Letter to the Galatians 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 Kephas 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 Kephas 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 (also) 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 Kephas 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? Psalms 117(116):1.2. Praise the LORD, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples! For steadfast is his kindness for us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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. Commentary of the day Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church Letter 130, to Proba on prayer, 11-12 (trans. cf Breviary, Tuesday of the 29th week) Teach us to pray We need words to help us recollect ourselves and see what we are asking for; not to make us suppose that the Lord must be given information or swayed by words. So when we say, “Hallowed be thy name,” we are counselling ourselves to desire that his name, which is always holy, may be held holy also among men; that is, that it may not be treated with contempt: and this for the benefit not of God but of men. When we say, “Thy kingdom come,” which will certainly come whether we wish it or not, we arouse our desire for that kingdom, that it may come for us, and that we may be worthy to reign therein. When we say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are asking him for obedience for ourselves, that his will may be done in us as it is done in heaven by his angels… When we say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” we are advising ourselves both as to what we should ask for, and what we should do to be worthy to receive it… When we say, “Deliver us from evil,” we bring ourselves to reflect that we are not yet in that happy state where we shall suffer no evil. This last petition in the Lords prayer has such a wide scope that a Christian may in any trouble express his pain by it, pour forth his tears, begin from it, linger over it, and end his prayer at this point. It is necessary by these words to impress the realities themselves on our memory. For whatever other words we may say… if we are praying in the right way, we say nothing that has not already a place in the Lord’s prayer. SAY: FATHER. The disciples see Jesus praying. They know that John the Baptist taught his followers how to pray. They consider Jesus their teacher and ask him to teach them how to pray. Jesus replies to give them what is now known as the Our Father or the Lord’s Prayer. The Our Father is divided into two parts. The first is addressed to God: respect for God’s holy name and the coming of God’s kingdom to our world. The second refers to our needs: our daily bread, forgiveness of our sins, and deliverance from temptation and evil. With the Our Father as model, our prayer should be a combination of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving to God and of petition for our needs and the needs of our brothers and sisters. The interests of God should come first. As Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33). We pray that God’s kingdom of holiness, justice, peace, and love come upon us and upon the world. We ask to be forgiven of our sins as we forgive others who have wronged us. We pray to be delivered from dangers, physical and spiritual. Read a good commentary on the Lord’s Prayer and figure out how you can make the prayer your very own.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 08:30:59 +0000
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