June 19, 2003 - Thursday, 11th Week in Ordinary Time

TRUSTFUL PRAYER

Readings:
2 Cor 11:1-11; Ps 111:1b-2, 3-4, 7-8;
Mt 6:7-15 (Listen to MP3 - The Prayer - Mt 6:5-15)

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you know what we need
even before we can ask you.
We are sure of this
on account of the human experience
of Jesus your Son, who was one of us.
And so we pray you:
Don’t take it amiss
when we use too many words
to cover the emptiness of our hearts,
and teach us through your Spirit in us
to ask for the things that matter,
you and your kingdom,
that will last for ever and ever.

Scripture Readings

First Reading Introduction:
       Paul pleads to the Corinthians to remain faithful to Christ, who had chosen him to be his apostle and had sent him to Corinth.

First Reading: 2 Cor 11:1-11

May you bear with me in some little foolishness! But surely you will. I confess that I share the jealousy of God for you, for I have promised you in marriage to Christ, the only spouse, to present you to him as a pure virgin. And this is my fear: the serpent that seduced Eve with cunning could also corrupt your minds and divert you from the Christian sincerity. Someone now comes and preaches another Jesus different from the one we preach, or you are offered a different spirit from the one you have received, with a different Gospel from the one you have accepted-and you agree!

I do not see how I am inferior to those super-apostles. Does my speaking leave much to be desired? Perhaps, but not my knowledge, as I have abundantly shown to you in every way.

Perhaps my fault was that I humbled myself in order to uplift you, or that I gave you the Gospel free of charge. I called upon the services of other churches and served you with the support I received from them. When I was with you, although I was in need, I did not become a burden to anyone. The friends from Macedonia gave me what I needed. I have taken care not to be a burden to you in anything and I will continue to do so. By the truth of Christ within me, I will let no one in the land of Achaia stop this boasting of mine.

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 111:1b-2, 3-4, 7-8

R (7a) Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth. or: R Alleluia.

I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R (7a) Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth. or: R Alleluia.

Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
R (7a) Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth. or: R Alleluia.

The works of his hands are faithful and just;
sure are all his precepts,
Reliable forever and ever,
wrought in truth and equity.
R (7a) Your works, O Lord, are justice and truth. or: R Alleluia.

Gospel Introduction:
        In the words of Jesus, Matthew gives us today a catechesis on prayer. The reason and basis of our prayer should not only be merely that we need something and we should not think that our prayer is more powerful when we use a stream of words. We pray because Jesus asks us to and because we have trust in our Father who knows what we need even before we ask him. In our prayer we should also place first things first: God and his kingdom, which is manifested and communicated to us by bread, forgiveness and protection.

Gospel Reading: Mt 6:7-15 (Listen to MP3 - The Prayer - Mt 6:5-15)

Jesus said to his disciples, "When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do, for they hold that the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him.

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
holy be your name,
your kingdom come
and your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today the kind of bread we need.
Forgive us our debts
just as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
Do not bring us to the test
but deliver us from the evil one.
If you forgive others their wrongs, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you either."

Commentary

God knows what I need even before I ask him? So why pray at all? Jesus takes us beyond prayers to prayer as an attitude of openness God. In prayer, we do not wish to open heaven so that graces may fall upon us. Rather, we open ourselves, create space in our hearts. We ask God to come and fill that space, so that there, God can be God. We acknowledge our insufficiency and weakness. None of our projects and accomplishments will fully satisfy our yearnings. We beg God that his plan become clear to us, convinced that it is greater and more beautiful than any of our own. We ask for the grace to cooperate with that plan, to do what is right, so that his Kingdom may come.

General Intercessions

– For members of contemplative orders, that they may be very attentive to the needs of the Church and of the world and pray for them, we pray:

– For all of us, that we may seek God’s will in our prayer rather than ours, we pray:

– For all of us again, that the Lord may give us a spirit of prayer and intimacy with God, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Father in heaven,
we are certain that you will always hear us
on account of your Son in our midst.
With him we pray
that we may recognize you
and praise your name,
that your kingdom may grow among us
and that we may do your will loyally
together with Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Before the Our Father

Let us do what Jesus told us to do
and pray to our Father in heaven
in Jesus’ own words:
Our Father…

Prayer after Communion

Father,
your Son Jesus, alive among us now,
insists that we forgive one another.
Help us to forgive the way you pardon,
completely and without regrets,
because you have forgiven us much
and paid yourself the penalty for our sins
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Prayer for us is not a flight from life or from commitment to people but a plea to God to give us the courage to face reality and to care for people. May God give you this insight and strength and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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