DAILY- HOMILY

November 24, 2015 TUESDAY, 34TH Week in Ordinary Time     

Sts. Andrew Dung-lac, Priest, 

and Companions, Martyrs

Memorial, Red   

Dn 2:31– 45 / Lk 21:5–11

[St. Andrew Dung-Lac (c. 1795 -1839), a Vietnamese priest, was one of 117, of whom eight were bishops and fifty priests, who were martyred over the course of a few years in Vietnam.]

Reading: Dn 2:31 – 45

     In your vision you saw a statue – very large, very bright, terrible to look at. Its head was of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. As you watched, a rock cut from a mountain but not by human hands, struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, smashing them. All at once the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold crumbled into pieces as fine as chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind swept them off and not a trace was left. But the rock that struck the statue became a great mountain that filled the whole earth.

     That was the dream. Now the interpretation. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given dominion, strength, power and glory, and into whose hand he has placed humankind, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, making you ruler over them. You are that head of gold.

     After you, another kingdom inferior to yours will rise. Then a third kingdom of bronze will rule the whole world. Last shall be a fourth kingdom strong as iron and just as iron breaks and crushes everything else, so will it break and smash all the others. The partly-clay and partly-iron feet and toes mean that it will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron, just as you saw iron mixed with clay. And as the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. Just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, the people will be a mixture but will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

     In the time of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom never to be destroyed or delivered up to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and put an end to them. And it will endure forever. This is the meaning of your vision of a rock cut from a mountain not by human hands, the rock which struck the statue and broke into pieces the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation reliable."

Gospel: Lk 21:5–11

     While some people were talking about the Temple, remarking that is was adorned with fine stonework and rich gifts, Jesus said to them, "The days will come when there shall not be left one stone upon another of all that you now admire; all will be torn down." And they asked him, "Master, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?"

     Jesus then said, "Take care not to be deceived, for many will come claiming my title and saying, 'I am he, the Messiah; the time is at hand.' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and troubled times, do not be frightened; for all this must happen first, even though the end is not so soon."

     And Jesus, "Nations will fight each other and kingdom will oppose kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and plagues; in many places strange and terrifying signs from heaven will be seen." 

Reflection: 

     In today's Gospel reading, people are admiring the beauty and splendor of the temple of Jerusalem. Jesus tells them these would not last. People have the tendency to admire that which is fleeting: beauty, intelligence, power, wealth, health, etc. These are all gifts given by a benevolent and loving God.  What is sad is that people tend to focus on the gifts instead of the Giver. They forget that these gifts are given for only two reasons: to praise and honor the Giver for his benevolence, and to share these gifts with all as a sign of thanksgiving to the Giver.  

     In the Gospel reading, Jesus says the same thing. This temple that is so admired by the Jews will one day be destroyed. Nothing will be left. Jesus also tells us to read the signs of the times. The end will come for sure, but no one knows when it will come to pass. "Do not be afraid," Jesus says, "I have already conquered the world!"  

     It may be nice to know when the end will be and when Jesus will come. But perhaps it is not really important. All we need to know and do is to be prepared every single day of our life and live in the way God meant us to live.

     And when that day does come, hopefully it will be our happiest day of days. There will be nothing to fear; only an eager, thrilling expectation to see the Beloved and hear his voice calling us home.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     PATRICIA JOAQUIN

     PEDRO S. REYES JR.

     RHEA CATINDIG

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     ESTRELLA YU CASTILLO

     BERTRAN YU LAI (SEP 19, 1965 – NOV 24, 1996)

     JOHNSON CHUA GOTAMCO (AUG 19, 1925 – NOV 24, 2011)

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the thanksgiving and personal intentions of Beny Chua.

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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