Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary:
463
Brothers and sisters:
After fourteen years I again went up toJerusalem
taking Titus along also.
I went up in accord with a revelation,
and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles--
but privately to those of repute--
so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
On the contrary,
when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter to the circumcised,
for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised
worked also in me for the Gentiles,
and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me,
James and Cephas and John,
who were reputed to be pillars,
gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership,
that we should go to the Gentiles
and they to the circumcised.
Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,
which is the very thing I was eager to do.
And when Cephas came toAntioch
I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.
For, until some people came from James,
he used to eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself,
because he was afraid of the circumcised.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
with the result that even Barnabas
was carried away by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not on the right road
in line with the truth of the Gospel,
I said to Cephas in front of all,
"If you, though a Jew,
are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew,
how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
After fourteen years I again went up to
taking Titus along also.
I went up in accord with a revelation,
and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles--
but privately to those of repute--
so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
On the contrary,
when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter to the circumcised,
for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised
worked also in me for the Gentiles,
and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me,
James and Cephas and John,
who were reputed to be pillars,
gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership,
that we should go to the Gentiles
and they to the circumcised.
Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,
which is the very thing I was eager to do.
And when Cephas came to
I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.
For, until some people came from James,
he used to eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself,
because he was afraid of the circumcised.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
with the result that even Barnabas
was carried away by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not on the right road
in line with the truth of the Gospel,
I said to Cephas in front of all,
"If you, though a Jew,
are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew,
how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2
R. Go out to all the world, and
tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Gospel Lk 11:1-4
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."
Meditation: "Lord
teach us to pray"
Do you pray with joy and
confidence? The Jews were noted for their devotion to prayer. Formal prayer was
prescribed for three set times a day. And the rabbis had a prayer for every
occasion. It was also a custom for rabbis to teach their disciples a simple
prayer they might use on a regular basis. Jesus' disciples ask him for such a
prayer. When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he gave them the disciple's
prayer, what we call the Our
Father or Lord's Prayer. What does Jesus' prayer tell us about
God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father in being
the Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything
and transcendent authority, and he is eternally Father by his relationship to
his only Son who, reciprocally is Son only in relation to his Father (Matthew
11:27). All fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15).
In Jesus Christ we are reborn and become the adopted children of God (John
1:12-13; 3:3).Jesus teaches us to address God as "our Father" and to confidently ask him for the things we need to live as his sons and daughters. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because Jesus Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection. When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he responds with grace and mercy. He is kind and forgiving towards us and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. We can pray with expectant faith because our heavenly Father truly loves each one of us and and he treats us as his beloved children. He delights to give us what is good. His love and grace transforms us and makes us like himself. Through his grace and power we can love and serve one another as Jesus taught – with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. Do you treat others as they deserve, or do you treat them as the Lord would with grace and mercy? Jesus' prayer includes an injunction that we must ask God to forgive us in proportion as we forgive those who have wronged us. God's grace frees us from every form of anger, spite, resentment, and hatred. Are you ready to forgive others as Jesus forgives you?
"Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me".
MEDITATION OF THE DAY www.magnificant.com
Praying "Our Father"
from Jesus of Nazarene (Pope 1966)
We must therefore let Jesus teach us
what father really means. In Jesus' discourses, the Father appears as the
source of all good, as the measure of the rectitude
(perfection) of man ... The love that endures "to the end" (In 13: 1), which
the Lord fulfilled on the cross in praying for his
enemies, shows us the essence of the Father. He is this love. Because Jesus brings it to completion,
he is entirely "Son", and he invites us to become "sons" according to this criterion ...
The Lord reminds us that
fathers do not give their children stones when they ask for bread. He then goes on to say: "If you
then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will
your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Mt 7: 9ff.). Luke specifies the "good gifts" that the Father gives; he says, "how
much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Lk 11: 13).
This means that the gift
of God is God himself. The "good things" that he gives us are himself. This reveals in a surprising way what prayer is really all about: it is not about this or that, but about God's desire to offer us the gift of himself - that is the gift of all gifts, the "one thing necessary". Prayer is a way of gradually purifying and correcting our wishes
and of slowly coming to
realise what we really need: God
and his Spirit.
Benedict XVI elected to Pope 2005
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10
LUKE 11:1-4
(Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14; Psalm 117)
KEY VERSE: "Lord, teach us to pray" (v 1).
READING
REFLECTING: How can I live the Lord's prayer today?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to make your prayer my own.
