Readings & Reflections with Cardinal Tagle’s Video: Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time C & St. Paul of the Cross, October 20,2019

We have the story of St. Therese, our model in persistence in prayer. Our Lady healed her of a serious illness at the age of ten. After a profound conversion at age 13, she felt a call to enter Carmel as a contemplative Nun, so that she could give herself totally to Jesus. With persistence, she went to see the Pope to intercede for her vocation and was allowed to enter the Lisieux Carmel at the age of 15 and her father lived to see her professed a Carmelite Nun, Sister Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. Her “little way” spirituality is by doing simple things of life well with extraordinary love and believes that everything is grace. She died in 1897 in Lisieux, France and canonized as saint in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. She teaches us about prayer: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy” (CCC: 2558).

Pray always without becoming weary is the challenged of today’s Gospel (Lk 18:1-18). In the story of the widow’s persistence and the dishonest judge, Jesus tells us a lesson about the generosity of God to always answer our prayers and he said “Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?” (Lk 18:7-8). Prayer is a vital necessity to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, if not, we fall back into the slavery of sin (Gal 5:16-25). “Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy…. For it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin…. Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned.” (CCC: 2744). And those who prays without ceasing, Jesus answers them: “Whoever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. This I command you, to love one another” (Jn 15:16-17). For more reflection on Seven Tips to Fruitfully Pray the Rosary According to Saint Pope John Paul II click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2017/10/01/seven-tips-to-fruitfully-pray-the-rosary-according-to-pope-john-paul-ii/

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Lord, give me faith to believe your promises and give me perseverance and hope to withstand trials and adversities. Help me to trust in your unfailing love and to find joy and contentment in you alone.” Amen.

Reading 1
Ex 17:8-13 – As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight.

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said to Joshua,
“Pick out certain men,
and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.
I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses’ hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Reading II
2 Tm 3:14-4:2 – One who belongs to God may be competent, equipped fro every good work.

Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed,
because you know from whom you learned it,
and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

The word of the Lord.

Gospel
Lk 18:1-8 – God will secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him.

Bishop Robert Barron’s Homily: Persistence in prayer click below:

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.’”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Hope from on high

Dr. Scott Hahn’s reflection: Listen Here

The Lord is our guardian, beside us at our right hand, interceding for us in all our spiritual battles.

In today’s Psalm we’re told to lift our eyes to the mountains, that our help will come from Mount Zion and the Temple—the dwelling of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Joshua and the Israelites, in today’s First Reading, are also told to look to the hilltops. They are to find their help there—through the intercession of Moses—as they defend themselves against their mortal foes, the Amalekites.

Notice the image: Aaron and Hur standing on each side of Moses, holding his weary arms so that he can raise the staff of God above his head. Moses is being shown here as a figure of Jesus, who also climbed a hilltop, and on Mount Calvary stretched out His hands between heaven and earth to intercede for us against the final enemy—sin and death (see 1 Corinthians 15:26).

By the staff of God, Moses bested Israel’s enemies (see Exodus 7:8-12;8:1-2), parted the Red Sea (see Exodus 14:16) and brought water from the Rock (seeExodus 17:6).

The Cross of Jesus is the new staff of God, bringing about a new liberation from sin, bringing forth living waters from the body of Christ, the new Temple of God (see John 2:19-21; 7:37-39; 19:34; 1 Corinthians 10:4).

Like the Israelites and the widow in today’s Gospel, we face opposition and injustice—at times from godless and pitiless adversaries.

We, too, must lift our eyes to the mountains—to Calvary and the God who will guard us from all evil.

We must pray always and not be wearied by our trials, Jesus tells us today. As Paul exhorts in today’s Epistle, we need to remain faithful, to turn to the inspired Scriptures—given by God to train us in righteousness.

We must persist, so that when the Son of Man comes again in kingly power, He will indeed find faith on earth. – Read the source: https://stpaulcenter.com/reflections/hope-from-on-high-scott-hahn-reflects-on-the-29th-sunday-in-ordinary-time

Reflection 2 – The necessity to pray always

“Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.”

The heart of Christianity is our Lord Jesus Christ while the heart of our relationship with Jesus is our prayer life. To keep one’s relationship with Jesus alive and strong, one needs to have a consistent prayer life.

Consistency means being faithful to a prayer life that we fully give to our Lord.

Our relationship with our Lord like any interpersonal relationship calls for discipline and to a great extent depends on discipline. Our faithfulness to Jesus in prayer forms a part of our response to His love. This means that we all need to have a fixed amount of time everyday dedicated to prayer and to give exclusively to our Lord. If it is true that our Lord has a very important place in our hearts then we should be able to find time to pray to Him and be with Him.

Our fidelity to a regular schedule and amount of prayer time for the Lord is one measure of how much we love our Lord. We need to be faithful to our commitment to regularly pray to our Lord, fellowship with Him and commune with Him as it is during these quiet times with our Lord when He pours His transforming grace into our hearts and molds us into the kind of servant that He wants us to be.

