Lectionary: 463
Reading 1
gal 2:1-2, 7-14
Brothers and sisters:
After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along also.
I went up in accord with a revelation,
and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles–
but privately to those of repute–
so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
On the contrary,
when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter to the circumcised,
for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised
worked also in me for the Gentiles,
and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me,
James and Cephas and John,
who were reputed to be pillars,
gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership,
that we should go to the Gentiles
and they to the circumcised.
Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,
which is the very thing I was eager to do.
And when Cephas came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.
For, until some people came from James,
he used to eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself,
because he was afraid of the circumcised.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
with the result that even Barnabas
was carried away by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not on the right road
in line with the truth of the Gospel,
I said to Cephas in front of all,
“If you, though a Jew,
are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew,
how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Responsorial Psalm
ps 117:1bc, 2
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Gospel
lk 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
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: "TEACH US TO PRAY" (Lk 11:1)
"When you pray, say: 'Father...' " –Luke 11:2
(Editor's note: This is a reprint of a teaching written a few days before Fr. Al Lauer died in October of 2002.)
This morning I attended Mass in the bedroom of Father Al Lauer, the founder and long-time author of One Bread, One Body. Father is dying of liver cancer and has only days left to live. Father couldn't rise out of bed and could barely talk, but he still wanted to give a short homily on today's Gospel. I am passing on his words to you, for the words of those dying in Jesus carry special credibility (see Ps 116:15). I thought of Jesus gasping out His precious last words on the cross as I listened to Father's homily.
Father said: "This section of Luke's Gospel is really not so much about the persistence of prayer as it is about the certainty of our prayers being answered. Jesus wants us to trust in God the Father as our Abba. Jesus wants us to be certain when we pray that either our prayer will be answered as we requested – or God will answer it even better than we asked (even though it may initially seem as if the Lord is saying 'No'). God is our Abba (Lk 11:2). Have confidence in Abba as One Who always answers our prayers and is vitally concerned (cf Lk 10:40) about every prayer we bring to Him." Then Father Al's strength was spent, and he had to close his eyes and rest as the Mass continued.
"When you pray, say: 'Abba...' "
PRAYER: "Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come" (Lk 11:2).
PROMISE: "Steadfast is His kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever." –Ps 117:2
PRAISE: With simplicity of faith, Randy, a four-pack-a-day smoker, was instantly healed of that addiction by a humble prayer empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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