THE LORD RESCUES THE JUST IN ALL THEIR DISTRESS (Isaiah 55:10-11/Psalm 33:4-7,16-19/Matthew 6:7-15)

THE LORD RESCUES THE JUST IN ALL THEIR DISTRESS

(Tuesday March 12, 2019)

As we established a few days ago some of the attributes that characterize the Lenten period, prayer is one of these attributes that occupies a prominent position. Prayer indeed is the hub of our spiritual growth because it brings God closer to us. It is through prayer that we are connected to God. Prayer also reconnects us to Him when we are disconnected from Him through sin. It is through prayer that we present our petition to God and it is through prayer that we ask forgiveness and pardon from Him when we sinned against Him.

The mode by which we pray matters a lot. Many, no doubt, have a wrong conception of prayer and the manner in which they present their petitions and supplications to God. It is on this premise that the Gospel of today is devoted primarily to prayer. Christ offered us the best way to make our prayer and state that the condition for answering our prayer does not necessarily depend on the number of words we use but on the simplicity of our presentation.

In the process of teaching His disciples the correct way of making their intentions known to God, Christ taught them the Our Father which is an ideal form of prayer. In this prayer, we see that all we need in life as regards our relationship with God and with one another.

The essence by which God created us as the Catechism tells us is to know God, Love Him, worship Him here on earth and to live with Him hereafter. In the Our Father's prayer Christ taught His disciples, it contains this motive by which we are created. Another aspect that the Our Father has is the summary of the Commandment of God which Christ in the course of His earthly ministry divided into two; that is, the love of God and the love of our neighbour.

If we pray for the will of God to be done here on earth as it is heaven it implies that we should love God and our fellow human beings. It is only when we begin to love God and others that we can claim of doing His will. It is only when this is accomplished that what the first reading says will take its proper meaning in our lives.

The word of God is like the rain that comes from heaven to water the earth and cannot go back where it comes from without actualizing its mission. The same is the word of God we hear every day. For this word of God to actualize its purpose, we must allow it to work through us in order to transform us, make us love God and others, make us forgive those who offended us, make us prepare ourselves in view of our final destination. So dear brothers and sisters as we move on in our Lenten observances, let us make the word of God our daily priority because God Himself is our refuge from one generation to the next, from age to age He is.

Let Us Pray: Lord Jesus, give me grace to pray as you have taught us and may my prayers be acceptable before you. Amen.