Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Matthew, Jesus gives us the Lord’s Prayer - Interestingly enough, this is the only prayer that Jesus gave to his disciples….And it says everything we need to know….“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions”…For those of us who pray the Rosary everyday, the words of this prayer come out of our mouth very easily, but do we stop and think about what we are saying?…..This prayer is a radical statement! - And if lived out - Its that much more radical!……I sometimes think we make our Catholic faith to complicated - Jesus was a simple man who walked among very simple people…The Catholic faith is not some esoteric creed, which only can be understood by elites - Its simple! - So stick to the basics……..We can dissect the Lord’s Prayer all day - I will leave that to the reader of the reflection to do - My suggestion today is this - When you pray your Rosary and recite the Lord’s Prayer - Think about the words you are saying…..Ponder these words - And then make the words become reality……Mere words spoken can not save us - Jesus echoes this message….”Do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them” - Did you catch that? - So slow down and listen to the words you are saying!
“All who worship graven things are put to shame, who glory in the things of nought; all gods are prostrate before him”
Do we pray everyday?…I am not talking about reciting a “wish list” to God either…God is not a “candy machine”, where we “put a coin” in “the machine” and a “treat” comes out…..Prayer changes us and this is why we must develop a daily prayer life…From our interior life, everything will flow and without a deep interior life, our faith will grow weak…….Over the years my wife and I have developed a daily prayer life as a married couple….We both get up very early each morning before our five children…..I read scripture and my wife prays the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and meditates silently in front of a Crucifix….For the most part, both of us go to daily Mass…And as a family at the end of the day, we Pray the Rosary, a Novena to St Joseph and a prayer for our nation each night before bed…..On the weekend, we both do a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament and of course we go to Mass together as a family each Sunday….From our prayer life, everything flows - Including this reflection that you are reading right now………Now, each family is different and so are we different as individuals - That reality implies that my prayer life may not be for you…However, we ALL need to develop a daily prayer life if we want to “stay connected” to the Lord…..As Jesus tells us very clearly…….“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing”…Its through our prayer life that Jesus “shapes us”….This takes time and it also takes our consent…We do not “magically” become the people God called us to be over night - And we do not “magically” float into heaven
“Then Elisha, filled with the twofold portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will. Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into life. In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds”
Today Jesus in the Gospel teaches us how to pray….Simple - Right?!?…..But do we make it simple and do we pray daily?……For a moment, let’s think about Jesus and the twelve apostles the night before Jesus was crucified in the Garden of Gethsemane….Jesus was fully aware of what he had to do - He was about to die a horrendous death for the sins of mankind! - So what does he do? - He prays….What do the twelve apostles do? - Because they too had a herculean task ahead of them - They were tasked with bringing the Gospel to every corner of the world……So what do they do on the night before their friend Jesus was about to be killed? - They slept! - And what happened? - They ran away……What can we today learn from this scene in the Garden of Gethsemane? - Jesus Prayed - Jesus Stayed!….And if we “stay connected” to God through our daily prayer - We too will stay!…..The next time you pray the Sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary and you mediate on the first mystery - The Agony in the Garden - Mediate on what I just told you…….Jesus prayed - And because of that - Jesus stayed!…………………..JMJ
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