DAILY- HOMILY

December 9, 2014

Tuesday 2nd Week of Advent

[Memorial, St. Juan Diego]

Is 40: 1-11 / Ps 96: 1-2, 3 and 10ac, 11-12, 13 / Mt 18: 12-14 

Reading: Is 40: 1-11

Be comforted, my people, be strengthened, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, proclaim to her that her time of bondage is at an end, that her guilt has been paid for, that from the hand of Yahweh she has received double punishment for all her iniquity. A voice cries, "In the wilderness prepare the way for Yahweh. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be raised up; every mountain and hill will be laid low. The stumbling blocks shall become level and the rugged places smooth. The glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and all mortals together will see it; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken." A voice says, "Cry." and I say, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, and all its beauty as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower wilts, when the breath of Yahweh blows upon it. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will forever stand." Go up onto the high mountain, messenger of Zion, lift up your voice with strength, fear not to cry aloud when you tell Jerusalem and announce to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes your God with might; his strong arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and here before him is his booty. Like a shepherd he tends his flock: he gathers the lambs in his arms, he carries them in his bosom, gently leading those that are with young.

Gospel: Matthew 18: 12-14

Jesus said to his disciples, "What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside, and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you: when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it than about the ninety-nine that did not get lost. It is the same with your Father in heaven: there they don't want even one of these little ones to be lost."

Reflection:

     In Advent, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the feast of God's love for us which was so great that He sent His own son to be Emmanuel, "God with us" and to be God in pursuit of us.

     Our saint for today is Juan Diego, an Indian native of Mexico, a model of humility and simple faith. His native name was Cuauhtlatoatzin and he was a poor Indian Aztec. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill in the early morning of Dec. 9, 1531. in his description , she appeared to be a young girl of 15  surrounded by lights and spoke to Juan Diego in his native language. She asked that a church be built at that site in her honor. Juan Diego was hesitant because he said he was a nobody and lacked credibility.  But still he tried to tell his story to the Archbishop of Mexico City who instructed him to return to Tepeyac Hill, and ask the "lady" for a miraculous sign to prove her identity. The first sign was the Virgin's healing of Juan's uncle. Then the Lady told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill. Although it was  winter and  flowers were no longer in bloom, Juan Diego found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico. The Virgin arranged the flowers in Diego's tilma cloak and when Diego opened his cloak before the bishop on December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, and in their place on the fabric of the tilma was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, miraculously imprinted there. 

Now the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe stands on that site and the icon imprinted on Juan Diego's tilma is displayed there. In July 31, 2002, the Pope canonized Juan Diego before a crowd of 12 million, and later that year included in the General Calendar of the Roman Rite, as optional memorials, the liturgical celebrations of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (December 9) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12).

(Information taken from several websites online.)

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

… for world peace and reconciliation

… for the intentions of Beny Chua

… for the wedding anniversary intentions of Tecson & Lily Chua

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

   |  distributed free and for personal use only.  

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