DAILY- HOMILY

July 6, 2014
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Zec 9: 9-10 / Ps 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 / Rom 8: 9, 11-13/ Mt 11: 25-30

First Reading: Zechariah  9: 9-10
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout for joy, daughter of Jerusalem! For your king is coming, just and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. No more chariots in Ephraim, no more horses in Jerusalem, for he will do away with them. The warrior's bow shall be broken when he dictates peace to the nations. He will reign from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Second Reading: Romans 8: 9, 11-13
Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to him. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, he will do it through his Spirit who dwells within you. Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the Spirit, let us put to death the body's deeds so that we may live.

Gospel: Matthew 11: 25-30
On that occasion Jesus said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to simple people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest. For my yoke is good and my burden is light."

Reflection:
     There are moments in our life when we feel we are pushed to a corner. We sometimes ask: Why is this so? What did I do to deserve this? Sometimes out of desperation we do the unthinkable; we vent our ire on somebody else. And that is unfair. We saw Jesus Christ in the Gospel today thanking his father for showing to the unlearned what he has hidden from the wise and the learned. I guess sometimes this is what we lack - the need to be grateful for the small blessings we have received and blessings that other people have received. Let us not put too much importance on ourselves, that everything should go our way. We know too, that it is about the care and love that he feels for those who are having a hard time - the poor, the sick, the orphans.
     Sometimes we have to pause and try to have some moment in prayer, moment to be quiet, moment to be peaceful to gather our thoughts again. We know that the troubles of the world are endless, and that is the reality of life. Some of the problems we encounter could be a test for us. It can lead us to examine ourselves and how we relate to God and others. It can also make us assess how much faith we have, and how committed we are to the work assigned to us. As followers of Jesus we must try to follow his example. We sometimes are overwhelmed by the demands imposed on us, but because we want to please others,  the burden becomes heavier and heavier and hard to take. When we are in this situation Jesus tells us, "Come to me all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads and I will give you rest."  May we be energized by the words of Jesus and trust in him and him alone.  Jesus will always be with us and will never leave us if we have faith in him. Jesus knows we are burdened and that we also need to rest. He invites us to come to him and he will help us lighten our burdens. How do we accept this caring invitation? Are we really convinced that Jesus can lift our burdens and give us peace? This can only happen if we regularly communicate with him. If we talk to Jesus in a very personal way we may be surprised that the burden we carry can be lighter.

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

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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