Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Thursday 11th Week in Ordinary Time
June 22, 2006
Thursday 11th Week in Ordinary Time - Yr II
SIRACH 48:1-14
Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a
flaming furnace. Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he
reduced them to straits; By the Lord's word he shut up the heavens and
three times brought down fire. How awesome are you, Elijah, in your
wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours? You brought a dead man
back to life from the nether world, by the will of the LORD. You sent
kings down to destruction, and easily broke their power into pieces.
You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness. You heard threats
at Sinai, at Horeb avenging judgments. You anointed kings who should
inflict vengeance, and a prophet as your successor. You were taken
aloft in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses. You were
destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before
the day of the LORD, To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their
sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who shall
have seen you And who falls asleep in your friendship. For we live only
in our life, but after death our name will not be such. O Elijah,
enveloped in the whirlwind! Then Elisha, filled with the twofold
portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During
his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his
will. Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back
into life. In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous
deeds.
MATTHEW 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the
pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask
him. "This is how you are to pray: 'Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as
it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' "If you forgive others
their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you
do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your
transgressions."
REFLECTION
Do you want to have a dynamic fulfilling prayer life? Then listen to
what Jesus has to say in today's Gospel reading and take it to heart.
Jesus warns us not to use meaningless repetition when we pray. We
should not pray like the Pharisees - for public recognition. It does
not mean that we are not to be persistent in our prayers. Meaningless
repetition seems to indicate reciting memorized prayers, or multiplying
words for lengthening the prayer in an attempt to gain God's attention.
Jesus tells us that meaningless repetition does not catch God's
attention because he already knows what you need before you ask.
That begs the question: Why pray if God knows our needs? We pray so as
to genuinely communicate with God and to lay our needs before him. When
Jesus formulated the "Our Father" he did not say: "Pray this prayer."
What Jesus actually said was: "Pray then in this way." In other words
Jesus is giving us a pattern to follow, not necessarily words to
repeat. Jesus is not giving us a magic formula that will solve all our
woes if we repeat the prayer enough.
When we pray this prayer, we are not only expressing our hope that
God's will be done, but that we will be active participants in the
ushering in of his will on earth. We understand that God is the best
thing for a person and we want God to be a part of all of our lives.
When we understand whom we are praying to, it can add excitement to our
prayer lives.
In prayer Jesus would also like us to acknowledge our sinfulness and
our need for forgiveness. Our God is a God of forgiveness. When we
realize how much God has forgiven us, then we cannot help but forgive
other people.
Today, Jesus gives us a wonderful model of prayer to follow. Jesus does
not give us a magic formula to recite. He wants us to pray from the
heart. Do not neglect the great gift that God has given to us. Pray
daily, pray all the time.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the speedy recovery of Aida.
- for the speedy recovery of Cadio.
- for the speedy recovery of Bongbong Aguado.
- for the personal intentions of Lito and his family.
- for the personal intentions of Fely B.
- for the continued and complete recovery of Ding Vidanes.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Charlene Sun
- Wedding Anniversary: Willy & Marianne Co
- 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!
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