Friday, August 08, 2014

 

Saturday 18th Week in Ordinary Time

August 9, 2014
Saturday 18th Week in Ordinary Time
[St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross; St. Edith Stein]

Hab 1: 12 - 2: 4/ Ps 9: 8-9, 10-11, 12-13/ Mt 17: 14-20 

Reading: Hab 1: 12 - 2: 4
But you, are you not Yahweh from past ages? You, my holy God, you cannot die. You have set this people to serve your justice and you have made them firm as a rock to fulfill your punishment. Yahweh, your eyes are too pure to tolerate wickedness and you cannot look on oppression. Why, then, do you look on treacherous people and watch in silence while the evildoer swallows up one better than himself? You treat human beings like the fish in the sea, like reptiles who are nobody's concern. This nation catches all on its hook, pulls them out with its net and piles them up in its dragnet. Pleased and delighted at their catch, they offer sacrifices to their net and burn incense to their dragnets, since these supplied them with fish in plenty and provided them with food in abundance. Will they continue, then, to constantly empty their nets, slaughtering nations without mercy? I will stand in my watchtower and take up position on my battlements; I will see what he replies, if there is an answer to my question. Then Yahweh answered me and said, "Write down the vision, inscribe it on tables so it can be easily read, since this is a vision for an appointed time; it will not fail but will be fulfilled in due time. If it delays, wait for it, for it will come and will not be deferred. Look: I don't look with favor on the one who gives way; the upright, on the other hand, will live by his faithfulness."    

Gospel: Matthew 17:14-20
When they met the people, a man approached Jesus, knelt before him and said, "Sir, have pity on my son who is an epileptic and is in a wretched state. He has often fallen into the fire and at other times into the water. I brought him to your disciples but they could not heal him." Jesus replied, "You, faithless and evil people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus commanded the evil spirit to leave the boy, and the boy was immediately healed. The disciples then gathered around Jesus and asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive out the spirit?" Jesus said to them, "Because you have little faith. I say to you: if only you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could tell that mountain to move from here to there, and the mountain would obey. Nothing would be impossible to you. 

Reflection:
     Faith is putting your complete trust or confidence in someone or something. So how much faith do we really have in God?
     This passage obviously revolves around faith, or rather the importance of it. Inevitably, we have all experienced trials in our lives. All of us have called out to God and asked for a miracle or a sign and most of the time God was quiet, no answer. But it's not because He doesn't want to help us, it's because he knows what's best for us. We have to believe and put our complete trust in Him and His plan for our lives. Faith is powerful. As Jesus said, if you have faith even as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. Nothing will be impossible for you. 
     Faith isn't just limited to patiently waiting for God's answer to your prayer. It's also about believing that something great will happen in your life or someone else's life. It's about letting go of your fear and doubt and just surrendering everything to the Lord. 

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 birthday intentions of Lory Cua
... for the personal intentions of Tess Mendoza

... for the repose of the soul of Maria Banaglorioso

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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