DAILY- HOMILY

August 13, 2014
Wednesday 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Sts Pontian and Hipolytus]

Ez 9: 1-7: 10: 18-22 / Ps 113: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 / Mt 18: 15-20

Reading: Ez 9: 1-7: 10: 18-22
Then he shouted loudly in my ears saying, "The punishment of the city is near; see each one of these has in his hand his instrument of destruction." And six men came from the direction of the upper gate which faces north, each one with his instrument of destruction. With them was a man clothed in linen with writing material at his side. They came and stopped near the altar of bronze. Then the Glory of the God of Israel rose from the cherubim where it rested and went to the threshold of the house. Yahweh called to the man clothed in linen who had the material for writing at his side, and he said to him, "Pass through the center of the city, through Jerusalem, and trace a cross on the forehead of the men who sigh and groan because of all the abominations committed in it." I heard him say to the others, "Now you may pass through the city after him and strike. Your eyes shall not look with pity; show no mercy! Do away with them all - old men, young men, virgins, children and women - but do not touch anyone marked with a cross." And as they were told to begin with the sanctuary, they struck the elders who were in front of the Temple. Yahweh said to them, "Let the courts be filled with the slain and the Temple be defiled with their blood; go out!" They went and slew the people in the city. The Glory of Yahweh went from above the threshold of the house and went to rest on the cherubim. Then the cherubim left, opening their wings and rising above the earth in my sight, and the wheels went with them. They halted at the east gate of the house of Yahweh and the Glory of the God of Israel was over them. These were the living creatures I had seen under the God of Israel on the banks of the river Chebar. I recognized them as cherubim. Each had four faces, each had four wings and they had what seemed like human hands under their wings. As for the appearance of their faces, they were the faces I had seen by the river Chebar, the same likeness. Each one went straight ahead.
Gospel: Matthew 18: 15-20
If your brother or sister has sinned against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are in private, and if he listens to you, you have won your brother. If you are not listened to, take with you one or two others so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he still refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard such a one as a pagan or a publican I say to you: whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound. In like manner, I say to you: if on earth two of you are united in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there among them."

Reflection:
Which is easier to do, to correct or to be corrected? If you do the correction, charity is needed. Anger results in harsh words and might do more harm than good. Impartiality makes the correction sound. Above all we must never forget that no one is without stain or fault. We may be without guilt for the moment but we may fall in the same trap any moment. That is why the Lord said, "Do not judge. The judgments you give are the same judgments you will get and the standard you use will be the standard used for you."(Mt 7: 1-2) There is only one just judge and He is the Father in heaven.
But there are people who don't correct due to laziness or fear to risk losing the affection of the loved one. Some parents do not take up this challenge of correcting their children because they don't want to hurt the feelings of their children who might not love them anymore. Other parents, on the other hand, exaggerate in correcting their children driving their children to resentment.
But what happens to the one who is being corrected? It is not easy for him. It is not pleasant to be confronted with one's faults. His pride keeps him from acknowledging his mistakes and sometimes a scapegoat gets the blame.
Owning up our faults is humility which brings us to holiness. Saints never took pride in their holiness, but they constantly admitted their sins and confessed them. They never considered themselves better than anyone else because they experienced God's love even in their sinful state.
To correct and to be corrected works for our benefit; we can practice mercy and humility.

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 eternal repose of the soul of Enrico R. Bella

... thanksgiving for the improved of the health condition of Joy Droke

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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