DAILY- HOMILY

August 19, 2017 – SATURDAY, 19th Week in Ordinary Time 

St. Ezechiel Moreno, Bishop 

St. John Eudes, Priest and Religious Founder

Green

Jos 24: 14 - 29 / Mt 19: 13 - 15

     St. Ezechiel Moreno (1848 - 1906), an Augustinian Recollect ordained in Manila in 1871, worked for fifteen years as a missionary in the Philippines before he became Bishop of Pinara and later of Pasto in Colombia. Beatified in 1975, he was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in Sto. Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1992.

     St. John Eudes (1601 - 1680), a French priest devoted to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary for the training of the clergy (1643) and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity to assist morally endangered women.

FROM THE FIRST READING:          Jos 24: 19- 22

     Joshua asked the people, "Will you be able to serve Yahweh? He is a holy God, a jealous God who does not tolerate wickedness or faults. If you abandon Yahweh to serve other gods, he will turn against you and just as he has done you so much good, so shall he punish you and destroy you."

GOSPEL READING:           Mt 19: 13 -15

     Then little children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them with a prayer. But the disciples scolded those who brought them. So Jesus then said, "Let them be! Do not stop the childen from coming to me, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to people such as these." So Jesus laid his hands on them and went his way.

REFLECTION

     On 18 October 2015, Pope Francis canonized Sts. Louis Martin (1823 - 1894) and Marie Zelie Guerin (1831 - 1877), "marking the first time a couple has ever been made saints on the same day." Pope Francis praised the couple, "The holy spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Zelie Guerin practiced Christian service in the family, creating day after day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was St. Therese of the Child Jesus."

     The example of these couple-saints exemplifies for parents of today what Jesus meant to "let the children come to me." Amid pressures of providing a proper life and training for children, the Gospel reading reminds parents of their basic vocation as parents to prepare their children for the kingdom of heaven, for indeed "the kingdom of heaven belongs to people such as these."

     This kind of environment is not built only by family trips locally or abroad or family meals; even Sunday Mass together does not guarantee this environment. Rather, it is in the warmth of affection, praying together, depth of conversation at home and family togetherness that God's presence is manifested in the family.

Have you let your children come to Jesus today? Have you given your children witness to Gospel values as lived in your daily lives?

     This is also so true for teachers and others who help parents in the formation and education of their children.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     FR. MANUEL M. FLORES SJ 

     HARRY T. CHUA

     JOSIE PANGAN

OTHER INTENTIONS:

For the special intentions of Mary Wong.

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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