THE WORD
1 Cor 6,1-11 / Lk 6,12-19
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.
IN OTHER WORDS
“PRAY FOR ME”, were the rst words of Pope Francis after his election to the papacy. From then on, everywhere the Pope went, he asked for prayer. Before and after his visit to the Philippines in 2014, the people recited the “Prayer for Pope Francis” in response to the Pontiff ’s request for the faithful to pray for him.
In the gospel today, we see Jesus spending the night in prayer to God. The following day, Jesus gathered His followers as a community of disciples. After choosing the twelve apostles, He began His ministry. Clearly, Jesus did the will of the Father by spending a lot time in prayer, by forming a community, and by doing His ministry. Pope Francis learned from Jesus Himself.
Like Jesus, we also need to spend time alone with God in prayer, to hear God’s voice in the silence of our hearts. When we listen to God in prayer, we nd inspiration and guidance in dealing with life’s ups and downs. Like Jesus, we also need a community to help and support us, to encourage and to strengthen us. In a community, we learn to work with a team. Surely, we can work alone and be like Lone Ranger. But to do the ministry entrusted to us by God, we need prayer and community.
Read the gospel. Spend moments of silence with God in prayer. Remember the people in your community. Reflect on the work that God has entrusted to you.
The concluding prayer of the “Prayer for Pope Francis” summarizes the need for prayer and community so we can perform our ministry: “Lord Good Shepherd, bless and protect Pope Francis. Safeguard the church from all harm. Guide us in the path of faith and charity. Amen.”
- Fr. Jose Honorio P. Mateo, SVD | Paraguay, South America
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