Just as an athlete’s physical fitness can be summarized in one’s training and exercise, our discipleship in Christ is a function of one’s prayer life. But for both to work, there should be consistency. Just a little time for exercise, each and every day. Just a little time, each and everyday… time set aside for God.

When we are consistent in our fellowship with God in prayer, loving and serving our brothers and sisters becomes second nature. We become Christ for others, men for others. Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the Church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth. 3John 5-8

One sure way we can respond to our Lord’s exhortation is to abide by His Word and His Will and to make our lives a prayer in itself, an offering worthy to be given to our Lord. Let us start our day with the Morning Offering: O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Direction

Our prayer life should be consistent and simple, full of love for our Lord neighbor and with great openness to follow His lead.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, teach me to pray. Give me the grace to persevere and deepen my prayer life and enable me to bring Christ to all men. In Him, I pray. Amen.

Reflection 3 – Does God Hear My Prayers?

Last Sunday, the Gospel taught us about the prayer of thanksgiving. A grateful heart is pleasing to God for it is humble, obedient and full of trust in divine providence. This Sunday, we have another lesson on prayer, and this time it is about the prayer of petition. The Lord tells us that we have to “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you.”

As in any other kind of prayer, the prayer of petition is always pleasing to God. He always listens to our petitions, and He gladly grants what we ask for. This is the truth. However, many doubt this, and they ask: “Why are my prayers and petitions not granted?” There are several reasons why, for many of us, we do not receive what we ask for in our prayers.

First, we lack total confidence in God. Most often, we turn to God only as a last resort when all our options fail to work. Some of us have our plans all set, and God is considered only as a convenient back up, “just in case” – similar to a life jacket or parachute.

When we pray, we must make sure that we have full, unconditional and authentic faith in Jesus, the Son of God. This kind of faith is shown in the image of a little child: “Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” In the prayer that Jesus taught us, we say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Have we ever wondered why Jesus said “daily bread”? Why did He not teach us to say, “Give us our bread for one month or for one year”? This is because He wants us to have confidence in Him day by day, just like a little child that is totally dependent on his parents for his daily survival.

Lack of faith and confidence in God leads to lack of generosity. This is the second reason. We are afraid to let go because we are not so sure of divine providence. We trust in our own resources more than we trust in God. And so we hold back, and we cannot get ourselves to give everything to God. As a result, the flow of God’s graces is restricted.

There is the story of a man in the desert. He ran out of water, and he was in danger of dying. Fortunately, he found a small shed in the middle of the desert, and in it was a manual water pump. He ran toward it, and saw a small pail of water. He was about to drink the water, but he saw a handwritten notice, and it said: “Warning: Do not drink! The water in this pail is just enough to prime the pump and draw water from underneath the ground. You can have as much water as you need afterwards. Then do not forget to fill up the pail for the next traveler.” God can never be outdone in generosity. A pail of water that we offer can trigger an ocean of blessings from Him. We always say, “The more we give, the more we receive.”

The third reason is because we insist on our own will, and thereby disobey God’s will. Perhaps many of us will notice that, most often, our prayers of petition tend to impose or dictate on God. We want God to follow our will, and not the other way around. Have we ever wondered why the Blessed Virgin Mary is a very powerful intercessor that everything she asks from God is granted? The reason is simple: she is always obedient to God. She lived her fiat at every moment of her life: “Behold, I am the maidservant of the Lord. Be it done to me as you say.” This is true to all the saints. They are all powerful intercessors because they have always been obedient to God. This is similar with our experience in our family. A child who is always obedient to his parents has better chances of obtaining his requests from his parents than the disobedient and stubborn child. St. James the Apostle said: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (4:3). When a person is obedient to God, the favors he asks for are swiftly granted by God.

Finally, we do not get what we pray for because we lack patience. The widow in the parable was patient and persistent in her request to the corrupt judge. She just would not give up, knowing that her request is just and right. Patient waiting is a clear sign of faith and confidence in an all-knowing and all-loving God.

Nowadays people hate delays. Yet when it comes to prayer, there is wisdom behind the delay. The first reason is that God does not want us to become like spoiled children. A child who is accustomed to receiving immediately the favors he asks from his parents may think that the world owes him, and he may not even appreciate and give importance to the favors granted. And second, the favors we are asking for may be good in themselves, but in the mind of God, He knows when is the best time to grant them to us. Granting our request ahead of the appointed time may even be harmful to our soul.

Prayer is not only an activity; it is our way of life as God’s children. And as St. Padre Pio said, “prayer is the oxygen of our soul.” Hence, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini urged us: “We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone.”

