Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Why is the Lord’s Prayer so meaningful?

It comes directly from Christ’s own prayer life. As the disciples say to him in today’s Gospel, “Lord, teach us how to pray – as you pray.” Then he gives them these precious words.

Much could be said about it, but consider how it begins and ends.

Jesus tells us to call God our “Father,” but he uses the term, Abba, meaning, Papa or Daddy. So, we begin by addressing God from a place of familial intimacy.

“Hallowed be thy name.” 

To “hallow,” means to be holy or set apart. Meaning, we’re asking for the grace to keep God as holy – set apart, first – in our lives. 

We all know how difficult that can be. Often, there are other people and things vying for our attention – our marriage, our career, our children, our own plans and desires, material things, and so on. 

To say, “Hallowed by thy name,” means we promise to keep God first. All day. Every day.

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Towards the conclusion of the prayer, we say, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This points to the very heart of Christ’s identity – his ability to forgive sins. 

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus tells people like the woman caught in adultery, “Your sins are forgiven. Go, and sin no more.”

Jesus cannot forgive her sins unless they were somehow committed against him, just I cannot forgive your sins, unless they offend me personally.

This reveals that God is the one who is ultimately affected by every sin committed – and therefore God is the one who can forgive them all. He asks only one thing in return: forgive one another as Christ has forgiven you.

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These are two things we can strive for today: to keep God first and to forgive those who trespass against us. May the Lord give us the grace to do it all.

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Image credits: (1) Christ Follower Life (2) Pantocrator, St. Catherine’s Monastery (3)Bethel Assembly Church in Fosstown MN

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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.

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I’m so glad that Martha lost her cool.

Her frustration allows us to learn a timeless lesson in discipleship.

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We can imagine the scene.

Perhaps Martha was moving around the kitchen for an hour or two, banging pots and pans, cutting vegetables while mumbling under her breath. 

Finally, she storms into the dining room to confront her sister, Mary, who’s listening attentively to Jesus.

Interrupting their conversation, Martha bursts out, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?”

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Martha just made several mistakes.

First, she accuses the Lord of not caring about her burdens. “Lord, do you not care?” 

Then she blames someone else for her anxiety. “My sister has left me to do all the serving.” Somehow, it’s Mary’s fault that Martha is so anxious.

Finally, Martha polishes off her cocktail of complaints by telling the Lord how to solve her problem. “Tell her to help me!”

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Jesus rebukes Martha softly, telling her, “You are worried and anxious about many things.” Deep down, Martha was not anxious about making a perfect sauce or maintaining a clean kitchen.

Although these ideas may have been disturbing her on the surface, in her heart Martha lost her focus; that day she was motivated more by duty than by love.

As Saint Paul reminds us, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

It brings joy to any situation, even hosting a meal. Think about the ordinary tasks we do throughout the day. Do they bring us anxiety or peace?

If we do them with love, then we shall never tire; on the contrary, we’d do it all over again.

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Image credits: (1) Cross Encounters Ministries (2) BeliefNet (3) Amazon.com

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Gospel: Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, 
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Mother Teresa was once walking along the streets of Calcutta, when suddenly she passed by a homeless man dying on the street.

He smelled sour. Maggots were nibbling at his body.

Naturally, she was repulsed by the sight and smell, so she moved to the other side of the street in order to avoid him and continue going about her day.

Within a matter of seconds, she regretted her instincts as she remembered Christ’s words, “Whatever you do unto the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.” 

This man was Jesus in a sour, disfigured disguise.

So, she turned around and knelt next to him. He was so starved that Mother Teresa – a woman barely five feet tall – was able to pick him up and carry him to her home for the dying. 

Upon arriving, that man looked up into her eyes and breathed his last.

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Mother Teresa used this story to remind her sisters – and each of us today – that, at times, Jesus comes to us in “distressing disguise,” much like the man robbed, beaten, and left for dead in today’s Gospel.

Maybe we won’t encounter the Lord in such a radical way. 

But we will encounter him in a distressed colleague; an elderly neighbor; a person who randomly comes to mind as we go about our day.

May we love and serve them, for whatever we do to them, mysteriously, we do to Christ himself.

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Image credits: (1) Vivint (2) Cruxnow.com, Stock Image (3) Pinterest