Tuesday of 1st Week in Lent

 

Word from God and Word to God

 

God speaks his word to people in many ways: first of all, his word-in-action, that is, his saving deeds; his words written down in the Bible again, more the language of action than of words; the words he speaks through other people, through prophets past and present, through human encounters. Above all, God speaks his living Word, Jesus Christ.

God’s word can be heard only and find resonance when it takes on flesh and blood – when it becomes incarnate – in the lives of people and vibrates with human thought and feeling. If so, one can respond to it with prayerful words of recognition and with the living prayer of deeds. Prayer is our echo to God’s word and so are our deeds.

In this Eucharistic Celebration God speaks his word to us in the readings and he gives us his living Word in the Eucharistic bread.

 

First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11 

“I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

 

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15 

 “The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes.

 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.

 

Prayer

Lord God,
you speak your mighty word to us,
but we cannot hear it
unless it stirs our lives
and is spoken in human terms.
Keep speaking your word to us, Lord,
and open our hearts to it,
that it may bear fruit in us
when we do your will
and carry out what we are sent to do.
We ask you this through your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

 

Reflection:

Why I can’t pray the Lord’s prayer!

“Women make the world beautiful, they protect it and keep it alive.” “They bring the grace of renewal, the embrace of inclusion, and the courage to give of oneself.” This was the message of Pope Francis on the International Women’s Day in 2019. “Peace, then, is born of women, it arises and is rekindled by the tenderness of mothers. Thus the dream of peace becomes a reality when we look towards women,” said the pope. Today while gratefully remembering all the women who shaped our lives, let us also pray specially for women who suffer abuses in their homes, in society and in the world.

Today, we reflect on the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray: But, Do I Really Mean What I Pray?Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkotha gives us a beautiful reflection on the Lord’s prayer. She says:

“Praying the Our Father and living it will lead us toward saintliness.
The Our Father contains everything: God, ourselves, our neighbours….”
Examine how well you live what you pray:

I cannot say OUR if I keep my faith only to myself and never share it with others.
I cannot say FATHER if I do not trust in His loving and complete concern for me, forgetting that He always answers prayers – how and when He knows is best.
I cannot say WHO ART IN HEAVEN if I am so attached to the ways of this world and I neglect to seek God first in everything.
I cannot say HALLOWED BE THY NAME if I am unwilling to let His holiness penetrate my life and help me grow in my own holiness.
I cannot say THY KINGDOM COME if I am not using my life to bring His love into the world.
I cannot say THY WILL BE DONE if I live by my own ideas of morality or choose to follow the world’s standards.
I cannot say ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN if I am not devoting my life to serving Him here on earth.
I cannot say GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD if I am not willing to be generous with whatever God gives me.
I cannot say FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES if I don’t want to put forth enough effort to change.
I cannot say AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US if I still hold a grudge, if I’m still angry, or if I still insist that other people change.
I cannot say LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION if I deliberately or knowingly place myself in a position to be tempted.
I cannot say DELIVER US FROM EVIL if I’m not actively fighting against evil through deeds of love and service for everyone in my life, especially those who cause problems.

 

Video available on Youtube: Why I can’t pray the Lord’s prayer!