DAILY- HOMILY

November 22, 2014

Saturday 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

[Memorial, St. Cecilia]

Rv 11: 4-12/ Ps 144: 1b, 2, 9-10 / Lk 20: 27-40 

Reading: Rv 11: 4-12

These are the two olive trees and the two lamps which are before the Lord of the earth. If anyone intends to harm them, fire will come out of their mouths to devour their enemies: this is how whoever intends to harm them will perish. They have the power to close the sky and hold back the rain during the time of their prophetic mission; they also have the power to change water into blood, and punish the earth with a thousand plagues, any time they wish. But when my witnesses have fulfilled their mission, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war upon them, and will conquer and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in the square of the Great City which the believers figuratively call Sodom or Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. And their dead bodies will be exposed for three days and a half to people of all tribes, races, languages and nations who will be ordered not to have them buried. Then the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice, congratulate one another and exchange gifts among themselves because these two prophets were a torment to them. But after those three and a half days, a spirit of life coming from God entered them. They then stood up, and those who looked at them were seized with great fear. A loud voice from heaven called them, "Come up here." So they went up to heaven in the midst of the clouds in the sight of their enemies.

Gospel: Luke 20: 27-40 

Then some Sadducees arrived. These people claim that there is no resurrection and they asked Jesus this question, "Master, in the Scripture Moses told us: 'If anyone dies leaving a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife, and the child to be born will be regarded as the child of the deceased man.' Now, there were seven brothers; the first married a wife, but he died without children; and the second and the third took the wife; in fact all seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be wife? For the seven had her as wife." And Jesus replied, "Taking husband or wife is proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die for they are like the angels. They too are sons and daughters of God because they are born of the resurrection. Yes, the dead will be raised, and even Moses implied it in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. For he is God of the living and not of the dead, and for him all are alive."  Some teachers of the Law then agreed with Jesus, "Master, you have spoken well." They didn't dare to ask him anything else. 

Reflection:

     In today's gospel, we see that the Sadducees could not conceive of a life beyond this mortal realm. Sadly, sometimes we too can be nearsighted and earth-bound in our concerns.  We preoccupy ourselves with matters which may seem very crucial and significant in this mortal life, but is actually of no consequence in Heaven. Similarly, we sometimes also question the Lord because we look at events, people or issues through our human eyes.  We do not see our lives and the world in its entirety, as the Lord does.

     If you find yourself questioning the Lord, about matters of faith or a particularly difficult situation you are in, pray for wisdom and the grace to see things through His eyes.  

     Great is the wisdom of the Lord!  

     God Almighty, Your Wisdom includes

     An understanding of what is fair,  

     What is logical, what is true,

     What is right and what is lasting. 

     It mirrors Your pure intellect!

     I entreat You to grant me such Wisdom,

     That my labours may reflect Your insight.

     Your Wisdom expands in Your creations,

     Displaying complexity and multiplicity.

     Your Wisdom is an eternity ahead of man.

     May Your wisdom flourish forever! - catholic.org

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 special intentions of Jennette Pe

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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