DAILY- HOMILY

06 July 2015 MONDAY, 14th Week in Ordinary Time 

St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr  

Green    

Gn 28:10 - 22a / Mt 9:18 - 26  

[St. Maria Goretti (1890 -1902), Italian, was stabbed to death when she resisted one who wished to seduce her. ]

Reading: Gn 28: 10 - 22a

     Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place the sun had set and he spent the night there. He took one of the stones that were there and using it as a pillow, he lay down to sleep.

     While Jacob was sleeping, he had a dream in which a ladder stood on the earth with its top reaching to heaven and on it were angels of God going up and coming down. And Yahweh was standing there near him and said, "I am Yahweh, the God of your father, Abraham, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you sleep, I give to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be numerous like the specks of dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and the east, to the north and the south. Through you and your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. See, I am with you and I will keep you safe wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land and not leave you until I have done what I promised." Jacob woke from his dream and said, "Truly Yahweh was in this place and I was not aware of it." He was afraid and said, "How full of awe is this place! It is nothing less than a House of God; it is the Gate to Heaven!"

     Then Jacob rose early and took the stone he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He named that place Bethel although before that it was called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, "If Yahweh will be with me and keep me safe during this journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return in peace to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God. This stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me, I will give back a tenth."

Gospel: Mt 9:18 – 26

     While Jesus was speaking to them, an official of the synagogue came up to him, bowed before him and said, "My daughter has just died, but come and place your hands on her, and she will live." Jesus stood up and followed him with his disciples.

     Then a woman who had suffered from a severe bleeding for twelve years came up from behind and touched the edge of his cloak. For she thought, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Jesus turned, saw her and said, "Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you." And from that moment the woman was cured.

     When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the excited crowd, he said, "Get out of here! The girl is not dead. She is only sleeping!" And they laughed at him. But once the crowd had been turned out, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up. The news of this spread through the whole area.

Reflection:

     Faith can be developed within us by believing what we cannot physically see. We learn from the testimonies of those who live lives filled with faith. We commemorate the faith of St. Maria Goretti who protected her purity for God's greater glory. She would rather give up her life then succumb to the lustful intentions of her attacker.

     In today's Gospel, the woman who had suffered bleeding for more than 12 years believed that she would be healed by touching the cloak of Jesus. Her simple gesture filled with faith and hope was rewarded by her being healed.

     My own faith was severely tested when my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. I could not understand why the Lord sent my family this trial. Somehow my daughter's illness strengthened the faith of our family. We started to pray the Rosary together and frequently visited the Adoration Chapel. The word of God became our source of strength and consolation. We were also blessed to go on a pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes.

     These trying yet sacred moments made our family realize that God is always there. Whatever we were going through, God helped us realize that he is there by our side.

     Even though my daughter had gone, we are comforted that she is finally in the loving embrace of our Lord. Our lives are now filled with faith even after all these challenges and difficulties. May we continue to build our faith in God through prayer, trust, and perseverance. He is so very good and knows what is best to enrich our faith.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     VIVIAN ALIANAN

THANKSGIVING

     LUCIA & ROLAN ONG & FAMILY

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     SUSANA LIM LORENZO & JOSE LORENZO

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     GERMAN SIY

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.  

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