DAILY- HOMILY

April 24, 2017 – MONDAY, 2nd Week of Easter 

St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest

White

Acts 4: 23- 31 / Jn 3: 1 - 8

     From Germany, St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1578 -1622) joined the Capuchins and was outstanding in his preaching among Protestants, especially Calvinists.

FROM THE 1ST READING:     Acts 4: 27 -31

     They brought them [the Apostle] in and made them stand before the Council and the High Priest questioned them, "We gave you strict orders not to preach such a Savior; but you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend charging us with the killing of this man."

     To this Peter and the apostles replied, "Better for us to obey God rather than any human authority! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a wooden post. God set him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel."

GOSPEL READING:     Jn 3: 1 - 8

     Among the Pharisees there was a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus. He came to Jesus by night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you have come from God to teach us, for no one can perform miraculous signs like yours unless God is with him."

     Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again from above,"

     Nicodemus said, "How can there be rebirth to a grown man? Who could go back to his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus replied, "Truly, I say to you: No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Because of this, don't be surprised when I say, 'You must be born again from above.' The wind blows where it pleases and you hear its sound, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

REFLECTION

     The first sacrament in the Church is baptism, the sacrament of initiation. In baptism we are freed from the sin of Adam, receive God's gift of grace and become members of his Church; we receive the gift of faith, the Holy Spirit and the promise of eternal life. Without baptism we cannot receive the other sacraments.

     In the Gospel reading Jesus tells Nicodemus that "no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit." Baptism is a re-birth into God's grace and life, through its cleansing waters. Baptism is also seen as dying to sin and death and rising to new life with and in Christ.

     Let us thank God for his sharing of his divine life with us when we were baptized: "Given a new birth [in baptism] by water and the Holy Spirit, may we live always as members of his body, sharing everlasting life."

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     ARTURO F. TIANGCO 

     DIVINE LOPEZ 

     EVELYN CO YU

IN MEMORIAM (†)

     LIAO HO KIM TEE

     THOMAS O'GORMAN, SR.

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

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