DAILY- HOMILY

May 26, 2015 TUESDAY, 8TH Week in Ordinary Time

ST. PHILIP NERI, Priest  

Memorial, White        

Sir 35:1 – 12 / Mk 10: 28 – 31

[A Florentine, St. Philip Neri (1515 – 1595) founded the Congregation 

of the Oratory in 1564.]

Reading: Sir 35: 1 – 12

     Keeping the Law is worth many offerings. Being faithful to the commandments is like a peace offering. Returning kindness is an offering of fine flour; giving alms is a sacrifice of praise. Renouncing sin pleases the Lord, and shunning injustice is a sacrifice of atonement. Do not appear before the Lord with empty hands. The commandment requires that you bring an offering. When the offering of the righteous is burned on the altar, the fat drips down and a fragrant aroma rises to the Most High. The sacrifice of the just man pleases God and will not be forgotten. Honor the Lord with a generous heart and do not be stingy with the first fruits of your harvest. Offer your gifts with a smiling face and when you pay your tithes do it gladly. Give to the Most High as he has given to you; give generously to the Lord according to what you have; the Lord will repay, he will reward you sevenfold. If you attempt to bribe him with gifts he will not accept them; do not rely on offerings from dishonest gain. The Lord is judge and shows no partiality.

Gospel:  Mk 10:28 - 31

     Then Peter spoke up, "We have left everything to follow you!"  "Truly I tell you," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel  will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Reflection:

     In this Gospel, Jesus assures us that if we follow him and the Gospel, we shall "receive a hundred times as much in this present age… and in the age to come: eternal life." But sometimes when we feel like we are at our lowest point, following the Gospel by doing what is good and avoiding what is evil leads us to question God. We ask, "What have we done to deserve these sufferings?" We forget why we followed God and the Gospel.

     Also, we tend to do things only because it is the right thing to do. What used to be service to God becomes routine work without seeing the end goal of things. We tend to do what is right without a purpose. We forget to offer our everyday lives to God and sometimes when we are tired, we deviate from what is right and give in to temptations. We think that life is just about mere suffering. Since we do not have a clear grasp of what is to come in life after death, we lose our purpose in life.  We get lost.

     What we fail to remember is that God has a plan for all of us. When we pray the Lord 's Prayer, we say "Thy will be done." Do we really know what this means? Do we believe and follow it? It is not as easy as just reciting the line. These four words should always remind us to put our complete trust on God so that things do happen for a reason. Let us continue to pray for patience and wisdom so we can understand God's plan. Let us pray that we may learn to put our complete trust and faith on God.

     May our lives reflect that faithfulness to his teachings. Even if the gratification may be long delayed, it is something worth our time. We must continue to strive in becoming better Christians, better examples of God's love alive in this world. In some sense, more people will see what it means to live a life destined for heaven.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     KARINA TIU

     SUSIE TSOI

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the eternal repose of the soul of Amelia R. Marin

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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