LUKE 11:1-4
(Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14; Psalm 117)
KEY VERSE: "Lord, teach us to pray" (v 1).
REFLECTING: How can I live the Lord's prayer today?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to make your prayer my own.
Like Trees In The Forest
The article “What good is a tree?”
in Reader’s Digest explained that when the roots of trees touch, there is a
substance present that reduces competition. In fact, this unknown fungus helps
link roots of different trees, even of dissimilar species. A whole forest may
be linked together. If one tree has access to water, another to nutrient, and
the third to sunlight, the trees have the means to share with one another.
Like the trees in a forest,
Christians are linked together by their faith in Jesus Christ. As we read in
today’s first reading (Gal 2:8), St Peter and St Paul taught that the true mark
of a Christian is not the observance of the old Mosaic Law such as
circumcision, but faith in Christ, and irrespective of our national origins or
of our previous religion, we all become one in Christ. Being one in Christ
makes us all children of God, for Christ himself is the Son of God. That is why
Jesus asked us to call God “Our Father” (Lk 11:2). If we are the children of
the same heavenly father, we must love and support one another as the trees do
in a forest. The spirit of a Christian community is achieved where there is the
surrender of self for the other. Christian joy never comes to me by seeking it
for myself. But it does come to me, when I bring joy to others.
Go out
to all the world, and tell the Good News.
One of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord teach us to
pray.’
St Alphonsus Ligouri said,
‘Those who pray will be saved; those who do not pray will be lost.’ Perhaps the
black and white nature of this statement does not appeal greatly to us these
days, but it does bring home the necessity of prayer. If we do not pray, how
can we come closer to God?
In particular, in praying
through the Scriptures we come to know Jesus in his humanity, his courage, his
care for the outcast and the poor, his humility. With time that closeness will
strengthen and deepen so that we come to know Jesus as our companion and
friend. Then we will want to serve him.
Jesus tells us we do this by
serving others, especially those we meet every day—our family, friends,
community, neighbours, workmates. We can achieve this intimacy with Jesus by
talking to him in prayer.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
IN GOD'S HANDS
Every night I turn my worries over to God - he's going to be up all night anyway.
- Mary Crowley
From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]
From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
Helping Others
God can bring
us out of our own turmoil—not just for our own benefit, but also to help others
in a way that we could never do if we had not been through our own private
hell.
— from Fools,
Liars, Cheaters, and Other Bible Heroes
October 10
St. Francis Borgia
(1510-1572)
(1510-1572)
Today's saint grew up in an important
family in 16th-century Spain
Religious
life proved to be the right choice. He felt drawn to spend time in seclusion
and prayer, but his administrative talents also made him a natural for other
tasks. He helped in the establishment of what is now the At 55, Francis was elected head of the Jesuits. He focused on the growth of the Society of Jesus, the spiritual preparation of its new members and spreading the faith in many parts of
Francis Borgia is often regarded as the second founder of the Jesuits. He died in 1572 and was canonized 100 years later.
Patron
Saint of:
Earthquakes
Earthquakes
LECTIO: LUKE 11:1-4
Lectio:
Wednesday, October 10,
2012
Ordinary
Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading
Now it happened that
Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his disciples
said, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'
He said to them, 'When you pray, this is what to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.'
He said to them, 'When you pray, this is what to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.'
3) Reflection
● In yesterday's
Gospel, we saw Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to his word. Anyone
who listens to the Word of God has to give a response in prayer. In this way,
today's Gospel continues with the Gospel of yesterday the narrating of the account
in which Jesus, because of his way of prayer, communicates to the disciples the
desire to pray, to learn to pray from him.
● Luke 11, 1: Jesus, example of prayer. "One day, Jesus was in a certain place praying and when he had finished one of his disciples said to him: ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples'". This petition of the disciples is strange, because at that time people learnt to pray since they were small. Everyone prayed three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening. They prayed very much using the Psalms. They had their devotional practices, they had the Psalms, they had weekly meetings in the Synagogue and daily encounters at home. But it seemed that this was not enough. The disciple wanted more: "Teach us to pray!" In the attitude of Jesus he discovers that he could still advance more, and that for this he needed some initiation. The desire to pray was in all of them, but the way of praying needs a help. The way of praying attains maturity throughout life and changes through the centuries. Jesus was a good teacher: He taught how to pray with the words and with the witness.
