DAILY- HOMILY

02 September 2016   

Friday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time 

Bl. James Bonnaud, Priest, and Companions; 

Joseph Imbert and Jean Nicholas Cordier, Priests; 

Thomas Sitjar, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs 

Green.           

1 Cor 4:1 – 5 / Lk 5:33 – 39

Bl. James Bonnaud (1740 -1792), born in Haiti, Frenchmen Joseph Imbert (1720 -1794) and Jean Nicholas Cordier (1710 – 1794) were Jesuit priests martyred during the French Revolution.

Bl. Thomas Sitjar (1866 – 1936), a Spanish Jesuit priest, and ten others were martyred during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

Gospel Reading: Lk 5: 33 – 39

Some people asked Jesus, "The disciples of John fast often and say long prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why is it that your disciples eat and drink?" Then Jesus said to them, "You can't make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them.  But later the bridegroom will be taken from them and they will fast in those days."

Jesus also told them this parable, "No one tears a piece from a new coat to put it on an old one; otherwise the new will be torn and the piece taken from the new will not match the old. No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed as well. But new wine must be put into fresh skins. Yet no one who has tasted old wine is eager to get new wine, but says: The old is good."

Reflection

St. Paul in the first reading tells us that we are all called to be stewards and servants of God, with the Lord alone to pass judgment on us.  

In  our various groups much is expected of us and we try our best not to disappoint our companions because we do not want to fail them.  In the same light, as stewards of God, we are called to serve Him with all our hearts and all our strength.  We have a duty to keep the Lord's trust in us as his stewards.  In the end, only the Lord can see through our hearts and discern our intentions.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus shows us the true meaning of fasting.  Every day the Lord provides us with everything we need – food, clothing, education, shelter, etc.  We are reminded that all these come from God.  But above all these blessings, the true gift that God gives us is Himself.  

So if we must fast from something in order to be with Him who is the Bridegroom, we should, by all means, do so.  In life, what is important is God's presence:  so everything we have and are should be offered to the Lord. 

In order to become a new man, the old man must die.  The new man is the spiritual man while the old man is the carnal man.  For us to become spiritual, what is unspiritual in us must be removed.  Fasting can help us in this respect.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Sofia David

     Elizabeth P. Tupas

     Lhorie Reyes

     Uy Kim

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     Jimmy & Gloria Chan

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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   |  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.  

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