July 28^th 2019.  Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   Luke 9, 51-62

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)

GOSPEL   Luke 11,1-13

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."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In Sunday’s Gospel, we hear the simpler version of the “Our Father” that is found in St Luke’s Gospel. But why do we need to pray? Doesn’t God know what we need before we ask him? Can’t he just provide for our needs directly? But there are at least two reasons why it is essential to pray in this way. Firstly, each one of us participates in the universal priesthood of the faithful. Therefore we are called to intercede for ourselves and others before God. In this way, our prayer is an expression of fraternal love for others. Secondly, our God is a providential Father who loves us and wants to bestow gifts on us, but he respects our freedom and will not impose his gifts on us unless we invite him in. Thus, the “Our Father” is a way for us to welcome the bountiful graces of our benevolent Father. When we pray the “Our Father”, we are saying: that your name, your most intimate truth may live in our hearts and be manifested in us; that we may live according to your Kingdom and you will make that Kingdom present in us; that we will more and more recognize that all existence comes from you and we will look only for that which we need to live today, for tomorrow is in your hands; that we might develop merciful hearts and have gratitude for the mercy that we ourselves have received; that we might be aware that we are not fit to confront temptations without your help. In time we develop the attitude and spirit of children, trusting that our Father does not give us snakes and scorpions (biblical symbols of evil) but fish and eggs. He does not give me death but life. Our heavenly Father wants to bestow so many blessings upon us! But he respects our freedom and waits for us to ask.

Why do we need to pray? God knows what we want before we ask! But we still have a duty to pray because the Lord wants us to participate in the universal priesthood, to intercede for ourselves and others in the power of the Holy Spirit

This Sunday we listen to Luke’s version of the Our Father, which is simpler and rawer than the classic text of Matthew to which we are accustomed. The disciples ask Jesus how to pray. Each one of us can always learn to pray better, to dialogue more deeply with God. In the spiritual life it is important to constantly develop our relationship with the Lord. But a question must be addressed: why should we pray? Doesn't God already know what we want? Can't he give us what we need directly without having to be asked? What we need to rediscover is that God has entrusted us with a ministry of intercession that is part of fraternal love. We all share in the priesthood as a consequence of our baptism. His Providence is mediated by us. Indeed, none of us receives the Gospel directly from the Lord. We receive it through other people, from our brothers and sisters in the faith, if not from our parents – who, when they deliver their faith to their children, are the best evangelizers. Love, care and the service of others are the pathways of God's grace. God has chosen to save us through our mutual love. But God does not impose his grace. Where there is no love, love is not transmitted. But where there is love, even if in a fragile way, God is able to work with all his power. Therefore, intercessory prayer is a form of love.

The Our Father prayer is the key to a personal relationship with a providential Father

Prayer is also essential from a personal point of view. When we pray, we open ourselves to relationship with God and, almost without realizing it, we unlock certain inner doors that are closed. God does not impose his presence upon us. The Holy Spirit does not force the heart. He will enter only if he is not rejected. The Father would like to give us much more than we ask, but he cannot go beyond our permission. Let us pray with trust, therefore, the various petitions of the Our Father:

                That his name, that is his most intimate truth, will live in our heart and be manifested in us;

               That we will live according to his Kingdom, Thus, slowly, our prayer becomes more authentic and He is able to achieve these things in us;

               That we will discover that it is from Him that life comes every day, asking only what is needed to live today, no more, because we know that tomorrow is in his hands;

               That we might have a heart of mercy that keeps us grateful for the forgiveness we have received;

               That we might confront temptations without the dangerous illusion of being able to do it ourselves.

Our Father treats us as his children. Therefore he does not force his presence upon us. He waits for us to ask before bestowing his graces

Through all of this, our identity as children grows, and in the depths of our being we get used to thinking well of the Father. We know that he will not give us a snake or a scorpion, biblical symbols of evil, but a fish, an essential food for his disciple fishermen, and an egg, an ancestral symbol of life. If my life is in difficulty and I pray with trust to the Father, then slowly I begin to recognize that what I am going through is not a snake but a fish. It is not a scorpion but an egg. It is not death, but life. It is not deception, but salvation. In this way I rediscover the true meaning of divine providence, the reality of a God who loves me as a father. And if I wish to help others – if I need “bread” for a friend - if I pray for help to be able to welcome people, to love those around me, then He will open the door to make it possible. In fact, he wants to give me the Holy Spirit, but he waits patiently for me to ask him. And that is because he treats me as his child, who is free to respond to him, rather than a slave who must