This is a very timely exhortation for us all because people nowadays tend to neglect prayers, being too busy and absorbed in their worldly pursuits and ambition. As a result, we witness massive apostasy all over – people turning away from the true faith. This is what Jesus predicted at the end of the Gospel reading today: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in the earth?” The sure sign that the second coming of Christ is very near is the loss of faith in so many people – mass apostasy in the world! And that is happening now! Let us pray with more faith, trust and persistence, so that when the Son of Man comes – and it is not anymore remote – we will be found worthy to welcome Him and be with Him in His kingdom -(Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Amsterdam St., Capitol Park Homes, Matandang Balara, Quezon City 1119).

Reflection 4 – Persistent and praying together

Jesus teaches us today to keep praying and do not lose heart. A preacher said, “It is pretty easy to break a single thread, but putting thousands of threads together forms a strong cord which withstands attempts to cut it in two.” Prayer is like that. When we pray together, especially during the celebration of the liturgy, our prayer possesses strength. God is pleased with that kind of prayer. When we pray together, God the Father readily sees within us the person of his Son, the Head of the body which is his Church.

In the gospel today, Jesus understands our weakness. That is why he tells us a parable on the necessity of praying always and not losing heart. The widow in the parable was persistent; she refused to give up. Jesus does not want us to give up either, no matter how hard or how long we have been praying for something. In order to persevere in prayer Jesus wants up to pray together, especially during the Mass.

We come to Mass for many reasons, and probably every one of us has motives which are distinctly our own, but above all we must be alert to put into practice the lesson of this day’s liturgy.

As Catholics, as people of the Church, we have responsibilities toward one another. In the book of Exodus 17:8-13, Aaron and Hur did not abandon Moses when he grew tired. They did not think that Moses ought to pray alone or that they had to be attentive to their own individual prayers. God is pleased with prayer which is strong because we are all praying, not as isolated individuals, but together as Catholics, as people of the Church, united by the Spirit as the one body of Christ. Do you pray with faith and confidence in God’s merciful care and providence for you?

“Lord, give me faith to believe your promises and give me perseverance and hope to withstand trials and adversities. Help me to trust in your unfailing love and to find joy and contentment in you alone.”

Reflection 5 – Always pray and do not lose heart

What can a shameless and unjust judge pitted against a crusty and pestering woman teach us about justice and vindication (to restore what is right and just) in the kingdom of God? Jesus tells a story that is all too true – a defenseless widow is taken advantaged of and refused her rights. Through sheer persistence she wears down an unscrupulous judge until he gives her justice. Persistence pays off, and that’s especially true for those who trust in God. Jesus illustrates how God as our Judge and Vindicator is much quicker to come to our defense and to bring us his justice, blessing, and help when we need it. But we can easily lose heart and forget to ask our heavenly Father for his grace and help.

Faith-filled persistence reaps the fruit of justice and grace
Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8) to give his disciples fresh hope and confidence in God’s unfailing care and favor towards us (grace). In this present life we can expect trials and adversity, but we are not without hope in God. The Day of the Last Judgment will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices perpetrated by a fallen world of sinful people and that God’s love is stronger than death (Song of Songs 8:6). Those who put their faith in God and entrust their lives to him can look forward with hope and confident assurance. They will receive their reward – if not fully in this present life then surely and completely in the age to come in God’s kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy (Romans 14:17).

Jesus ends his parable with a probing question for us. Will you and I have faith – the kind of faith that doesn’t give up or lose hope in God – but perseveres to the end of our lives – and to the end of this present age when the Lord Jesus will return in glory as Ruler and Judge of All? Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. We could not believe, trust, and persevere with hope if God did not first draw us to himself and reveal to us his merciful love and care. If we want to grow and persevere in faith until the end of our days, then we must nourish our faith with the word of God and ask the Lord to increase it (Luke 17:5). When trials and setbacks disappoint you, where do you place your hope and confidence? Do you pray with expectant faith and confident hope in God’s merciful care and provision for you?

“Lord Jesus, increase my faith and make it strong that I may never doubt your word and promise to be with me always. In every situation I face – whether trials, setbacks, or loss – may I always find strength in your unfailing love and find joy and contentment in having you alone as the treasure of my heart.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/oct20.htm

Reflection 6 – Answered prayers

Can you recall a prayer that has been answered? Is there a prayer of yours that is yet to be answered? At times I feel despair when taking inventory of all the things I’ve asked of God and silence was is his answer. Then I read the Book of Exodus and the Israelite’s history of slavery and hardship in Egypt. For hundreds of years the Israelites petitioned and burnt sacrificial offerings to God to end their oppression with little to no response. As the Book of Wisdom (18:14-16, 19:6-9) interprets, God eventually answered their prayer in very big ways. But think of the generations that passed waiting in hope for God’s saving hand. Did many of them lose faith?

