DAILY- HOMILY

25 February 2016

Thursday, 2nd Week of Lent

Violet.           

Jer 17:5– 10 / Lk 16:19 – 31.     

Gospel Reading: Lk 16: 19 - 31 

Jesus said, "Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day.  At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man's table. . . .  It happened that the poor man died and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham.  The rich man also died and was buried.  From hell where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.

"He called out: 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus with the tip of his finger dipped in water to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.'

"Abraham replied: 'My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune.  Now he is in comfort and you are in agony.  But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you or from your side to us.'

"The rich man implored once more: 'Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father's house where my five brothers live. Let him warn them so that they may not end up in this place of torment.' Abraham replied 'They have Moses and the prophets.  Let them listen to them.' But the rich man said: 'No, Father Abraham. But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

"Abraham said: 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the grave.' "     

Reflection

We hear people say that life is a journey. People who say this have a point. Our life on earth ends when we die: an eternity follows. In the context of an eternity, our life on earth seems microscopic in the grand scheme of things.  And yet our eternity depends upon our life on earth.

We can compare it to going to another country to work. What you do there and how well you do will determine the type of welcome and reception when you return home.  Did you do well in your work? Did your work in the other country help to secure your future and that of your family?  Were you rewarded for work well done or were your employers not satisfied with your work?  

It is the same with our life.  We can consider our life as work outside of our heavenly and permanent home. In truth we are just transients, sort of passing through.  When our life ends, like a contract in a foreign country, we will be judged on how we have been and on what we have accomplished.  How we have been and what we have done in our lifetime will determine our eternity: reward or punishment.

The parable of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus is a lesson and a warning for us.  As Abraham told the rich man, they have Moses and the prophets and indeed Christ himself. Do not say that we have not been taught and warned.    

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Evangeline Acero De Guzman

     Oliver Olonan

     Vernice Liao

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Dee Andre Vincent (Jun 28, 2005 – Feb 25, 2011)

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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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: 

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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.  

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!

**************************************************

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.  

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