July 21^st 2019.  Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   Luke 10:38-42

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

(Check us out on Facebook – Sunday Gospel Reflection)

GOSPEL   Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . In the first reading on Sunday, Abraham generously receives three guests. But they end up doing much more for him than he does for them. They bless him with fruitfulness. In the Gospel, we have a similar story of a guest who offers much more than he can receive. Marta and Mary welcome Jesus in their house. Marta is frantically busy doing things for Jesus, while Mary sits still and receives what Jesus has to offer. Marta complains that Mary is doing nothing. She does not comprehend that her guest has much more to offer her than she can offer him. The problem with Marta is not that she serves. The problem is that she has made her own activity the primary thing. It is all about what she is doing. In saying to Jesus, “Tell my sister to help me”, she is really saying, “I am not so interested in what you have to say, Jesus. What is important here is my work, and everyone should be helping me”. Mary, by contrast, remains still and receives every word that comes from Jesus. In the spiritual life, there are different levels of reception of the Lord, as this story illustrates. Marta and Mary both receive Jesus into their home, but Mary goes to the next level, the level that is most difficult for all of us! And this is to welcome Jesus for who he is, and not according to our own personal schemes!

In the spiritual life, we must receive the Lord into our lives. But there are different levels of reception, as Marta and Mary demonstrate.

In the Gospel reading for Sunday, Marta hosts the Lord Jesus, an event that is anything but trivial. In the various stages of spiritual life, the phase of acceptance/reception is decisive. The Lord - paraphrasing the Apocalypse - enters our existence by knocking on our door - and it is a question of letting him enter. By doing so, the relationship with Him becomes a true relationship and one becomes intimate with him. Marta does this and it is no little thing. But once the door is open to the Lord Jesus, there is a further leap in quality to be made, and many find this next step very difficult. Often the most gifted people are the ones who find it most challenging. What is this next step? To not only to welcome the Lord, but to welcome him for who he is and not according to our schemes. This issue is perfectly illustrated by our Gospel reading for Sunday.

Abraham shows hospitality and receives in return a much greater gift from his three guests. Marta, too, has a guest who can give her more than she can offer him. But she is too busy to appreciate what he can offer! Mary, by contrast, remains still and receives every word that Jesus has to say.

Marta welcomes Jesus. She is a capable woman who knows how to manage and organise. The Master has arrived, and everyone is talking about him, and we are in a Jewish village, where hospitality is sacred. The first reading on Sunday prepares the theme with the story of the generous welcome that Abraham offers to three men. A nomad like Abraham knows that welcoming or not welcoming a traveller could be a matter of life or death. But to Abraham - as to Marta - something happens that goes beyond the usual scheme of receiving a guest: those who arrive have more to offer than the host! Abraham prepares everything for these three pilgrims, but they in turn will change his life, leaving him the fruitfulness he longed for. Marta, for her part, is frantically doing all that she is able for her guest. She is anxious and becomes aggressive with her sister who does not help her. And just what is Mary doing? She remains still, intent on receiving what this pilgrim has to give her. For Mary, no word of this Master should be lost.

Marta is preoccupied with her own activity. She does not realise that someone has entered her house who can do infinitely more for her than she can do for him. If our lives are to be of heaven, then we must receive from Him who has come down from heaven. And then, when I see what He is doing for me, I will serve others with joy, not with bitterness, checking to see if they are working as hard as me!

For Marta her action is the central thing, what she produces. What she does not comprehend is that today, in her house, an Other has entered, someone who is completely different. He has little to receive and an awful lot to give! In fact, he wishes to give her "the best part" that no one can ever take away. Serving is important, but it is a consequence of our relationship with God; it is not the starting point. We are never the ones to love first; we do not start from ourselves but from Him. If we give what we are able to give, however good we are, it will always be something that comes to an end, something that will be taken away, sooner or later. To enter into an existence that is related to Heaven, that smacks of eternity, we must receive it from the One who comes from the Father. Only He knows how to give what will not be taken from me in joy and in pain, in abundance and poverty, in sickness or in rejection. Only He can give me that which no thief will be able to steal from me and which will be more important than everything else. When I discover what the Lord does for me, what I do for others will seems little in comparison and I will do it with joy. It won’t occur to me to check to see if my sister is doing less or more than me. I will have better things to think about.