A popular argument against faithfulness to God is the existence of the great injustices of the world past and present: “If God is so loving, then why so much suffering”? To them God is like a corrupt judge. In the Gospel reading (Lk 18:1-8) Jesus takes the example of a poor widow begging for a just ruling in an uncharitable court. In the face of the judge’s stubbornness and apathy, the widow returns day after day faithful that the persistence her day of justice will come. Jesus challenges us that our prayer life should be like the poor widow. In the face of unending injustice and suffering we remain hopeful for God’s saving hand. No matter the circumstances, every time we turn to God we make a proclamation of faith. We wait in hope for our prayers to be answered. Jesus points out, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Jesus concludes this lesson by emphasizing the most important aspect of prayer: deepening our faith and securing our salvation!

How great it is when our prayers are answered! But more important is the fostering of our spiritual growth. Faith requires prayer and prayer increases faith. By persistent prayer in the face of hardship, we give hope to others who are struggling with their faith in God’s goodness. As Paul challenges us, “Pray unceasingly!” (Source: Jeffrey Trytko, Weekday Homily Helps. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, November 11, 2009).

Reflection 7 – Learning again to pray

It has been a theme these past few weeks to see how the Scriptures seek to overturn our expectations and to shatter our natural prejudices. The widow in today’s Gospel claims our sympathy, but Jesus tells us to listen to the dishonest judge, because what he teaches us is a remarkable lesson about God. If the unjust judge is willing to do his duty, then God cannot be any less willing to do his.

Just for a moment, let us put ourselves in the place of the judge, seeing God in the place of the widow. The virtue of justice means giving each person her or his due – it makes no difference whether we’re talking about God or widows. Worship and prayer are a part of the virtue of justice because they are acts to which God has a right. The Gospel is a story about us, and today’s parable asks a reasonable question: How long are we going to make God wait before we grant what he has a right to expect?

Today’s Gospel is a Gospel about prayer, so we might profitably begins with a definition. As quoted in the Catechism, St. Therese once said, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven” (CCC:2558). The catechism goes on to expand this idea thus: “Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ … the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit” (CCC:2565). However we choose to define prayer, we will always return to the heart; our prayer cannot be separated from our love for God, or the community with others that this love creates.

Jesus says we ought to pray continually, and the catechism quotes a fourth-century mystic, Evagrius of Pontus, who knew well that “we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing” (CCC:2742). Evagrius may not have faced the distractions that challenge us, but that is all the more reason to pray. The catechism reminds us, rather frighteningly, “we pray as we live, because we live as we pray” (CCC:2752).

No one will deny that life without God has little to recommend it, so we need to ask where and when we can find a place for prayer. Not surprisingly, the answer is anywhere, and at any time. The catechism quotes St. John Chrysostom, “It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop … while buying or selling… or even while cooking” (CCC:2743).

God is waiting, so no time is a bad time for prayer. The Mass is the perfect prayer but attending daily Mass might be a luxury many cannot afford. The Rosary, and the Breviary, the Liturgy of the Hours – also called “The Prayer of the Church” – are other options (CCC:2708). Like anything else, prayer becomes easier with habit, so the important thing is simply to show up with our intellect and will open to God’s holy presence: “we cannot pray ‘at all times’ if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it” (CCC:2698).If we’re trying to begin a prayer life, we might start by praying briefly in the morning and evening, and by offering a prayer before meals.

We are probably most familiar with vocal prayer, which Jesus himself taught us with the “Our Father.” Vocal prayer involves our body as well as our spirit, so it enables us, as we must, to “pray with our whole being” (CCC:2703).

Vocal prayer leads to meditation, which the catechism defines very concretely as a quest “to understand the why and how of Christian life… to adhere and respond to what the Lord is asking” (CCC:2705). When we meditate we allow our minds to ponder what our lips have recited. “Here another book is opened: the book of life” (CCC:2706). Meditation takes many forms, but once again, the important point is to do it, “to advance, with the Holy Spirit along the one way of prayer: Christ Jesus” (CCC:2707).

Today’s readings began with an account from the Book of Exodus describing how God favored the Israelites in battle so long as Moses kept his arms raised. This is a vivid picture of the power of prayer. Joshua’s victory is not the result of his exhausting work on the battlefield, but the result of God’s working through Moses’ prayer. Moses sat at a distance from the battle, but his prayer, like ours, was “neither an escape from reality nor a divorce from life” (CCC:2727). Moses’ staff is a reminder that God’s strength is the source of all our strength and all our victories. It is also a reminder that the one thing we can always do for one another is raise our hands in prayer to the God who delivers us. (Source: Fr. Reginald Martin, O.P., “Homilies for Sunday Liturgies and Feasts,” Homiletic & Pastoral Review, Vol. CX, No. 10. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, August/ September 2010, pp. 44-45).

Reflection 8 – Faith and courage

This section of the Book of Exodus needs to be read while keeping in mind YHWY’s desire to rescue his people, and to bring them to Sinai under the guidance and care of both Joshua (fighting) and Moses (praying). 

The responsorial psalm invites us to keep the faith, especially during difficult times, remembering that God not only creates, but also sustains. 

