DAILY- HOMILY

22 July 2016

Friday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

St. Mary Magdalene, Disciple of the Lord 

Memorial.     White.    

Ex 16:1– 5, 9 – 15 / Jn 20:11 – 18.

At his resurrection, Our Lord appeared first to St. Mary Magdalene, a close disciple of Our Lord.

From the First Reading: Ex 16:2 – 3, 9

In the desert the whole community of Israel grumbled against Moses . . . "If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh in Egypt when we sat down to caldrons of meat and ate all the bread we wanted, whereas you have brought us to this desert to let the whole assembly die of starvation!" . . .  

Moses directed Aaron to say to the whole community of Israel, "Draw near to Yahweh for he has heard your complaints." 

From the Gospel Reading: Jn 20:11- 17

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she bent down to look inside; she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, and the other at the feet. They said, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She answered, "Because they have taken my Lord and I do not know where they have put him."

As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?"  She thought it was the gardener and answered him, "Lord, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him."

Jesus said to her, "Mary."  She turned and said to him, "Rabboni" – which means, Master.  Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me; you see I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them: I am ascending to my Father, who is your Father, to my God, who is your God."

Reflection

Today's readings at Mass point to a common experience of man: the absence of God.  

In the first reading the Israelites in the desert felt that God had abandoned them because they lacked food and water.  In the Gospel reading Mary Magdalene was in grief looking for Jesus and finding an empty tomb. The Israelites felt despair in their extreme need; Mary Magdalene was in great sadness not finding her Lord.  But God heard their pleas and answered them.

Oftentimes in our sadness and despair, we ask the same question, "Where is God?" When there is suffering we feel that God must have abandoned us.  The readings assure us that God never leaves us but perhaps our weak faith blocks our view of his presence and love. Knowing our restlessness and need, God will "re-appear" in our lives in various ways to reassure us of his abiding presence and love for us.

When in despair, in sadness and feeling lost, we can simply trust in God's abiding presence and love for us.  

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Luis Bernardo A. Puhawan

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     Raymund & Julie Chua

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     James Richard Hart

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.  

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21July 2016

Thursday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time 

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Green.            

Jer 2:1 – 3, 7 – 8, 12 – 13 / Mt 13:10 – 17  

St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559 – 1619), an Italian Capuchin priest, preached against Luther.

From the Gospel Reading: Mt 13:10 – 17

Then his disciples came to him with the question, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

Jesus answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people.  For the one who has, will be given more and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has.  That is why I speak to them in parables, because they look and do not see; they hear, but they do not listen and understand.

"In them the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled: Much as you hear, you do not understand; much as you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. . . . But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you that many prophets and upright people would have longed to see the things you see, but they did not, and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear it."

Reflection

How often do we hear parents complaining that their children do not listen to them? How often do we hear a mother complaining that, even before she finishes, her son has gone off, "Yes, I know. I know."

How often do we find ourselves also unable to listen?  How well do we really listen?  Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds because he felt many of them heard but did not really listen and understand.  How often have we listened in similar fashion to God's word at Mass, be it the Scripture reading or the homily of the priest: "Oh, I have heard this before."  We may have already heard many times before, but has what we heard had any real meaning to us?  Do we listen to understand whether God's word has any meaning to us at this point of our lives?

The ability to listen is a basic expression of hospitality.  To listen with respect and patience is to warmly welcome the speaker into our heart. 

When we listen to God's word with attentive openness, we allow God to speak to us, we humbly accept that he has something to tell us and that we are willing to learn. We allow ourselves to be affected and to change our ways.  When we stop listening, we stop growing because we know everything and nobody can teach us anything.

Let us ask Jesus to open our eyes and our ears that we may truly see and hear with our heart and be healed by him.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Apollo U. Jimenez

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Edwin Chang (1952 – 2014)

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.  

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