DAILY- HOMILY: 03/10/12

DAILY- HOMILY

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Saturday, March 10, 2012

3RD SUNDAY OF LENT – B

MARCH 11, 2012
3RD SUNDAY OF LENT – B

Ex 20:1-17 or 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17 / 1 Cor 1:22-25 / Jn 2:13-25

EXODUS 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17
God spoke all these words. He said, "I am Yahweh your God who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Do not have
other gods before me. Do not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain
for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who takes his name in
vain. Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. Honor your father and
your mother that you may have a long life in the land that Yahweh has
given you. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not
give false witness against your neighbor. Do not covet your neighbor's
house. Do not covet your neighbor's wife, or his servant, man or
woman, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is his."

1 CORINTHIANS 1:22-25
The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher knowledge,
while we proclaim a crucified Messiah. For the Jews, what a great
scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense! But he is Christ, the
power of God and the wisdom of God for those called by God among both
Jews and Greeks. In reality, the "foolishness" of God is wiser than
humans, and the "weakness" of God is stronger than humans.

JOHN 2:13-25
As the Passover of the Jews was at hand, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
In the Temple court he found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves,
and moneychangers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he
drove them all out of the Temple court, together with the oxen and
sheep. He knocked over the tables of the moneychangers, scattering the
coins, and ordered the people selling doves, "Take all this away, and
stop turning my Father's house into a marketplace!" His disciples
recalled the words of Scripture: Zeal for your House devours me like
fire. The Jews then questioned Jesus, "Where are the miraculous signs
which give you the right to do this?" And Jesus said, "Destroy this
temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then replied,
"The building of this temple has already taken forty-six years, and
will you raise it up in three days?" Actually, Jesus was referring to
the temple of his body. Only when he had risen from the dead did his
disciples remember these words; then they believed both the Scripture
and the words Jesus had spoken. Jesus stayed in Jerusalem during the
Passover Festival, and many believed in his Name when they saw the
miraculous signs he performed. But Jesus did not trust himself to
them, because he knew all of them. He had no need of evidence about
anyone, for he himself knew what there was in each one.

REFLECTION
In the bible, we rarely see Jesus angry. But in today's Gospel, we
see him making a whip out of cords and driving all the vendors and
moneychangers away from the temple. He said, "Stop making my Father's
house a marketplace!" Why compare the temple to a marketplace? A
marketplace is dirty, chaotic, noisy – the exact opposite of a temple:
clean, orderly, quiet. Jesus gives deep respect and devotion to the
temple because it is the house of God. His rage against the vendors
and moneychangers is thus understandable, as they desecrated the
temple.

In the spiritual realm, we are not far from being like the unruly
vendors and moneychangers. We don't desecrate the physical temple but
people's hearts, which are also the temple of God's Spirit. How? We
hurt people. We make them unhappy. Sometimes we make their lives
miserable with our uncharitable words and actions. We intentionally
hurt others because of anger, hatred, envy, rivalry, competition, and
biases. When we criticize people, laugh at their mistakes, accuse them
falsely, respond sarcastically, ignore them, or inflict emotional and
physical pain – we are actually desecrating the temple of God in
others. Deeply rooted in our hearts is an unruly "vendor-like"
attitude that sees others as things that can be used or abused. We
don't see them as our brothers and sisters, nor as temples of the Holy
Spirit.

Worshipping God is intrinsically connected with respecting others.
Respecting others is respecting God. That's true worship! Jesus
summarized the Ten Commandments of Moses in two commandments: "Love
God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as you
love yourself."

If Jesus was deeply affected when the Jerusalem Temple was desecrated
by the vendors and moneychangers, how much more when we offend and
hurt others? We should be more careful with our words and actions.
Thoughtful words and actions could console and uplift a heart, whereas
harsh words and actions could destroy a soul. We are not unruly
vendors and moneychangers by nature. We are children of God, born to
love, and destined to care

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
- Kristen, Maria, Linda O, Mary Ann, Delores, Nick, Netta, Martha,
Maureen, & Jane
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Mon Torres
- Rakkie Villa
- Tonie Lingad
… for the personal intentions of
- Dana, Eugene R, Rita & Pam & Ben
- Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Ogechi Anyaugo, Barr Obinna Okoronkwo, Barr Mrs
Barbara Adaugo Okoronkwo, Ifeanyi Anyaugo, 'Chuba Osi Anyaugo,
Cordelia Anyaugo and Kelechi Ozurumba
… Birthday: Ram de Guzman
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Eliezer Billanes. 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: Gio C. Ventura
- Birthday: Sis. Ramira Uy
- Birthday: Dr. Matilde Gonzales
- Birthday: Leonilo A. Palanca
- In Memoriam (+): Natividad L. Chuakay
- In Memoriam (+): Yang Moon Chu
- In Memoriam (+): Saw Cen
… 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!

