DAILY- HOMILY

31 July 2016 

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA 

Priest and Founder of the Society of Jesus

Solemnity.   White.    

Dt 30:15 – 20 / 1 Tim 1:12 – 17 / Lk 9:18 – 26

St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556), a Basque, co-founded the Society of Jesus (1540) and taught the Spiritual Exercises.

From the 1st Reading: Dt 30: 15 – 16a, 19b – 20a

See, I set before you on this day life and good, evil and death.  I command you to love Yahweh your God and follow his ways. Observe his commandments, his norms and his laws, and you will live and increase. . .

I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life that you and your descendants may live, loving Yahweh, listening to his voice, and being one with him,

From the 2nd Reading: 1 Tim 1: 12, 15 – 16

I give thanks to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who is my strength, who has considered me trustworthy and appointed me to his service . . .

This saying is true and worthy of belief:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. Because of that I was forgiven; Christ Jesus wanted to display his greatness in me so that I might be an example for all who are to believe and obtain eternal life.

Gospel Reading: Lk 9:18 - 24

One day when Jesus was praying alone, not far from his disciples, he asked them, "What do people say about me?" And they answered, "Some say that you are John the Baptist; other say that you are Elijah, and still others that you are one of the former prophets risen from the dead." 

Again Jesus asked them, "Who then do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God."  Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.

And he added, "The Son of Man must suffer many things.  He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life."

Jesus also said to all the people, "If you wish to be a follower of mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow me. For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it, and if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. What does it profit you to gain the whole world while you destroy yourself?"

Reflection

"Choose life." (Dt 30:19)   Heroes have a timeless appeal and it may help to think of saints like St. Ignatius of Loyola as heroes.

The conversion of St. Ignatius began when his leg was struck by a cannonball in an encounter in Pamplona.  He showed much bravery and vanity in operations without anesthesia to repair his leg. He left his comfortable life as a nobleman to serve God, offering his sword before our Lady of Monserrat.  He took care of the sick and the needy.

That was more than four hundred years ago. Why is St. Ignatius still a hero for us?

The Ignatian motto is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, For the Greater Glory of God. For him the world was a good place and a good pathway to God.  He found Christ in the world: in the Holy Land, in the classroom where he had to study with young boys, in caring for prostitutes and the sick in hospitals. He found Christ in organizing the Society of Jesus with friends and fellows students at the University of Paris, in serving as its first Superior-General, writing letters, deploying men and finalizing its governing Constitutions. For him everything was service for the greater glory of God. There was no work the Society could not undertake if it was for the greater glory of God, the service of his Church and fellows.

For St. Ignatius, the world is a friendly place.  God made it and we are here to sanctify it and offer it back to God.  This is the spirit of all Jesuit work and of Jesuit education, a spirit we owe to St. Ignatius. We cheer his name as he teaches us "to hold on a little longer" and no to give up on the world but to constantly endeavor to make it a better place.

The foundation of heroism is the magis, the mas, the more that we can do for God and others.  Heroic leaders are fired up with only ambitions and desires and thus are able to fire up themselves and others.  They are able to imagine inspiring futures and work toward them rather than watch passively from the sidelines.  Heroic leaders take advantage of golden opportunities at hand rather than wait for the gold to be given to them.

We are invited to live this Ignatian spirit of heroism and hope in our time, a spirit that allows us to dream big and have hope in the midst of many reasons for despair. It is a spirit that moves us to have hope in ourselves, in our fellows and in our country and world even if we can think of so many reasons not to.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Ma. Nerrisa A. Gabriel

     Joven C. Andaya III

     Adrienne Dy

     Helen Tan

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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