Sunday, March 08, 2015
MONDAY, 3rd Week of Lent
March 9, 2015 MONDAY, 3rd Week of Lent
St. Frances of Rome, Widow, Religious
Violet
2 Kgs 5:1- 5b / Lk 4: 24-30
[St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440), a married woman, founded an order of oblates after she was widowed.]
Reading: 2 Kgs 5:1- 5b
Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram. This man was highly regarded and enjoyed the king's favor, for Yahweh had helped him lead the army of the Arameans to victory. But this valiant man was sick with leprosy.
One day some Aramean soldiers raided the land of Israel and took a young girl captive who became a servant to the wife of Naaman. She said to her mistress, "If my master would only present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would surely cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went to tell the king what the young Israelite maidservant had said. The king of Aram said to him, "Go to the prophet, and I shall also send a letter to the king of Israel."
Gospel: Lk 4:24-30
Jesus added, "No prophet is honored in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet, and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian."
On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their midst and went his way.
Reflection:
Jesus exclaimed, "No prophet is accepted in his hometown." Jesus was rejected by his own people. They did not believe what he said and they drove him away. Imagine the pain Jesus felt. The place he grew up in and the people he spent his early life with rejected his words of hope and love. As people all over respected and approved of Jesus, the people of Nazareth doubted and discredited him. They could not believe that this son of a carpenter could be preaching and performing miracles.
Like Jesus, we are rejected when we either say things that people do not want to hear, or when we do rightful things contrary to popular actions. We get rejected because people around us are envious of what we are capable of doing. When we experience rejection, we feel desolate, we become isolated, and our initial reaction is to get angry and to exact retribution. We want to get back and make those who rejected us feel the misery and the torment they caused us. Our anger blinds us to do what Christ did.
Even when the people of Nazareth almost threw Jesus off the cliff, He maintained his cool. He did not fight back. Despite the pain and discouragement, Jesus continued what God the Father commissioned him to do: spread the Good News of salvation. His experience of being rejected did not discourage or stop him from continuing his ministry.
Let us pray for God's grace for courage and inspiration to carry on the work of Christ in our daily lives, to do what is good and right, even if it means facing rejection and humiliation.
WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:
BIRTHDAY
AMIE CERRERO
CATHERINE A. VILLANUEVA
TIMOTHY JAMESON DELA CRUZ CHAN
OTHER INTENTIONS:
For the death anniversary of ELIEZAR BILLANES.
For the healing & quick recovery of JUAN ALIGADA.
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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