● Luke 11, 2-4: The prayer of the Our Father. "Jesus answers: "When you pray this is what you have to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt with us. And do not put us to the test".In the Gospel of Matthew, in quite a didactic way, Jesus summarizes all his teaching in seven petitions addressed to the Father. Here in Luke's Gospel the petitions are five. In these five requests, Jesus repeats the great promises of the Old Testament and asks that the Father help us to fulfil them. The first three (or two) speak to us about our relationship with God. The other four (or three) speak to us about the relationship among us.
Mt – Lc: Introduction: Our Father who are in heaven
Mt – Lc: 1st request: Hallowed be your Name
Mt – Lc: 2nd request: Your Kingdom come
Mt: 3rd request: Your will be done
Mt – Lc: 4th request: Our daily bread
Mt – Lc: 5th request: Forgive our offences
Mt – Lc: 6th request: Lead us not into temptation
Mt: 7th request: Deliver us from evil
● Father (Our): The title expresses the new relationship with God (Father). It is the basis of fraternity.
a) To sanctify the Name: the Name of Yahweh I am with you! God with us. God made himself known with this NAME (Ex 3, 11-15). The Name of God is sanctified when it is used with faith and not with magic; when it is used according to its true objective, that is, not for oppression, but for the liberation of the people and for the construction of the Kingdom.
b) Your Kingdom come: The only Lord and King of human life is God (Is 45, 21; 46, 9). The arrival of the Kingdom is the realization of all the hopes and promises. It is the fullness of life, the overcoming of frustration suffered with the kings and human governments. This Kingdom will come when the will of God will be completely fulfilled.
c) The daily bread: In Exodus, the people every day received the manna in the desert (Ex 16, 35). DivineProvidence
d) Forgiveness of debts: Every 50 years, the Jubilee Year obliged everybody to forgive the debts. It was a new beginning (Lev 25, 8-55). Jesus announces a new Jubilee Year, "a year of grace from the Lord" (Lk 4, 19). The Gospel wants to begin everything new! Today, the external debt is not forgiven! Luke changes "debts" for "sins".
e) Not to fall into temptation: In Exodus the people were tempted and fell (Deut 9, 6-12). They complained and wanted to go back. (Ex 16, 3; 17, 3). In the new Exodus, the temptation was overcome thanks to the force that people received from God (1Co 10, 12-13).
● The witness of the prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke:
- At twelve years old, he goes to theTemple
- When he was baptized and he assumes his mission, he prays (Lk 3, 21).
- When he begins his mission, he spends forty days in the desert (Lk 4, 1-2).
- At the hour of temptation, he faces the Devil with texts from Scripture (Lk 4, 3-12).
- Jesus usually participated in the celebrations in the Synagogues, on Saturday (Lk 4, 16)
- He looks for the solitude of the desert to pray (Lk 5, 16; 9, 18).
- On the day before he chose the twelve Apostles, he spent the night in prayer (Lk 6, 12).
- He prays before meals (Lk 9, 16; 24, 30).
- He prays before presenting the reality and before speaking about his Passion (Lk 9, 18).
- In time of crisis, he goes up to the mountain to pray, is transfigured while he prays (Lk 9, 28).
- When the Gospel is revealed to the little ones, he says: "Father I thank you!" (Lk 10, 21)
- By praying he awakens in the Apostles the desire to pray (Lk 11, 1).
- He prays for Peter so that his faith will not fail (Lk 22, 32).
- He celebrates the Paschal Supper with his disciples (Lk 22, 7-14).
- In theGarden
of Olives
- In his anguish he asks his friends to pray with him (Lk 22, 40.46).
- When he was nailed to the cross, he asks for pardon for the bandits (Lk 23, 34).
- At the hour of his death, he says: "Into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Lk 23, 46; Ps 31, 6)
- Jesus dies sending out the cry of the poor (Lk 23, 46).
● Luke 11, 1: Jesus, example of prayer. "One day, Jesus was in a certain place praying and when he had finished one of his disciples said to him: ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples'". This petition of the disciples is strange, because at that time people learnt to pray since they were small. Everyone prayed three times a day, in the morning, at noon and in the evening. They prayed very much using the Psalms. They had their devotional practices, they had the Psalms, they had weekly meetings in the Synagogue and daily encounters at home. But it seemed that this was not enough. The disciple wanted more: "Teach us to pray!" In the attitude of Jesus he discovers that he could still advance more, and that for this he needed some initiation. The desire to pray was in all of them, but the way of praying needs a help. The way of praying attains maturity throughout life and changes through the centuries. Jesus was a good teacher: He taught how to pray with the words and with the witness.
