Sunday June 1st – Sunday August 31st
Vigil Mass Saturday 4pm
Sunday Mass 8:30 and 11 am
Seventeeth Sunday in Ordinary Time
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Throughout Luke’s Gospel, we see Jesus at prayer. It seems natural that the disciples would ask him to teach them to pray. In response Jesus offers them a model of prayer, a parable about the importance of persistence in prayer, and an encouragement about how to approach God with confidence when we pray. In all these teachings Jesus uses terms drawn from friendship and family life.
The model prayer that Jesus offers consists of five petitions. It is a shorter prayer than the version in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus in Luke’s Gospel invites us to call God in familial terms – “Father.” He tells us to first pray that Gods’ name be sanctified (this is an ancient feature of Jewish prayer). He tells us to second, pray that God’s kingdom be made manifest in our world. Third, we are told to pray that we be given the food and provisions we need each day. He concludes by telling us to fourth, pray that we be forgiven our sins and fifth that we not be put to a great test.
Jesus encourages us to be simple in our prayer and He urges us to pray with expectancy, with a firm conviction that prayer matters to God. We can approach God with confidence, like a child interacting with a parent. We can count on God to answer our requests. God is more reliable than a friend whom we can call upon at midnight; more reliable than a father who gives good gifts to His children. Jesus is teaching us that the words of our prayer do not matter as much as the conviction with which we pray them.
True prayer is about cultivating an awareness that, during every moment of our lives, the loving presence of God nourishes us, sustains us and prompts us to move toward fuller and fuller encounters with the Spirit.
God Bless,
Msgr. Powell
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – “Martha and Mary”
Last week in the Gospel the parable of the Good Samaritan taught what it means to love our neighbor, this week as Jesus visits Martha and Mary, His visit throws light on what it means to love God whole-heartedly.
Jesus was traveling with His followers, so Martha had a lot of guests to feed, and was so distracted by what needed doing that she virtually ignored Jesus. Mary gave Jesus her whole attention, sitting at His feet as a disciple. To love God wholeheartedly means to act like Mary. Sure, there were a lot of things that needed doing that Mary could have helped with, but Mary put Jesus first. God wants our service, but we must not get so distracted by our service of God that we forget about God.
Luke shows us that Martha, who served Jesus with numerous domestic tasks, failed to demonstrate hospitality – whole hearted attention to the guest. The hospitable Mary not only follows the law of love, but also exhibits the gospel of love which leads to life.
Lord teach me to always put you first in my life.
God Bless,
Msgr. Powell