DAILY- HOMILY

August 1, 2015 SATURDAY, 17TH Week in Ordinary Time

St. Alphonsus Liguori, 

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Memorial, White

Lv 25:1, 8 – 17 / Mt 14:1 - 12

[A native of Naples, St. Alphonsus Ligouri (1696 -1787), a famed moral theologian, founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists).]

Reading: Lv 25:1, 8 – 17

     Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai: 

     When seven sabbaths of years have passed, that is, seven times seven years, there shall be the time of the seven weeks of years, that is forty-nine years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month sound the trumpet loudly. On this Day of Atonement sound the trumpet all through the land. Keep holy the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom for all the inhabitants of the land. It shall be a jubilation year for you when each one shall recover his property and go back to his family. In this fiftieth year, your year of Jubilee, you shall neither sow nor reap the aftergrowth, nor gather the grapes from the uncultivated vines. This Jubilee year shall be holy for you, and you shall eat what the field yields of itself without cultivation.

     In this year of Jubilee each of you shall recover his own property. When you sell something to your neighbor or buy something from him, do not wrong one another. According to the number of years after the Jubilee, you shall buy it from your neighbor and according to the number of years left for harvesting crops he shall sell to you. When the years are many the price shall be greater and when the years are few the price shall be less, for it is the number of crops that he is selling to you. So you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God, for I am Yahweh, your God.

Gospel: Mt 14:1 - 12

     At that time the news about Jesus reached King Herod. And he said to his servants, "This man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."

     Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For John had said to him, "It is not right for you to have her as wife." Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare, because he feared the people who regarded John as a prophet.  

     On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst of the guests; she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked. The girl, following the advice of her mother, said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a dish." 

     The king was very displeased, but because he had made this promise under oath in the presence of the guests, he ordered it to be given her. So he had John beheaded in prison and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl. The girl then took it to her mother.    

     Then John's disciples came to take his body and bury it. And they went to bring the news to Jesus.    

Reflection:

     "So you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God. . ." These were the words spoken by God to Moses but it seems Herod must have forgotten these words thinking that he shall not wrong another by giving in to the evil request because of his promise under oath to give anything to the daughter of Herodias. His fear of things of the world made him forget about the fear of being separated from God.

     Yes, there are still some individuals, modern day Herods in the different sectors of our society who continue to exist pleasing others or themselves at the expense of others, causing different kinds of death in humanity. We sometimes become like Herod when we opt to follow what is pleasing in the eyes of the world and we forget about what is pleasing to God. Let us not forget about what our greatest fear should be, to be separated from God for all eternity. 

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     FE ESPERANZA D. CHUA

PRAYER INTENTION

     MARGE R. ZARATE

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the birthday intentions of Richard Condor

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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