DAILY- HOMILY

September 3, 2019 - TUESDAY, 22ND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Gregory the Great,
Pope and Doctor of the Church
Memorial. White.

1 Thes 5: 1 – 6, 9 – 11 / Lk 4: 31 – 37

Pope St. Gregory the Great (540 – 604) instituted liturgical reforms and organized missions: he was the first to send missionaries to England.

FROM THE 1ST READING: 1 Thes 5: 4 – 6, 11
You, beloved, are not in darkness; so that day will not surprise you like a thief. All of you are citizens of the light and the day; we do not belong to night and darkness. Let us not, therefore, sleep as others do, but remain alert and sober. . . Encourage one another and build up one another, as you are doing now.

GOSPEL READING: Lk 4: 31 – 37
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee, and began teaching the people at the sabbath meetings. They were astonished at the way he taught them, for his word was spoken with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man possessed by an evil spirit who shouted with a loud voice, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I recognize you: you are the Holy One of God." Then Jesus said to him sharply, "Be silent and leave this man!" The evil spirit then threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without   doing him any harm.

Amazement seized all these people and they said to one another, "What does this mean? He commands evil spirits with authority and power. He orders, and you see how they come out!" And news about Jesus spread throughout the surrounding area..

REFLECTION
In the Gospel reading, Jesus uses his power to free a man possessed by an evil spirit. The Church affirms for us the reality of Satan and of evil. In his public ministry Jesus in so many occasions freed people of afflictions caused by evil spirits. By being tempted by the devil at the beginning of his public ministry, he showed us his humanity and taught us how to oppose evil.

In the first reading, St. Paul exhorts the faithful to be vigilant and watchful. He reminds them that they are children of the light and not of darkness. He reminds them to be loving and supportive of one another.

In his letter to the Church at Ephesus, St. Paul wrote, "Be strong in the Lord with his energy and strength.  Put on the armor of God to be able   to resist the cunning of the devil. Our battle is not against human forces but against the rulers and authorities and their dark powers that govern this world. We are struggling against the spirits and supernatural forces of evil" (Eph 6: 10 - 12)  And we are strong when God is with us.

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
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September 2, 2019 – MONDAY, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Bl. J. Bonnaud, J. Imbert and J. N. Cordier, Bl. T. Sitjar and Companions,
Priests and Martyrs
Green.

1 Thes 4: 13 – 18 / Lk 4: 16 – 30

Bl. James Bonnaud (1740 – 1792), born in Haiti, Frenchmen Joseph Imbert (1720 – 1794) and Jean Nicholas Cordier (1710 – 1794) were Jesuit priests martyred during the French Revolution.

Bl. Thomas Sitjar (1866 – 1936), a Spanish Jesuit priest, and ten other priests were martyred during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

GOSPEL READING: Lk 4: 16 – 30
When Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and announce the Lord's year of mercy."

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down, while the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he said to them, "Today these prophetic words come true even as you listen."

All agreed with him and were lost in wonder, while he kept on speaking of the grace of God. Nevertheless they asked, "Who is this but Joseph's son?" So he said, "Doubtless you will quote me the saying: Doctor, heal yourself. Do here in your own town what they say you did in Capernaum."

Jesus added, "No prophet is honored in his own country. Truly, I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens withheld rain for three years and six months and a great famine came over the whole land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them but to a widow of Zarephath, in the country of Sidon. There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, the prophet, and no one was healed except Naaman, the Syrian. "

On hearing these words, the whole assembly became indignant. They rose up and brought him out of the town, to the edge of the hill on which Nazareth is built, intending to throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their midst and went his way.

REFLECTION
Jesus' words have never been meant to be taken lightly and today's Gospel reading makes this abundantly clear. When at the synagogue in his hometown Nazareth, he quotes from Isaiah to declare his mission and work, his own towns-people could not believe him, "Who is this but Joseph's son?"

The people of Nazareth got more indignant when Jesus showed them they were acting as their ancestors did, "No prophet is honored in his own country." Jesus reminded them of God's actions for other people when the Prophet Elijah fed the widow and her son in Sidon, beyond Israel, and when the Prophet Elisha healed the Syrian Naaman of his leprosy.

The mission of Jesus continues as the mission of the Church. Each member of the Church is tasked to help out in some way, "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and announce the Lord's year of mercy."

Am I ready to help out?

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.  
  +================================================+