LORD, TEACH US HOW TO CONVERSE WITH GOD
Greeting (Cf. Responsorial Psalm)
The Lord will guard you from evil;
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming.
May the Lord be always with you.
R/ And with your spirit.
Introduction
Prayer: The Breath of Life
Do we put our very life in our prayer or are we reciting formulas, even though we agree with their contents? If we could only express in prayer what we live, cry out our miseries and shout our joys, persist in praying, not giving up, insisting, against all odds, because our faith is against all odds and because our very life depends on it, as does the life of justice and love in the world.
Also, in a personal relationship with a person, you speak to him or her, to thank, to tell how you feel about the other or yourself, and about things and persons. Once in a while you ask for a favour or you offer your help and encouragement. In our relationship with the Lord prayer is doing all these things. If we love him, we cannot keep silent. In this Eucharist we join our prayers to those of Jesus our Lord. Let us make the request again: “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Penitential Act
Where were our trust and our persistence
when we turned to the Lord in prayer?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(pause)
Lord Jesus, with you we pray
that the Father’s will be done, not ours.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, with you we pray
that justice be done to everyone:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, with you we pray
that those who do evil to us may be forgiven.
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord,
and hear our prayer for forgiveness.
Guard us from all evil
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer
Let us pray for the gift
of perseverance in prayer
(pause)
Lord our God,
we know that you are our loving Father,
that you wait for us
and that you are attentive to us
every moment of our lives.
Let then our prayer come to you
as a cry of trust
coming straight from the poverty of our hearts.
If you have to turn us down
when we ask for harmful or useless things,
give us what we really need
and keep our trust alive
that you are good and loving,
for you are our Father
in Christ Jesus our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading (Exodus 17:8-13): In the Name of the Lord
In this strange story, which the liturgy uses to stress perseverance in prayer, Moses raises his staff in the name of the Lord and leads his people to victory.
1 Reading: EXODUS 17:8-13
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.
Responsorial PSALM 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.
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.
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.
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.
Second Reading (2 Timothy 3:14-4:2): Proclaim the Word Inspired by the Spirit
Hold on to God and his message, says St. Paul to Timothy, and share it with others. For this message is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
2 Reading: 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-4:2
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.
Alleluia: HEBREWS 4:12
Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel (Luke 18:1-8): Pray Continually and Never Lose Heart
God’s justice and love are greater than that of people. He will hear the prayers of those who cry out to him with trust and perseverance.
Gospel: LUKE 18:1-8
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?”
Commentary
Perseverance in Prayer
Moses intercedes with raised hands while Joshua fights the enemies. Paul reminds Timothy of the need to study the Scriptures and preach the Gospel in season and out of season. Through the parable of the widow and the judge, Jesus teaches the need for perseverance in prayer.
Two things that get waylaid when we busy ourselves with the daily chores of life are reading the Scriptures and praying. The immediate demands of life are so great that spending time to read the Bible and pray individually or collectively seem like luxury. I once observed a phenomenon in a theology study house: on the days the students had examination, the morning prayer and meditation became “private” and the Mass was postponed to evening – to help students with their immediate preparation for exam. I wonder if it didn’t communicate a message to the students – the future priests – that prayers were secondary and cancellable to suit one’s convenience? I personally grieve when students that have to drive a distance everyday to their school – how they have to rush everything to beat time and traffic. Are we not guilty of “sympathising” with academic readiness of our students for the priesthood in detriment of the “spiritual formation”? Certainly, the mentality that “prayer could take the back seat” is what they would grow up to do as well! When prayer becomes marginal and sporadic, so does the grace of God in our lives as well.
“Lord, give me the grace of perseverance in daily prayer.”
Spend an hour in personal prayer today.
Intercessions
Let us listen to the invitation of our Lord to pray insistently, without giving up. Let us ask him to bring our prayers before our Father in heaven, and let us say:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
– For the Church today, that the Church may see clearly how to keep the faith alive in the hearts of its members and how to deal with the problems facing it in today’s world, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
– For those in the Church to whom special ministries are entrusted, that they may be men and women of prayer, mindful of the Lord’s words, “without me you can do nothing,” Let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
– For contemplative monks and nuns, that we may appreciate their life of prayer and penance and be grateful to them for the Lord’s blessings which they obtain for us, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
– For all who know or seek God, that they may enter into a dialogue with God by praying from the heart. Let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
– For all Christians, that our prayers for the poor and the suffering may commit us more to bringing them justice, to lightening their burdens and restoring their dignity, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
– For all of us here, that we may learn to pray without giving up for whatever is good and in accordance with God’s will, and that this Eucharist may bring us and the world closer to God, let us pray:
R/ Lord, hear our prayer.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are our hope and assurance that the Father will hear us. For you are his Son and our brother, now and for ever. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you cannot resist our prayer
if we have full trust in you.
Let the Holy Spirit, here among us
prompt us to pray trustingly and insistently.
Let him cry out in our hearts
to call you “Father,”
together with him
who offers himself and us to you,
Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
With one heart and one mind and in union with Jesus our Lord, let us offer our thanksgiving to the Father.
Invitation to the Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray now to our Father
the model of all prayers,
which Jesus himself taught us: R/ Our Father…
Deliver Us
Deliver us, Lord, from all evil
and grant us the peace
that flows from justice as from a river.
Help us to give to everyone his or her due
and, like you, to pay special attention
to the victims of injustice.
Let us bring fresh hope to them
as we prepare for the full coming among us
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom…
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
He taught us to pray continually,
without ever losing heart.
He now invites us to receive him
and to share in his offering to the Father.
R/ Lord, I am not worthy…
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
with Jesus we have raised our hands
in prayer to you, our living God.
With Jesus we keep trusting in you.
Hear us then, even in our pains and struggles,
when we are disappointed and grope in the dark.
For we believe that you love us
and want us to find happiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Blessing
This Eucharist has been for us
a strong reminder
that persevering, trusting prayer
must necessarily be a prayer of concern
for the weak and the poor,
and that concern must express itself
in bringing them justice.
May the Lord give you this strength and bless you:
the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Let us go to love and serve the Lord
in the people around us.
R/ Thanks be to God.