The Second letter to Timothy exhorts us to “remain faithful” and “to proclaim the word … whether it is convenient or inconvenient; {and to} convince, reprimand, {and} encourage through all patience and teaching.”

The remote context of today’s Gospel passage is the persecution that the Church is experiencing, and the “long overdue” Parusia that makes it increasingly difficult for Christians to keep their faith through the darkest of days.

Homily
Our readings today were written during times of trial and difficulty. However, they reflect a spirit of courage and faith, of temperance and hope, of justice and love. These readings seem particularly à-propos since the time to vote is fast approaching. You can feel it in the air. Unfortunately, the vibes I am getting are rather gloomy and pessimistic. I have been told that many have already decided that it is useless to vote; that justice and peace will never be achieved because the option to find a champion for these worthy causes seems to be meager at best. To all those who have succumbed to the temptations of cynicism, defeatism, and pessimism, I say:

Look at the woman in our Gospel story today:

• She is a woman in a patriarchal society;
• She cannot inherit without her husband; and
• She is at the mercy of a corrupt and unprincipled judge.

We could say that she is the epitome of powerlessness!
However,

• She embraces her being totally dependent on God;
• She knows that justice is on her side; and thus,
• She dares to be feisty, and ends up bringing forth justice.

The judge, on the other hand, neither fears God nor respects people—some translations read: “he has no shame.” However, he decides to give the widow what rightly belongs to her, not out of the goodness of his heart, but because her persistence has given him a political black eye; that is, everybody knows she is right and he has failed to give her what is her due.

Can you imagine what would have happened, had the widow become cynical or pessimistic? Can you see how such an attitude would have ended up allowing the status quo to remain unchallenged and unmoved?

It is the same with us: like the widow, we may feel powerless or overpowered or ignored. However, Jesus offers us this parable to remind us that, even in the midst of strife and difficulty, we must go on, we must insist, we must pray, and, yes, we must fight. Just like Moses kept praying, and Joshua kept fighting, we are expected to pray and fight for this our moment of truth, and indifference or disengagement are not options for us.

Keep in mind that Jesus, the Son of God, assured us:

God will secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night.

So, what are you waiting for? Call out in faith! Declare with conviction:

• I have faith!
• I am not alone in this fight!
• We can bring about justice and peace through prayer and participation!

And pray with full-hearted faith:

• For the protection of each individual human life, from conception to death;
• For the defense and advancement of human dignity and human rights;
• For the preservation of the sanctity of marriage and the family; and,
• For the promotion of the common good through solidarity and subsidiarity.

Jesus’ parable uses the idea of justice and of rights in relation to one of the most vulnerable members of his society: a widow. Can we pray and work for the rights of the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, and the rejected in our midst? Can we replace cynicism with faith, defeatism with participation, and pessimism with confidence in the Lord?

In the words of Paul to Timothy, may our participation be a reflection of our call:

• to pray without ceasing;
• to remain faithful;
• to proclaim the Word, whether it is convenient or inconvenient; and
• to convince, reprimand, and encourage through all patience and teaching.

For further reading, see USCCB, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, pp. 6- 20. – Read the source: http://www.hprweb.com/2016/09/homilies-for-october-2016/

Reflection 9 – Gritty Prayer

As a seventh-grade math teacher, Angela Duckworth discovered that IQ wasn’t the only thing that separated her highest performers from her lowest performers. Some of her best students didn’t have high IQ scores, and some of her smartest students weren’t among her top performers. This discovery ultimately led Dr. Duckworth to the field of psychology, where she has dedicated much of her research to the science of achievement. After years of studying West Point Cadets, National Spelling Bee contestants, professional football players, and salespeople, Dr. Duckworth found that “one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn’t general intelligence; it wasn’t good looks; It wasn’t physical health; and it wasn’t IQ.”¹¹ Like Moses and the widow in today’s readings, successful people have grit. It’s no surprise, then, that our readings teach us that successful prayer is gritty prayer.

So what is grit? Grit is a combination of passion and perseverance. Gritty people pursue their heart’s desire and work really hard to make it happen. In music, sports, the arts, careers, and yes, even in the spiritual life, “the highly accomplished [are] paragons of perseverance.”¹² Let’s take Moses, for example. When Amalek waged war against Israel, there was no reason to believe that the Israelites could defeat such a strong army. But Moses, filled with the conviction of faith that the Israelites would succeed, raised the staff of God over his soldiers in prayer. Although he grew weary, Moses didn’t give up. His goal was victory through prayer. With the help of Aaron and Hur, with passion and perseverance, Moses held the staff of God high until sunset, and Amalek’s army was defeated. Moses brought grit to prayer, and the Israelites won.

How about the widow in today’s Gospel? Her case lay before a judge who neither feared God nor respected any human being. She had no reason to believe that she would ever receive a just judgment, but she didn’t give up. She wanted justice, so she persistently bothered the judge until he rendered a just decision. The widow brought grit to her pleadings, and she won.

