Friday, February 10, 2012

 

SATURDAY 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

FEBRUARY 11, 2012
MEMORIAL, OUR LADY OF LOURDES
SATURDAY 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

1 Kgs 12:26-32;13:33-34 / Mk 8:1-10, Green/*White

1 KINGS 12:26-32; 13:33-34
Jeroboam thought, "The kingdom could return to the house of David.
Should this people go up to offer sacrifices in Yahweh's House in
Jerusalem, their heart would turn again to their master, Rehoboam king
of Judah. They would kill me and go back to him." And so the king
sought advice and made two golden calves. Then he said to the people,
"You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods,
O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." He put one of
these in Bethel, the other in Dan. And so Jeroboam made the people
sin; the people went as far as Dan to accompany one of them. Jeroboam
also built temples on high places, appointing priests who were not
from the Levites. Jeroboam also appointed a feast on the fifteenth day
of the eighth month in imitation of the feast in Judah, and he himself
offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel and sacrificed
to the calves that he had made; there he placed priests for the high
places he had made. After this, however, Jeroboam did not abstain from
doing evil. Instead he made priests for the high places from among the
people; he consecrated anyone who wanted to be a priest for the high
places. And this became the sin of the family of Jeroboam for which it
was to be cut off and destroyed from the face of the earth.

MARK 8:1-10
Soon afterwards Jesus was in the midst of another large crowd, that
obviously had nothing to eat. So he called his disciples and said to
them, "I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me
for three days and now have nothing to eat. If I send them to their
homes hungry, they will faint on the way; some of them have come a
long way." His disciples replied, "Where, in a deserted place like
this, could we get enough bread to feed these people?" He asked them,
"How many loaves have you?" And they answered, "Seven." Then he
ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves
and giving thanks, he broke them, and handed them to his disciples to
distribute. And they distributed them among the people. They also had
some small fish, so Jesus said a blessing, and asked that these be
shared as well. The people ate and were satisfied. The broken pieces
were collected, seven wicker baskets full of leftovers. Now those who
had eaten were about four thousand in number. Jesus sent them away,
and immediately got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the
region of Dalmanutha.

REFLECTION
The readings today provide seemingly contrasting images of God. In the
first, He is seen as a destroyer, punishing Jeroboam for his evil
ways. In the Gospel, the Lord is compassionate, nourishing four
thousand tired and famished people. What we need to understand here is
that there is definitely no inconsistency when it comes to the ways of
our loving God.

Jeroboam met his destruction not only because he sinned, but more due
to his conscious actions. He didn't try to rectify his misconduct nor
even feel any remorse. Given these, how could God justifiably help
Jeroboam avert the natural consequences of his flawed decisions?

The gift of free will requires that we make our own choices. Only then
does God respond in ways that are appropriate for us, as exemplified
by Jesus' feeding the hungry multitude. When at times we find Him
contradictory, could it be because we were the ones who chose the
wrong options rather than God being unreliable?

In our daily struggles, let us beseech the Lord for wisdom to make
right decisions while strengthened with the knowledge that He is
always there for us, the one true constant in our lives.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Tung-Jou Sheh
- Mike Torres
- Morgan Fodge
- Bob Barsotti
- Mon Torres
- Rakkie Villa
… for the personal intentions of
- Netta, Vera, Nick, Maureen, Martha, Jane, Delores, Linda O, Mary Ann
& Frank
- Dana & Eugene R
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Ralph Shotswell
- Florentino N. Villamer, Jr.
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Lourdes de Dios
- Birthday: Lourdes Malvar
- Wedding Anniversary: Jerome & Sally Lim Gotamco
- Wedding Anniversary: Edward & Jennifer Inocentes
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

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
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================

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© 2012 Daily-Homily


 

FRIDAY 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

FEBRUARY 10, 2012
MEMORIAL, ST. SCHOLASTICA
FRIDAY 5TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR II

1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:1 / Mk 7:31-37

1 KINGS 11:29-32; 12:1
Once, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of
Shiloh found him on the road. The two of them were alone in the open
country when Ahijah, who had a new garment on, clutched and tore it
into twelve pieces. He then said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for
yourself for this is the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel: `I am
about to tear the kingdom from Solomon's hands to give you ten tribes.
Only one tribe shall be left to him for the sake of my servant David
and Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of
Israel. Rehoboam went to Shechem because all Israel had gathered there
to make him king.

MARK 7:31-37
Again Jesus set out: from the country of Tyre he passed through Sidon
and, skirting the sea of Galilee, he came to the territory of
Decapolis. There a deaf man, who also had difficulty in speaking, was
brought to him. They asked Jesus to lay his hand upon him. Jesus took
him apart from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears, and
touched his tongue with spittle. Then, looking up to heaven, he
groaned and said to him, "Ephphata!" that is, "Be opened!" And
immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he
began to speak clearly. Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about
it, but the more he insisted, the more they proclaimed it. The people
were completely astonished and said, "He has done all things well; he
makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."

REFLECTION
St. Scholastica was born in Nurcia, Italy. What is known of her comes
from the dialogue of St. Gregory the Great. She was the twin sister of
St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order, and was as devoted
to Christ as she was to her brother. When St. Benedict established his
monastery in Monte Casino, Scholastica also founded her convent
nearby, about 5 miles south of her brother's monastery. The convent is
said to have been under the direction of her brother. According to St.
Gregory, "Death did not separate the bodies of these two, whose minds
had also been united in the Lord." A most commonly told story about
them was that, once a year, Scholastica would visit Benedict at a
place near the abbey and would spend the entire day worshipping and
discussing sacred texts. One time after supper, while continuing their
conversation, Benedict insisted on leaving despite her plea for him to
stay and continue their discussion. Scholastica prayed for a strong
rain to make it impossible for Benedict to leave. Three days later,
from his cell, Benedict saw the soul of his sister leave the earth and
ascend to heaven in the form of a dove.

St. Scholastica is the patron saint of nuns and convulsive children.
She is also invoked against storm and rain.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Tung-Jou Sheh
- Mike Torres
- Morgan Fodge
- Bob Barsotti
… for the personal intentions of
- Pauline
- Netta, Vera, Nick, Maureen, Martha, Jane, Delores, Linda O, Mary Ann
& Frank
- Dana & Eugene R
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Ralph Shotswell
- Florentino N. Villamer, Jr.
Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.
May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Mark Richmond Yu
- Birthday: Catrina Ever L. Ngo
- Birthday: Edna Ramos
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.

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
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2012 Daily-Homily


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