Trang

Thứ Ba, 4 tháng 10, 2016

OCTOBER 05, 2016 : WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 463

Reading 1GAL 2:1-2, 7-14
Brothers and sisters:
After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
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 Antioch,
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 PsalmPS 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.
AlleluiaROM 8:15BC
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a spirit of adoption as sons
through which we cry: Abba! Father!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 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.”


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. 
God treats us as his own sons and daughters
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).
We can approach God confidently as a Father who loves us
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 and trust in the Father's goodness
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 Jesus would with grace and mercy? Jesus' prayer includes an injunction (charge) that we must ask God to forgive us in proportion as we forgive those who have wronged us (Matthew 6:14-15). God's grace frees us from every form of anger, resentment, envy, and hatred. Are you ready to forgive others as the Lord 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 with your love 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".
Daily Quote from the early church fathersThe privilege and responsibility of calling God Father, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"For the Savior said, 'When you pray, say, 'Our Father.' And another of the holy Evangelists adds, 'who art in heaven' (Matthew 6:9)... He gives his own glory to us. He raises slaves to the dignity of freedom. He crowns the human condition with such honor as surpasses the power of nature. He brings to pass what was spoken of old by the voice of the psalmist: 'I said, you are gods, and all of you children of the Most High' (Psalm 82:6). He rescues us from the measure of slavery, giving us by his grace what we did not possess by nature, and permits us to call God 'Father,' as being admitted to the rank of sons. We received this, together with all our other privileges, from him. One of these privileges is the dignity of freedom, a gift peculiarly befitting those who have been called to be sons. He commands us, therefore, to take boldness and say in our prayers, 'Our Father.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 71)

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, LUKE 11:1-4
Weekday

​(Galatians 1:1-2, 7-14; Psalm 117)

KEY VERSE: "Lord teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples" (v 1).
TO KNOW: The disciples observed Jesus praying and they asked him to teach them to pray, as John the Baptist taught his disciples. In response to their question, Jesus taught them the Lord’s Prayer. In Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord’s Prayer is part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:9–13). In Luke's gospel, the setting is a time of prayer, a distinctive trait of his gospel. Comparison of the two forms of the Lord’s Prayer reveals that the content is basically the same, though shaped by different community traditions. Matthew’s text was later adapted for liturgical use, and has been used in worship down to our day. The briefer text of Luke may be less familiar, but it probably reflects the original instruction of Jesus. Both begin with Jesus’ distinctive address for God, “Father” (Hebrew: Abba), and pray for the glorification of God’s name on earth and the full establishment of his reign. Then the prayer turns to the disciples’ needs: God’s providential care and continual protection in the face of the “final test” at the end of time. Both versions relate God’s forgiveness of us, and the necessary forgiveness of others. The disciples realized that in order to have a right relationship with God the Father, they must seek him in prayer, as Jesus did.
TO LOVE: Do I spend time each day in prayer to our Father?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, teach me how to pray. 

Wednesday 5 October 2016

Wed 5th. Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News—Ps 116(117). Luke 11:1-4.
'Lord, teach us to pray'
In this important reading in Luke's Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples to pray. He gives them the words to what we know across Christian denominations as the Lord's Prayer or the Our Father. Sometimes, we don't have the words to pray, and Jesus comforts his disciples in this reading. He assures them that this prayer alone suffices when the words won't come. And it contains everything really: adoration of God, a plea for grace and forgiveness, a seeking of our daily needs, and a prayer that we will survive another day. It is the perfect prayer.

BLESSED BARTHOLOMEW LONGO

“My only desire is to see Mary who saved me and who will save me from the clutches of Satan.

- Blessed Bartholomew Longo’s last words

Perhaps one of the most remarkable conversions in the history of the Church was that of Bartholomew Longo, who went from being a Satanist priest to a beatified, through the extraordinary assistance of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Born in 1841 to a practicing Catholic family, he was not an irreligious youth, but when he went to university in Naples to study law, all that changed.  He first went from being a practicing Catholic to being involved in anti-papal demonstrations and then an atheist, following that a Satanist, eventually being ordained to the Satanist priesthood.  He had become a complete apostate.

However, Bartholomew’s family and friends continued to ardently pray for him and his conversion back to the faith of his childhood. A university professor of his hometown in southern Italy began to have discussions with him and with much perseverance managed to persuade him of the irrationality of his position. This was the beginning of his road to sainthood. He then was referred to a Dominican priest named Father Albert who directed his deprogramming and finally guided him back into communion with the Church.

He had recovered his faith, but realizing the awful scandal and damage he had caused, he wished to make reparations. He learnt first-hand of the awful poverty of the tenant farmers near his hometown. It is said that at the sight of their destitution the words of Our Lady of the Rosary came to his mind: “One who propagates my Rosary shall be saved.”

He believed that from this point on he would devote his life to spreading devotion to the Rosary.  His first step was to organize Rosary groups around a shrine he established in his neighborhood church around a picture of Mary called Our Lady of the Rosary. The shrine grew and became a basilica in 1901, attracting thousands of pilgrims daily, and still does today.

Bartholomew was aided in his work by the Countess di Fusco, a devout widow. Pope Leo XIII suggested that they marry to quiet rumors that their work together was leading to an amorous relationship. In obedience to the Pope they did so but vowed to live in celibacy.

They opened an orphanage for children of prison inmates, which achieved unexpected results for children who were considered lost causes and hereditary criminals at the turn of the century.

Bartholomew lived his last 20 years of his life under constant ill health and attacks against his reputation by those envious of him and the success of his apostolate.

His reliance on and dedication to the Rosary was extremelly pronounced in his life, as he acknowledged how vital Mary had been in his rescue from Satanism and conversion to the truth. He was an active proponent of the definition of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, which was proclaimed in 1950 by Pope Pius XII.

Bartholomew died on October 5, 1926 at the age of 85.  He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

“Rosary in hand, Blessed Bartolo Longo says to each of us: "Awaken your confidence in the Most Blessed Virgin of the Rosary. Venerable Holy Mother, in You I rest all my troubles, all my trust and all my hope!” 
- Pope John Paul II at Blessed Bartholomew Longo’s beatification ceremony.

LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 11:1-4
Lectio Divina: 
 Wednesday, October 5, 2016
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.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 11,1-4
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.'
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). Divine Providence passed for the fraternal organization, for sharing. Jesus invites us to fulfil a new Exodus, a new way of sharing in a fraternal spirit which will guarantee the bread for all (Mt 6, 34-44; Jn 6, 48-51).
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 Temple, in the House of the Father (Lk 2, 46-50).
- 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 Garden of Olives, he prays while his sweat fell like drops of blood (Lk 22, 41-42).
- 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
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)


Không có nhận xét nào:

Đăng nhận xét