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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 3:53 AM 0 comments

SATURDAY 2ND WEEK OF LENT – YEAR II

MARCH 10, 2012
SATURDAY 2ND WEEK OF LENT – YEAR II

Mi 7:14-15, 18-20 / Lk 15:1-3, 11-32

MICAH 7:14-15, 18-20
Shepherd your people with your staff, shepherd the flock of your
inheritance that dwells alone in the scrub, in the midst of a fertile
land. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old, in the
days when you went out of Egypt. Show us your wonders. Who is a god
like you, who takes away guilt and pardons crime for the remnant of
his inheritance? Who is like you whose anger does not last? For you
delight in merciful forgiveness. Once again you will show us your
loving kindness and trample on our wrongs, casting all our sins into
the depths of the sea. Show faithfulness to Jacob, mercy to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old.

LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32
Meanwhile tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of
Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees
and the scribes frowned at this, muttering, "This man welcomes sinners
and eats with them." So Jesus told them this parable. Jesus continued,
"There was a man with two sons. The younger said to his father, `Give
me my share of the estate.' So the father divided his property between
them. Some days later, the younger son gathered all his belongings and
started off for a distant land, where he squandered his wealth in
loose living. Having spent everything, he was hard pressed when a
severe famine broke out in that land. So he hired himself out to a
well-to-do citizen of that place, and was sent to work on a pig farm.
So famished was he, that he longed to fill his stomach even with the
food given to the pigs, but no one offered him anything. Finally
coming to his senses, he said, `How many of my father's hired workers
have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will get up and
go back to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against
God, and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat
me then as one of your hired servants.' With that thought in mind, he
set off for his father's house. He was still a long way off, when his
father caught sight of him. His father was so deeply moved with
compassion that he ran out to meet him, threw his arms around his neck
and kissed him. The son said, `Father, I have sinned against Heaven
and before you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.' But the
father turned to his servants: `Quick!' he said. `Bring out the finest
robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his
feet! Take the fattened calf and kill it! We shall celebrate and have
a feast, for this son of mine was dead, and has come back to life; he
was lost, and is found!' And the celebration began. Meanwhile, the
elder son had been working in the fields. As he returned and
approached the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He
called one of the servants and asked what it was all about. The
servant answered, `Your brother has come home safe and sound, and your
father is so happy about it that he has ordered this celebration, and
killed the fattened calf.' The elder son became angry, and refused to
go in. His father came out and pleaded with him. The son, very
indignant, said, `Look, I have slaved for you all these years. Never
have I disobeyed your orders. Yet you have never given me even a young
goat to celebrate with my friends. Then when this son of yours
returns, after squandering your property with loose women, you kill
the fattened calf for him.' The father said, `My son, you are always
with me, and everything I have is yours. But this brother of yours was
dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found. And for
that we had to rejoice and be glad.'"

REFLECTION
Today's Gospel gives us the beautiful story of the Prodigal Son. This
story demonstrates that forgiveness requires transformation on the
part of both parties. Jesus tells us that both men allowed God to
overcome their natural human inclinations and, therefore, they could
experience real reconciliation.

Jesus continues to welcome sinners and to dine with them. He welcomes
and dines with us at every Eucharistic celebration, even though we
have often offended him. We are invited to do the same with our
fellowmen, especially with those with whom we have had
misunderstandings. We are all invited to walk in the reconciling love
of the Lord.

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
- Kristen, Maria, Linda O, Mary Ann, Delores, Nick, Netta, Martha,
Maureen, & Jane
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
- Mon Torres
- Rakkie Villa
- Tonie Lingad
… for the personal intentions of
- Veronica Yap
- Dana, Eugene R, Rita & Pam & Ben
- Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Ogechi Anyaugo, Barr Obinna Okoronkwo, Barr Mrs
Barbara Adaugo Okoronkwo, Ifeanyi Anyaugo, 'Chuba Osi Anyaugo,
Cordelia Anyaugo and Kelechi Ozurumba
… for the eternal repose of the soul of Eliezer Billanes. 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.
- In Memoriam (+): Jesus F. Magsaysay
- In Memoriam (+): Andrew Ng
- In Memoriam (+): Jomar K. Ochoa
… for families who are in need of healing
… for world peace and reconciliation.