● Luke 11, 2-4: The prayer of the Our Father. "Jesus answers: "When you pray this is what you have to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt with us. And do not put us to the test".In the Gospel of Matthew, in quite a didactic way, Jesus summarizes all his teaching in seven petitions addressed to the Father. Here in Luke's Gospel the petitions are five. In these five requests, Jesus repeats the great promises of the Old Testament and asks that the Father help us to fulfil them. The first three (or two) speak to us about our relationship with God. The other four (or three) speak to us about the relationship among us.
Mt – Lc: Introduction: Our Father who are in heaven
Mt – Lc: 1st request: Hallowed be your Name
Mt – Lc: 2nd request: Your Kingdom come
Mt: 3rd request: Your will be done
Mt – Lc: 4th request: Our daily bread
Mt – Lc: 5th request: Forgive our offences
Mt – Lc: 6th request: Lead us not into temptation
Mt: 7th request: Deliver us from evil
● Father (Our): The title expresses the new relationship with God (Father). It is the basis of fraternity.
a) To sanctify the Name: the Name of Yahweh I am with you! God with us. God made himself known with this NAME (Ex 3, 11-15). The Name of God is sanctified when it is used with faith and not with magic; when it is used according to its true objective, that is, not for oppression, but for the liberation of the people and for the construction of the Kingdom.
b) Your Kingdom come: The only Lord and King of human life is God (Is 45, 21; 46, 9). The arrival of the Kingdom is the realization of all the hopes and promises. It is the fullness of life, the overcoming of frustration suffered with the kings and human governments. This Kingdom will come when the will of God will be completely fulfilled.
c) The daily bread: In Exodus, the people every day received the manna in the desert (Ex 16, 35). Divine
d) Forgiveness of debts: Every 50 years, the Jubilee Year obliged everybody to forgive the debts. It was a new beginning (Lev 25, 8-55). Jesus announces a new Jubilee Year, "a year of grace from the Lord" (Lk 4, 19). The Gospel wants to begin everything new! Today, the external debt is not forgiven! Luke changes "debts" for "sins".
e) Not to fall into temptation: In Exodus the people were tempted and fell (Deut 9, 6-12). They complained and wanted to go back. (Ex 16, 3; 17, 3). In the new Exodus, the temptation was overcome thanks to the force that people received from God (1Co 10, 12-13).
● The witness of the prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke:
- At twelve years old, he goes to the
- When he was baptized and he assumes his mission, he prays (Lk 3, 21).
- When he begins his mission, he spends forty days in the desert (Lk 4, 1-2).
- At the hour of temptation, he faces the Devil with texts from Scripture (Lk 4, 3-12).
- Jesus usually participated in the celebrations in the Synagogues, on Saturday (Lk 4, 16)
- He looks for the solitude of the desert to pray (Lk 5, 16; 9, 18).
- On the day before he chose the twelve Apostles, he spent the night in prayer (Lk 6, 12).
- He prays before meals (Lk 9, 16; 24, 30).
- He prays before presenting the reality and before speaking about his Passion (Lk 9, 18).
- In time of crisis, he goes up to the mountain to pray, is transfigured while he prays (Lk 9, 28).
- When the Gospel is revealed to the little ones, he says: "Father I thank you!" (Lk 10, 21)
- By praying he awakens in the Apostles the desire to pray (Lk 11, 1).
- He prays for Peter so that his faith will not fail (Lk 22, 32).
- He celebrates the Paschal Supper with his disciples (Lk 22, 7-14).
- In the
- In his anguish he asks his friends to pray with him (Lk 22, 40.46).
- When he was nailed to the cross, he asks for pardon for the bandits (Lk 23, 34).
- At the hour of his death, he says: "Into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Lk 23, 46; Ps 31, 6)
- Jesus dies sending out the cry of the poor (Lk 23, 46).
4) Personal questions
● Do I pray? How do I
pray? What does prayer mean for me?
● Our Father: I go over the five petitions and examine how I live them in my life
● Our Father: I go over the five petitions and examine how I live them in my life
5) Concluding prayer
Praise Yahweh, all
nations,
extol him, all peoples,
for his faithful love is strong
and his constancy never-ending. (Ps 117,1-2)
extol him, all peoples,
for his faithful love is strong
and his constancy never-ending. (Ps 117,1-2)
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