but they don't do what they believe in. Faith without action is dead. These teachers need to walk the talk. Jesus pointed out that knowledge of religion is not the most important thing, but rather it's the act of love. The whole point of being a Christian is to love God and to love others. Without that, we're nothing. We need to reach out to others than just be content in our comfortable positions.     
     Jesus also points out the importance of humility and forgiveness. Even if he was called master by his apostles, he did not want to be served by them. He came to serve as shown when he washed the feet of his apostles during the last supper. He told them to do as he was doing to them.  Then he suffered mockery under Pontius Pilate but remained meek and humble.  He was crucified like a criminal, but he forgave his enemies. He did all this to save from our sinfulness. We should learn from Jesus' servant leadership. "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."

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
     * Annika Bacani - healing from atopic dermatitis and trichotollomania
     * Agnes Bacani - healing from cancer
... for world peace and reconciliation

... for Almabelle Abapo, Lisa Claire Branzuela and Dale Robert's Basilla who will take the Physician Licensure Exams (Aug 23,24, 30, 31) - the grace of wisdom, understanding and clarity of mind during their preparations and exam proper.

... for the repose of the soul of Feliciano Buenaventura Jr

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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