DAILY- HOMILY

December 11, 2015 FRIDAY, 2nd Week of Advent

St. Damasus II, Pope                                                            

Violet 

Is 48:17–19 / Mt 11:16 – 19

[From Spain, St. Pope Damasus II (305 – 384) summoned the first General Council of Constantinople. He commissioned St. Jerome (342 – 420) to work on the Latin Vulgate and changed the liturgical language of the Western Church to Latin.]  

Reading: Is 48:17-19 

     Thus says Yahweh, your Re-deemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, Yahweh, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go.

     Had you paid attention to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

     Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from my presence.

Gospel: Mt 11:16 - 19

     Jesus said, "Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace, about whom their companions complain: 'We played the flute for you but you would not dance. We sang a funeral-song but you would not cry!' 

     "For John came fasting and people said: 'He is possessed.' Then the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and people said: 'Look at this man! A glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet the outcome will prove Wisdom to be right."

Reflection:

     We know that God chose Israel to be his People. For her he performed countless wondrous deeds and with her established a Covenant. But Israel was not always faithful to Yahweh. At times she rejected her Covenant with God and turned to other gods and did not obey God's commandments. 

     So God established a new Covenant with a remnant, the apostles and disciples of Jesus: they became the new People of God. Eventually they would be known as the Christian community, the Church.  

     To be a Christian, one has to be connected to Jesus. To remain a Christian one needs to be faithful to him and to his law of love.

     In the Gospel reading Jesus complains about how Israel has received him and his message: what did the people Israel want or expect? Jesus gives two comparisons: they would not dance to a joyful tune, neither would they cry at a funeral-song? John, a man of great penance, came fasting, and people said he was possessed and when Jesus ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors, they called him a glutton and a drunkard.

     The people of Israel did not receive Jesus and his message: they were blind or refused to see, they were stubborn and hard-of-heart.

     How much of Israel's blindness, stubbornness, and hardness of heart do we find in our lives? They wished to do and to believe what they wanted rather than what God wanted: how much like them are we? 

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     FR. VICTOR R. SALANGA, SJ

     MARK ALLAN C. CAMPOSAGRADO

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     CHRISTOPHER & LESLEY MEOLI

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     GOTAO, SANTIAGO (SEP 14, 1883 – DEC 11, 1945)

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the healing of Agnes Bacani from stage IV cancer.

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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