DAILY- HOMILY

July 21, 2014
Monday 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[St. Lawrence of Brindisi]

Mi 6: 1-4, 6-8 / Ps 50: 5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23/ Mt 12: 38-42

Reading: Mi 6: 1-4, 6-8
Listen to what Yahweh said to me, "Stand up, let the mountains hear your claim, and the hills listen to your plea." Hear, O mountains, Yahweh's complaint! Foundations of the earth, pay attention! For Yahweh has a case against his people, and will argue it with Israel. "O my people, what have I done to you? In what way have I been a burden to you? Answer me. I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from the land of bondage; I sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam to lead you. "What shall I bring when I come to Yahweh and bow down before God the most high? Shall I come with burnt offerings, with sacrifices of yearling calves? Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams, with an overabundance of oil libations? Should I offer my firstborn for my sins, the fruit of my body for my wrongdoing?" "You have been told, O man, what is good and what Yahweh requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.   

Gospel: Matthew 12: 38-42
Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you." Jesus answered them, "An evil and unfaithful people want a sign, but no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the monster fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the depths of the earth. At the judgment, the people of Niniveh will rise with this generation and condemn it, because they reformed their lives at the preaching of Jonah, and here there is greater than Jonah. At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you. She came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here there is greater than Solomon.

Reflection:
     In the first reading (Micah 6:1-4), the Lord questions: "What have I done to you? Why the questioning? Why the unbelief?"  Only one thing, Yahweh requires: " To do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God." This has been the subject of the readings this past week.
     In the gospel reading, some Pharisees and those knowledgeable in the Law wanted to test Jesus.  Instead of listening to him they demanded a miracle. But Jesus knew their thoughts and did not perform any miracle for them.  Instead, he reprimanded them saying that evil and unfaithful people want a sign, so he did not give them any.  He refers to them as unfaithful believers because they actually had other gods but pretended to search for the truth.  So he gave them the sign of Jonah, the prophet, which refers to the resurrection of Jesus.  As Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the monster fish, so will the son of man spend three days and three nights buried in the depths of the earth.  After three days, he is risen from the dead, changing death to life.  His resurrection is the foundation of our faith.
     Let us pray the prayer of the foundation of our faith - The Apostles' Creed:  I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth;  and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,  who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,  suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.  Amen.

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 birthday intentions
    * Atty. Estanislao Granados Jr.
    * Carmen Go
    * Fr. Bernard Collera SVD

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
   |            http://www.marythequeen.org
   |  Distributed free and for personal use only. 
  +================================================+