So how can gritty prayer help us? Let’s start off by talking about how prayer helps us. Prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God. It’s an act of spiritual communion by which we unite ourselves, our concerns, and needs with God and with each other.¹³ Our prayers can’t change God’s mind, but we don’t need to. In God’s mind, we find perfect truth, justice, and love. We don’t need to change that; we need to unite ourselves with it so that we can have perfect truth, justice, and love here on earth. We do that through prayer. Prayer is always effective because every act of prayer brings God’s truth, justice, and love into the world. Here’s where grit comes into the picture.

If we can all agree that truth, justice, and love aren’t just worthy goals but the ultimate goals of human existence, then we should bring every ounce of our passion and persistence to achieving them right now. How do we do that? We unite with God through prayer, passionate, persistent, gritty prayer. When Jesus tells us “to pray always without becoming weary” (Lk 18:1), he’s calling us to gritty prayer. When Saint Paul reminds Timothy to pray always, being “persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient” (2 Tim 4:2), he’s urging Timothy to gritty prayer. Why? Because through gritty prayer, we receive the very grace that conquers lies, injustice, and hatred from its most infinite and perfect source — the God of truth, justice, and love.

Looking at our current political situation and the injustice and violence that plague our world, there’s no reason to believe that we can change things on our own. But “salvation always involves the interplay of divine grace and human cooperation.”¹⁴ That interplay takes place in prayer — passionate, persistent, gritty prayer. Through passionate, persistent, gritty prayer, we summon the courage to shine God’s truth on the lies that tempt contemporary thought. Through passionate, persistent, gritty prayer, we find the strength to right every wrong until God’s justice shall reign on the earth. Through passionate, persistent, gritty prayer, we’re filled with God’s love, the only love that can heal the wounds of division that separate us from God and our fellow man.

Dr. Duckworth’s research shows that with a little grit, we can accomplish amazing things. Well, that’s the Judeo-Christian method in a nutshell. Throughout Scripture, we’re taught that if we passionately and persistently pursue truth, justice, and love, the Kingdom of God will reign on earth. United with God our help, who made heaven and earth, we can change the world for the better. That change begins with gritty prayer. – Read the source: https://www.hprweb.com/2019/10/homilies-for-october-2019/

Reflection 10 – Persistent Prayer

Men always ought to pray and not lose heart. –Luke 18:1

A friend of mine has been a woman of prayer for many years. She has received countless answers from God, but sometimes she is disheartened because certain prayers for loved ones remain unanswered. Yet she keeps on praying, encouraged by the parable in Luke 18. This story features a widow who badgered a heartless judge for help and finally got it.

Jesus ended His parable with a question: If an unrighteous and disrespectful judge finally answers a pestering widow’s pleas for help, shall not God answer His own children who cry to Him day and night? (vv.7-8). The expected answer: “Of course He will!”

George Müller (1805-1898), pastor and orphanage director, was known for his faith and persistent prayer. Whenever he prayed for specific needs for his orphanage, God sent exactly what was required. Yet for more than 40 years he also prayed for the conversion of a friend and his friend’s son. When Müller died, these men were still unconverted. God answered those prayers, however, in His own time. The friend was converted while attending Müller’s funeral, and the son a week later!

Do you have a special burden or request? Keep on praying! Trust your loving heavenly Father to answer according to His wisdom and timing. God honors persistent prayer!  — Joanie Yoder

Don’t think that you are finished,
Just trust God’s love and care;
Delays are not denials;
Persist in faith and prayer. —Jarvis

Failure to pray is the line of least persistence (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 11 – Prayer is freedom

With the wish to experience prayer in the heart of freedom

1) The need for prayer

On this Sunday the readings of Mass offer us a fundamental teaching: the need to pray always without getting tired.

However, before trying to understand how it is possible to pray always and tirelessly, it is advisable to answer this question “What is prayer?”

Praying has the same root of the adjective precarious: it means that we can have a thing only if we ask it and someone gives it to us. In fact, our relationship with God, as with people, is always precarious. Every relationship is precarious: we have it because we want it, we can’t expect it, and the others gives it to us for free. Therefore, prayer is the fundamental act of a relationship that exists between people; in fact, the first thing the child is taught is to ask and say thank you, always.

Christ says that “we must” pray always. Too often we get tired of praying and we have the impression that prayer is not very useful for life and that it is not very effective. Therefore, we are tempted to dedicate ourselves to activity, to employ all human means to achieve our goals, and we do not resort to God. Jesus instead affirms that “we must pray always”.

Anything that is not prayer, anything that is not part of the relationship of grace and gift, is dead. Everything that is not obtained through prayerful love and is not given because of free love, is given for selfishness.

