DAILY- HOMILY

February 6, 2018 – TUESDAY, 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Sts. Paul Miki, Religious, and Companions, Martyrs 

St. Pedro Bautista, Priest and Martyr 

Bl. Charles Spinola, Sebastian Kimura, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

Memorial. Red.

1 Kgs 8: 20- 23, 27- 30 I Mk 7: 1 – 13

St. Paul Miki (1562 -1622), a Japanese Jesuit scholastic, and 25 companions were martyred on crosses and then stabbed with spears in Nagasaki. Two other Jesuits in the group were Sts. John Soan de Goto (1578- 1597), scholastic, and James Kisai (1533- 1597), a lay brother.

Among them also was St. Pedro Bautista (1542 -1597), a Spanish Franciscan priest, who had previously worked in the Philippines for nine years.

Bl. Charles Spinola (1564 - 1622), an Italian Jesuit missionary to Japan, was martyred in Nagasaki with thirty other Jesuits, half of them Japanese. Among them was Bl. Sebastian Kimura (1565 -1622), a Jesuit, the first Japanese ordained a priest.

FROM THE 1ST READING:             1 Kgs 8: 20

Solomon said, "Yahweh has fulfilled his promise, for I have succeeded my father and am sitting on the throne of Israel; and, as Yahweh promised, I have built this House for the Name of Yahweh, the God of Israel."

FROM THE GOSPEL READING:     Mk 7: 2, 5, 9- 13

The Pharisees noticed that some of his disciples were eating their meal with unclean hands, that is, without washing them....

So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders, but eat with unclean hands?" ....

And Jesus commented, "You have a fine way of disregarding the commandment of God in order to implant your own tradition. For example, Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and: Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. But according to you someone could say to his father or mother: 'I have already declared Corban, which means 'offered to God,' what you could have expected from me.' In this case you no longer do anything for your father or mother. So you nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on. And you do many other things like that."

REFLECTION

In the first reading King Solomon thanks Yahweh for his kindness and generosity to him in leading his people wisely.

In the Gospel reading Jesus castigates the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their narrow and selfish interpretation of the law of Moses, leading to destruction and nullification of the spirit of the law: "You have a fine way of disregarding the commandment of God in order to implant your own tradition"; "You nullify the word of God through the tradition you have handed on."

We can ask ourselves, "What is true worship and service of God?"

In service in my Christian community through music, I have seen thousands of people with eyes closed and hands upraised to heaven singing their praises to God and have begun to realize how being a musician can be true missionary work for the preaching of the Good News. As a music minister, I play and pray, worship and honor God.

How can I serve God in my parish?

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Francis B. Ang (07 Jut 7927- 06 Feb 2005)

     Luis Roleda

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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