Wednesday, October 05, 2005
WEDNESDAY 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 5, 2005
WEDNESDAY 27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
JONAH 4:1-11
Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry that God did not carry
out the evil he threatened against Nineveh. He prayed, "I beseech you,
LORD, is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This
is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and
merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish. And
now, LORD, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die
than to live." But the LORD asked, "Have you reason to be angry?"
Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built
himself a hut and waited under it in the shade, to see what would
happen to the city. And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant that
grew up over Jonah's head, giving shade that relieved him of any
discomfort, Jonah was very happy over the plant. But the next morning
at dawn God sent a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.
And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat
upon Jonah's head till he became faint. Then Jonah asked for death,
saying, "I would be better off dead than alive." But God said to
Jonah, "Have you reason to be angry over the plant?" "I have reason to
be angry," Jonah answered, "angry enough to die." Then the LORD said,
"You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you
did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished.
And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which
there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot
distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many
cattle?"
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."
REFLECTION
When we were children, perhaps we were taught by our parents, our
teachers, and other elders to pray. One of the "favorite" prayers that
was taught to us is "the Lord's prayer" or the "Our Father". However,
our prayer life is supposed to be a transforming experience. As we grew
up, we learn from our experiences and with the help of prayer, we are
supposed to change for the better.
That is why there are two important things that we should know about
the basics of private praying. First, prayer is not something that you
babble or show off to others to trumpet your "piety" or "holiness". It
is not "lip service" or a use of many words as a form of worship that
remains complacent to the demands of the time. Without the element of a
positive response, where faith leads to action, prayer would be hallow
or empty.
Second, prayer demands a pre-disposition to listening to God. When a
person does all the talking and does not give the opportunity for the
other party to communicate, it is one-sided and without any
relationship. It is only in opening to God and listening with our
hearts that we realize our own shortcomings and accept our errors. Only
then will we truly realize the Greatness of God's Wisdom and Praise Him
for All His Glory.
The story of Jonah depicts our observations on this. Perhaps that is
why, when the people asked Jesus for a sign, the only sign that will be
given them is the "sign of Jonah".
The disciples of Jesus observed how he prayed. Compared to their own
praying habits, they became curious because they had seen the big
difference and impact of his prayer. When asked by the disciples, Jesus
gave them some pointers on praying. The Lord's Prayer has more
spiritual dimensions than mere words. That's why Jesus tells his
disciples not to imitate how the others pray. He said that when you
talk to your Father who is in heaven, go to a secret place or lock
yourself in your room. Only in privacy where you would not be
disturbed, can you pray properly. Once in deep prayer, the dimension of
time is of no essence because of the mystical experience of
communing with God. This is how the saints pray.
We can subdivide the Lord's Prayer and discover the essential elements
of a good prayer. Our prayer then should be all of these: Adoration,
Contrition, Thanksgiving and Supplication - ACTS. The transforming
power of prayer is a grace from God because our faith should lead us to
action. Have we considered our prayer life lately?
PRAYER
"Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to
serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and
strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart that all my
intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and
forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me".
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the speedy recovery of Annika Nadine Uy.
- for the speedy recovery and well-being of Vanessa Nicole Lee Lim.
- for the well-being of Grace Morales.
- for the speedy recovery of Alice.
- for the special intentions of Edy Uy.
- for the speedy recovery of Mike Torres.
- In Memoriam: Robert K. Kindle
- In Memoriam: Marciano Uy, Sr.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Rosario L. Picazo
- Wedding Anniversary: Eugene & Rose Coleongco
- for the intentions of David.
- for good health of my wife Mona and our baby inside her.
- for the special intentions of Raymond & Chorel de Veas
- for Gladys who will undergo a major surgery on 7th October
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
***************************************************************
Welcome to DAILY-HOMILY, a Catholic-based Scripture and Homily
Reflection. It is a great source for scripture reading and
reflectionfor Weekdays, Sundays and Holydays of Obligation.
Subscribe to this list and you will receive a free, informed, down to
earth and illustrated homily. It's a FREE service.
***************************************************************
To subscribe or unsubscribe, tell friends about Daily-Homily, read past
reflection and feedbacks, give donation or submit a prayer request
please go to:
Webpage: http://homily.dailyfoodforthought.org/
Group Email: dailyhomily@gmail.com
To subscribe: subscribe_dh@dailyfoodforthought.org
To Unsubscribe: unsubscribe_dh@dailyfoodforthought.org
To post a Prayer Request: prayer_request@dailyfoodforthought.org
PRAYER FOR ENLIGHTENMENT BEFORE MEDITATING ON GOD'S WORD:
http://www.marythequeen.org/
Feel free to forward this to your friends, family and associates!
© 2005 Daily-Homily