Constant prayer makes our lives a constant gift and establishes us in a constant filial relationship with God, Creator, and Father. Furthermore, let us not forget that prayer is not intended to inform God about our needs, which He knows infinitely better than us. Prayer does not even want to convince Him to consent to the satisfaction of our needs, but rather allows us to make our will coincide with his, so that his love has an ever more perfect response in our mind.

Prayer is a surrender and an abandonment of oneself to God the Father, who frees us and gives us new life. Prayer, which many consider to be slavery, in truth is the consecration of our freedom. In fact, it means that we are no longer enclosed in the determinism of the physical world, we are freed from the impersonal grip of unconscious forces, embraced by a vivifying Presence and sustained by an infinite tenderness, with the possibility of incessantly transforming our dependence into an offer of love.

In short, prayer is our communion with the Son and with the Father that puts us in communion with creation as a gift and with the others as brothers. It is human life, fully realized. Therefore, we must always pray without being discouraged if God seems deaf to listen to our prayer. In fact, what He gives us is not important: it is important that we stay with him and trust him. This is the true fruit of prayer

2) Prayer must be insistent.

In the first reading and in today’s Gospel we are presented with two people who “use” prayer[1]: Moses who makes the Jews win the battle and obtains justice from God against the enemies because he prays insistently with his hands raised, and the widow who, with her persistent constancy, obtains justice from an unjust judge.

Today’s Gospel passage speaks to us of the Messiah, who, to teach about prayer, uses a figure of a widowed woman that is almost an outcast because of the mentality of the time. In fact, the Bible defends “the orphans[2] and the widows”[3] because they are the weakest and most vulnerable people, the most exposed to every arrogance and to every injustice and the most defenseless. Jesus values ​​this poverty and tells of this helpless woman who has long suffered from injustice but does not get discouraged and confronts an arrogant judge, one of those whom the great prophet Isaiah stigmatized: ” Ah! Those who enact unjust statutes, who write oppressive decrees, depriving the needy of judgment, robbing my people’s poor of justice, making widows their plunder, and orphans their prey“(Is.10,1-2).

With astonishing obstinacy, the widow’s voice rises against the arrogance of this magistrate: “Give me justice against my adversary” (Lk 18: 3).

In the words of the woman there is the extraordinary strength of the “prayerful” who wants to reach the goal at all costs; there is an insistence that seems intrusive, annoying, but it is the sign of a hope that does not die: it is the profound certainty that, sooner or later, his supplication will be granted. And so it happens: the unjust judge says: “ ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me ” (Lk 18:4- 5).

If an unjust man answers an insistent prayer, infinitely more an untiring and tenacious prayer will be granted by God, the just Judge.

Therefore, because of our prayer, Jesus is interlocutor, friend, witness, and teacher. “Jesus teaches us to pray not only with the Our Father but also when he prays. In this way he teaches us, in addition to the content, the dispositions necessary for every true prayer: purity of heart that seeks the Kingdom and forgives one’s enemies, bold and filial faith that goes beyond what we feel and understand, and watchfulness that protects the disciple from temptation. “(Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 544). Today Christ adds another disposition: insistence and asks for an apparently impossible thing: to pray always.

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that, in order to obtain with certainty what each one asks with prayer, “one requires the concurrence of these four conditions: 1 – that you pray for yourself, 2- that you ask for things necessary to save yourself, and do it 3- with pity and – with perseverance “[4].

3) We must pray always.

The teaching to pray with persevering insistence is easy enough to understand and put into practice, but the statement at the beginning of today’s Gospel “We must pray always, without ever getting tired[5] “(Lk 18: 1)and without becoming discouraged, not only does seem difficult, it seems impracticable. Since it is Jesus himself who says so, let’s not dare to say that it is impossible for us to put this indication into practice because our attention cannot concentrate for such a long time in a such a high action[6] as prayer.

There is a psalm that, more than others, helps us to understand substantially what it is to pray always: it is the psalm, in which the person praying is presented as a child who “performs the action” of being in the arms of his mother “I have stilled my soul. Like a weaned child to its mother, weaned is my soul. Israel, hope in the LORD, now and forever” (Ps. 131,2-3) This child is the person praying, that is the person who hopes always in the Lord s a child always hopes in his father and mother. The biblical comparison is perfect because prayer, even though it is the highest and most sublime action, is also the simplest. Indeed, in the thought of the Psalmist it is the most natural, as it is natural that a small child in the arms of the mother always and first of all contemplates her face that reassures him, and feels those arms around him that welcome him, protect him, give him confidence and give him love.

Simple and trusting prayer is the certainty that the gaze of God is upon us like that of our mother. To pray is to experience the love of God, which envelops us like the arms of those who have brought us into the world, who hold us by the hand and guide us even when we seem to be alone.

To our prayer, God responds with his love. He takes us in his arms tenderly, when we grow up, he takes us by the hand, when we fall, he lifts us up and puts us on his shoulders. When it seems that the waves of life overwhelm us, he reaches out and saves us from death. As the Psalmist remembers today: ” May he not suffer your foot to slip; may he slumber not who guards you: indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps, the guardian of Israel The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade; he is beside you at your right hand… The LORD will guard you from all evil; he will guard your life. “(Ps 121, 3).

