DAILY- HOMILY

26 February 2016                                                                                        

Friday, 2nd Week of Lent                                                                  

Violet.         

Gn 37:3 - 4, 12 - 13a, 17b - 28a / Mt 21:33 - 43, 45 – 46.  

Gospel Reading: Mt 21:33 - 43, 45 - 46 

Jesus Said, "Listen to another example: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants and then went to a distant country. When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest.  But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned another.

"Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way.

"Finally, he sent his son, thinking: 'They will respect my son.'  But when the tenants saw the son, they thought: 'This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him and his inheritance will be ours.' So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

"Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?"  They said to him, "He will bring those evil to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him in due time."

And Jesus replied, "Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing; and we marvel at it. Therefore I say to you: the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you and given to a people who will yield a harvest."

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realized that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested him, but they were afraid of the crowd who regarded him as a prophet.

Reflection

In the first reading, Joseph is sold by his brothers to some Ishmaelites going down to Egypt. Inside the well where he was held captive, he prefigures Jesus Christ who was mistreated and "sold" to the Romans to be crucified.

In the Gospel, the son of the landowner thrown out of the vineyard and killed by the tenants also refers to Jesus who was crucified outside of Jerusalem.

How great is the Paschal Mystery of Jesus!  In God's incomprehensible wisdom, He sends His Son to save us by his death on the cross.  His death brings us life because it erased the ill-effects of the sin of Adam and brings us hope of new life by his resurrection from the dead.  

We must realize how our sins nailed Jesus on the cross.  We must realize that sin leads to death.  We must be aware that sin kills us and others too.  In fact our sins killed Jesus, or should I say, Jesus allowed our sins to kill him in order to save us.  

During this Lenten season, let us truly repent for our sins and contemplate the sacrifice Jesus has offered for us.                

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Angela Dy Tan

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the eternal repose of the souls of Lito Yamsuan, Mely Javier and Ben Tan.

For the healing & recovery of Genie Manzana.

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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