July 18, 2013
Thursday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time
by
Rev. Fr. Benjamin “Benjo” Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)
5:30PM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace
Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush,
said to him, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of
your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I
to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall
tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.”
God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
“This is my name forever; this my title for all generations.
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.
“Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days’ journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
“Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced. I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.”
God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
“This is my name forever; this my title for all generations.
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.
“Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days’ journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
“Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced. I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.”
Responsorial Psalm PS
105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden light.”
HOMILY
A
very simple, yet profound message from Jesus - "Come to me and I will give
you rest."
When Jesus mentioned to take up His yoke and learn from Him, He was speaking of how they farm during those days. There are usually two cattle to carry the yoke on their shoulders, and the two of them will plow the farm together, so that it will be easier for them to plow the field because they work in pairs.
Now, Jesus Christ is telling us - take My yoke. But Jesus tells us, not only to take His Yoke, but to know that He will be taking it with us. He also tells us to learn from Him, for He is meek and humble of heart. When we present our cares to God our Father, we trust in Him. We humbly present our needs. We do not demand them. But for most people, the reason why they cannot get what they are searching for is because they have forgotten the condition that Jesus said, and that is to surrender everything to Him. All our cares, our worries, our fears, our anxieties and doubts, let us leave them to Jesus, let us abandon them to God, and everything will be given to us.
The rest that God gives us is also the rest that He asks us to give to our brothers and sisters. But we must learn from Him. We must learn from the Gospel. We must learn from His works and His actions. He loves us to save us, and He saves us because He loves us. Amen.
When Jesus mentioned to take up His yoke and learn from Him, He was speaking of how they farm during those days. There are usually two cattle to carry the yoke on their shoulders, and the two of them will plow the farm together, so that it will be easier for them to plow the field because they work in pairs.
Now, Jesus Christ is telling us - take My yoke. But Jesus tells us, not only to take His Yoke, but to know that He will be taking it with us. He also tells us to learn from Him, for He is meek and humble of heart. When we present our cares to God our Father, we trust in Him. We humbly present our needs. We do not demand them. But for most people, the reason why they cannot get what they are searching for is because they have forgotten the condition that Jesus said, and that is to surrender everything to Him. All our cares, our worries, our fears, our anxieties and doubts, let us leave them to Jesus, let us abandon them to God, and everything will be given to us.
The rest that God gives us is also the rest that He asks us to give to our brothers and sisters. But we must learn from Him. We must learn from the Gospel. We must learn from His works and His actions. He loves us to save us, and He saves us because He loves us. Amen.