Prayer is like the breath of life and expresses the indubitable certainty that God is with us, is for us and we are the creature dearest to him. Therefore, prayer must always be done constantly.

To the objection that it is impossible to pray always, I would answer not with a speech, but with the advice not to be stingy in giving time to God. The more one prays and the more he remains in prayer.

To those who asked her how to learn to pray, Mother Teresa replied: “Praying“. For Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, “to pray always” had become “to pray the Rosary always“, that is, Mary always in his life. Don Luigi Giussani explained “to pray always” with the statement “pray as much as you can“. Blessed Stefan, a Maronite lay brother, lived repeating to himself and to others “God sees you“: that is, he sanctified himself constantly living in the conscious certainty that God always has his gaze of love on each human being. In the tradition of the Eastern Churches, the incessant prayer is the one used particularly in the Hesychasm[7] monastic movement. It is a prayer closely linked to the prayer of the heart, it is called the prayer of Jesus and consists in saying as frequently as possible “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner”. This way of praying saying “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner” so frequently that it coincides with the breath of the body, is particularly practical and is, according to Eastern spiritual theology, necessary and even indispensable for the efficacy of prayer. It is a prayer within the reach of all Christians who live with pity and seek salvation, be they monks or laypeople.

Prayer is a relationship. Praying means turning to someone; it is living this relationship, a relationship that becomes ever greater, more intimate and truer so we transform us into the One we pray, so we become one with the Christ.

To this are called the consecrated Virgins as the Bishop prays over them during the prayer of consecration: “Let them burn with love and love nothing outside of You … In You may they possess all because it is You who prefer them to everything” (Rite of the consecration of the Virgins, n. 24). These women are called to give testimony of fidelity to personal and liturgical prayer so that they do not allow themselves to be caught up in whirling activism.

With the example of a non-occasional but constant prayer, full of trust in God-Love “that grants us what it makes us ask” (see Saint Anselm), the consecrated Virgins communicate to the people who are close to them and to those who meet in the parish or at work, the joy of the constant encounter with the Lord, light for the existence of the whole world.

With fidelity to the way prayer, these consecrated persons also help others to follow it: even for Christian prayer, it is true that walking, open are paths of infinite truth and love, whose apex is the relationship of communion that becomes prayer.

[1] See the prayer entry in The Critical Theology Dictionary (Rome 2006 – [Paris 2007 3rd edition]) published under the direction of Jean-Yves Lacoste.

[2] from the Greek ὀρϕανός (orphanòs), from the Latin orphănus, akin to the etymology of the Latin orbus that is “deprived”, the one to whom the parents are kidnapped from death, therefore indicates the child without family, a small being that doesn’t belong to anyone and of which nobody cares.

[3] From the Latin viduus / a that properly means “lacking”, therefore being empty, missing something or someone. Even the Greek word χῆρος, -α, -ον [chéros] means “lacking, empty, missing” and therefore without husband or wife. Therefore “widow” would mean ” without”, that is, she lacks her part. Now since the bride is such if she has the bridegroom, without the bridegroom is nothing, the widow is without what would make her what she is: a “bride”.

[4] Summa Theologica, IIa-IIae, q. 83, a 15 ad 2.

[5] In the Greek text there is ἐγκακεῖν (egkakeìn) which means to be completely dejected, exhausted, so mè egkakeìn is translated but could literally be translated “without losing heart”.

[6] I wrote action and not speech, because prayer is not a pure and simple talk, it is a work (see Divo Barsotti, “Preghiera lavoro del Cristiano”, Milan 2005, pp. 144).

[7] The Hesychasm practice the so-called prayer of Jesus or prayer of the heart, which consists in the incessant repetition of this formula, until it coincides with the rhythm of the breath: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”. Provided that you are protected from distractions and that peace of soul is preserved, this practice allows you to get closer to God and to join him.

Hesychasm (from the Greek ἡσυχασμός hesychasmos, from ἡσυχία hesychia, calm, peace, tranquility, absence of worry) is a doctrine and ascetic practice widespread among the monks of the Christian East since the time of the Desert Fathers (4th century). The aim of the Hexychasm is the search for inner peace, in union with God and in harmony with creation. Disseminated by Evagrio Pontico (4th century) and by other spiritual masters including Saint John Climacus, author of “Ladder of Divine Ascent” in the 6th century, the practice of Hesychasm is still alive on Mount Athos and in other Orthodox monasteries. On Athos it received a decisive impulse from the work of Gregory Palamas (died 1359) and in the following centuries from the writings of theologians and mystics gathered in the Philokalia. – Read the source: https://zenit.org/articles/archbishop-follo-prayer-is-freedom/

Reflection 12 – God is coming to your rescue!