DAILY- HOMILY

February 23, 2015 MONDAY, 1ST WEEK OF LENT

St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr 

Violet

Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 / Mt 25: 31-46

[A disciple of St. John the Apostle, St. Polycarp (d. 155), Bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir in Turkey) was martyred by the Roman pro-consul.]

Reading: Lv 19:1-2, 11-18

     Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,  2 "Speak to the entire assembly of the people of Israel and say to them: Be holy for I, Yahweh, your God, am holy.

     Do not steal or lie or deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name so as to profane the name of your God; I am Yahweh.

     Do not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man nor put a stumbling block in the way of the blind; but you shall fear your God; I am Yahweh.

     Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor nor bow to the great; you are to judge your neighbor fairly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not go about as a slanderer of your people and do not seek the death of your neighbor; I am Yahweh.

     Do not hate your brother in your heart; rebuke your neighbor frankly so as not to share in his guilt. Do not seek revenge or nurture a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.

Gospel: Mt 25:31-40

     When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be brought before him, and as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

     The King will say to those on his right, 'Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your house. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me.'

     Then the good people will ask him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and give you food; thirsty, and give you something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome you; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to see you?' The King will answer, 'Truly I say to you: whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.'

     Then he will say to those on his left: 'Go, cursed people, out of my sight into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not welcome me into your house; I was naked and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

     They, too, will ask: 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in prison, and did not help you?' The King will answer them: 'Truly, I say to you: whatever you did not do for one of these little ones, you did not do for me.'

     And these will go into eternal punishment, but the just to eternal life."

Reflection:

     During the Last Judgment, as described in today's Gospel, it is very clear how Jesus will judge each one of us. He already tells us how we should conduct our life before he renders judgement: "'Whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.'"

     As Christians, we are expected to continue with Christ's mission: feeding the hungry, helping the poor, promoting justice, spreading the Good News. As long as we recognize every person (not only those whom we know and like or are close to us, but everyone, including those who are difficult to love) as a brother and sister and treat them with love and compassion, Jesus will welcome us into His Kingdom. If we only think of ourselves and neglect the needs of the people around us, then he will curse us and send us away into eternal punishment.

     Lord, help me to see you in every person I meet and to treat everyone with love and compassion.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     ARLETH MENDOZA

     HARRIS JAVIER T. NGO

     REV. FR. CALOY REYES

     RONALD CUADRO 

     HENRY C. PARIÑAS

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the successful surgery, healing and recovery of IRIS SANTOS LASIN

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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February 22, 2015 – 1st SUNDAY OF LENT

Cycle B, Violet

Gn 9: 8-15 / 1 Pt 3: 18-22 / Mk 1: 12-15

First Reading: Gn 9: 8-15 

     God spoke to Noah and his son, "See I am making a covenant with you and with your descendants after you; also with every living animal with you: birds, cattle, that is, with every living creature of the earth that came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you. Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

     God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I make between me and you, and every animal living with you for all future generations. I set my bow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember the covenant between me and you and every kind of living creature, so that never again will floodwaters destroy all flesh.

Second Reading: 1 Pt 3: 18-22

     Remember how Christ died, once and for all, for our sins. He, the just one, died for the unjust in order to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the Spirit he was raised to life, and it was then that he went to preach to the imprisoned spirits. They were the generation who did not believe when God, in his great patience, delayed punishing the world while Noah was building the ark in which a small group of eight persons escaped through water. That was a type of the baptism that now saves you; this baptism is not a matter of physical cleansing but of asking God to reconcile us through the resurrection of Christ Jesus. He has ascended to heaven and is at the right hand of God, having subjected the angels, Dominations and Powers.

Gospel: Mk 1:12-15

     Then the Spirit drove him into the desert. Jesus stayed in the desert forty days and was tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, but angels ministered to him. After John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee and began preaching the Good News of God. He said, "The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News."

Reflection:

     Sometime in 1988 Jimmy Swaggart, a well-known American TV preacher, confessed on public TV his infidelity to his wife, his son and his daughter-in-law. This ended his multi-million dollar world-wide TV preaching ministry. One may then ask, "What tempts one to risk all and basically achieve nothing?" There are also some in positions of power and influence who do not let their power and influence change their lives: the President of Uruguay lives with his wife in a small farm, drives an old Volkswagen and donates most of his salary to the poor.

     The First Sunday of Lent tells us how Jesus handled temptations and how the devil and the powers of evil operate.

     Jesus starts his public ministry by prayer and fasting in the desert for forty days. Jesus is both God and man; the devil is able to tempt him as man. The Gospel reading from Mark tells us that "he was tempted by Satan." Matthew (Mt 4: 1-11) and Luke (Lk 4: 4-13) give fuller details of Jesus being tempted by Satan. Satan tempted him to lead him away from the plan and will of the Father; Satan even makes use of Scripture to divert Jesus from the Father's will; Jesus repels the devil with another Scripture passage.

     From the desert Jesus begins his preaching, "The time has come; the kingdom of God is at hand. Change your ways and believe the Good News." He tells the people that the long-awaited redemption is at hand, that they should reform their ways and lives.

     What are the temptations met by today's followers of Christ? One would be the worship of false gods: most obvious is the cult of money and wealth. Though money and wealth are not in themselves evil, the fascination, pursuit and enjoyment of money and wealth could easily lead to evil. We need and commend hard work; we need resourceful, creative fund managers and wise investors. But we do not need greedy entrepreneurs, dishonest businessmen and public servants and those willing and ready to trample rights of others in their pursuit of money and success. We must always remember that money and wealth should be used for us and all others to live good lives.

     It is also so easy to misuse and abuse otherwise useful and needed gadgets and tools. We can waste so much time and money on computers and the internet. Computers and the internet are very useful and helpful; yet they should not control our lives.

     Science and technology are not a replacement for God and religion. Advances in science and technology can tempt us to forget and ignore God, prayer and our faith.

     Lent is a special season of grace in the Church to help us transform our lives and ourselves in response to Christ's urgent message that "the kingdom of God is at hand. Change our ways and believe in Good News." It is a grace-filled season to join our Lord in his ministry, passion and death and to prepare for his glorious and joyful resurrection.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

AUGUSTO BENGZON

  CHE B. CONCEPTION

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the successful surgery, healing and recovery of Iris Santos Lasin.

For the successful operation, speedy recovery and complete healing of Agnes Bacani

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!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following: 

  +================================================+

   |  The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the

   |  priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish

   |  distributed free and for personal use only.  

  +================================================+