27TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green)
Lk 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
1st Reading: Gal 3:1-5
How foolish you are, Galatians! How could they bewitch you after Jesus Christ has been presented to you as crucified? I shall ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by the practice of the law, or by believing the message? How can you be such fools: you begin with the Spirit and end up with the flesh!
So, you have experienced all this in vain! Would that, it were not so! Did God give you the Spirit, and work miracles among you because of your observance of the law, or because you believed in his message?
Gospel: Lk 11:5-13
Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is traveling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Don’t bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I can’t get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need.
And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.
If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Reflections
There are a number of ways of praying persistently. One is to keep begging God to give us something we want or that we think we need. Another is to think that somehow we can manipulate God or put him under some kind of obligation by asking him repeatedly. So, if I do a nine-day novena and say certain prayers each day, I may expect that God or some saint somehow is under an obligation to give me what I am asking for. This way of praying is helpful for some but we need to grow in our relationship with God. We are invited to pray like Jesus. It is to grow in intimacy with God. “To know him more clearly, love him more dearly, follow him more nearly.“ One way of moving in this direction is to make this the constant theme of our prayer. The more we pray for this the more likely it will become a reality in our lives. To pray then is not so much to ask God for everything we need. It is to feel God‘s presence in our lives and allow his presence to guide our everyday action and behavior. Richard Rohr says: Experiencing radical grace is like living in a different world. It‘s not a world in which I labor to get God to notice me and like me. It‘s not a world in which I strive for spiritual success. It‘s not a cosmic game of crime and punishment.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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