Sunday, September 13, 2015

 

MONDAY - EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

September 14, 2015 MONDAY - EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS         

Feast, Red         

  

Nm 21:4b – 9 / Phil 2: 6 – 11 / Jn 3: 13 - 17

 

[Public veneration of the Holy Cross dates to the fourth century when St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, discovered the true cross in Jerusalem.]

 

First Reading: Nm 21: 4b – 9

     The people were discouraged by the journey and began to complain against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is neither bread nor water here and we are disgusted with this tasteless manna."

     Yahweh then sent fiery serpents against them. They bit the people and many of the Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, speaking against Yahweh and against you. Plead with Yahweh to take the serpents away."

  Moses pleaded for the people and Yahweh said to him, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard; whoever has been bitten and then looks at it shall live."

     So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a standard. Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived.

 

Second Reading: Phil 2:6 – 11

     Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness, and in his appearance found as a man. He humbled himself by being obedient to death, death on the cross. That is why God exalted him and gave him the Name which outshines all names, so that at the Name of Jesus all knees should bend in heaven, on earth and among the dead, and all tongues proclaim that Christ Jesus is the Lord to the glory of God the Father.

 

Gospel:  Jn 3:13 - 17

     Jesus said to Nicodemus, "No one has ever gone up to heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

     "Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life.  God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved."

 

Reflection:

     Today, we celebrate the power of the Cross: "Come, let us worship Christ the King who was lifted up on the cross for our sake."  (Invitatory for Office of Readings) 

     The Church has another solemn liturgical celebration of the Cross on Good Friday when the Cross is unveiled and venerated: "This is the wood of the cross, on which hung the Savior of the world. Come, let us worship."

     The first reading from the Book of Numbers is about the fiery serpents sent by God from whose bite many Israelites died. At the pleading of Moses, God instructs him to erect a bronze serpent: "Whenever a man was bitten, he looked towards the bronze serpent and he lived." (Nm 21: 9b)

     In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus refers to the bronze serpent in the desert, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (Jn 3: 14 – 15)

     Jesus, blameless and innocent, takes on the suffering of the cross and transforms this instrument of oppression into the instrument of our salvation. Obedient to the Father's will, he allows himself to be subjected to the cruelty of men to show the depths of the great love God has for humanity and God's great desire to save humanity. 

     At Gethsemane before he died, Jesus prayed in great fear, "Abba, all things are possible for you; take this cup away from me. Yet not what I want, but what you want." (Mk 14: 36)

     We are saved by Christ's loving obedience to the Father, emptying himself, "taking on the nature of a servant, made in human likeness and in his appearance found as a man. He humbled himself by being obedient to death, death on the cross." (Phil 2: 7 – 8)

 

 

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

 

BIRTHDAY

     KEVIN PATRICK C. SYLING

     MERTZ BERNARDO

     VANESSA NAÑAGAS

 

WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

     ERIC & EUNICE YU AMPIL

     ESTELLA & DAVID SOON ENG SIN

 

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     EDISON CO YU (MAR 4, 1952 – SEP 14, 1993)

 

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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   |  distributed free and for personal use only.  

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24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

September 13, 2015 - 24th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Cycle B, Green        

 

Is 50:5 – 9a / Jas 2: 14 – 18 / Mk 8: 27 – 35

 

First Reading:  Is 50: 6 - 7

     The Lord Yahweh has opened my ear. I have not rebelled, nor have I withdrawn.

     I offered my back to those who strike me, my cheeks to those who pulled my beard; neither did I shield my face from blows, spittle and disgrace. I have not despaired, for the Lord Yahweh comes to my help. So, like a flint I set my face, knowing that I will not be disgraced. He who avenges me is near. Who then will accuse me? Let us confront each other. Who is now my accuser? Let him approach. If the Lord Yahweh is my help, who will condemn me?

  

Second Reading: Jas 2:14 – 18

     What good is it, my brothers and sisters, to profess faith without showing works? Such faith has no power to save you. If a brother or sister is in need of clothes or food and one of you says, "May things go well for you; be warm and satisfied," without attending to their material needs, what good is that? So it is for faith without deeds: it is totally dead.

     Say to whoever challenges you, "You have faith and I have good deeds; show me your faith apart from actions and I, for my part, will show you my faith in the way I act." 

 

Gospel: Mk 8:27 - 35

     Jesus set out with his disciples for the villages around Cesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" And they told him, "Some say you are John the Baptist; others say you are Elijah or one of the prophets."

    Then Jesus asked them, "But you, who do you say I am?"  Peter answered, "You are the Messiah." And he ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

     Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man had to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. He would be killed and after three days rise again.  Jesus said all this quite openly, so that Peter took him aside and began to protest strongly. But Jesus turning around, and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter saying, "Get behind me Satan! You are thinking, not as God does, but as people do."

     Then Jesus called the people and his disciples and said, "If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.  For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it; and if you lose your life for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel, you will save it."

 

Reflection:

     At an opportune time Jesus tests his disciples with crucial questions, "Who do men say I am and who do you say that I am?" He was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, compared with John the Baptist and the great prophets Elijah and Jeremiah.

     Peter, quick to respond, professes that Jesus is truly the Christ, the Messiah. No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He recognized Jesus as the Anointed One, Christ the Messiah. 

     Peter's faith, however, was severely tested when Jesus explained that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die to accomplish

God's work of the years since the resurrection of Jesus and two thousand years of the Christian faith, who do I say Jesus is? Is he the merciful Savior? Is he the Lord God? Is he a friend? And a brother?

     What are our images and experiences of the Lord Jesus? And are we able to be as merciful as Jesus was? Have we entrusted ourselves totally to him? Have we imbibed the values he preached, especially his love for the poor and the underprivileged? Do we feel saved knowing Jesus never gives up on us? Do we give up on others? Or do we allow them multiple chances as Jesus does?

     We can never fully describe our experiences and understanding of Jesus. Nonetheless, whatever images and experiences we may have of Jesus at different moments in our lives will hopefully be reflected in our lives as our way of showing the depth and intimacy of our belief in and relationship with Jesus and as signs of our commitment to live by his commandment of love.   

 

 

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

 

BIRTHDAY

     BING A. COURTNEY

     DANIEL SY TAN

     JADEN MARCUS YAP DY

     MARIA LOURDES MIRANDA

 

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     ARTEMIO REYES

     MANUEL DIAZ

 

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.  

  +================================================+

 

 

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