17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
25 July 2010
First reading Genesis 18:20-32
The Lord said, ‘How great an outcry there is against Sodom and Gomorrah! How grievous is their sin! I propose to go down and see whether or not they have done all that is alleged in the outcry against them that has come up to me. I am determined to know.’
The men left there and went to Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Approaching him he said, ‘Are you really going to destroy the just man with the sinner? Perhaps there are fifty just men in the town. Will you really overwhelm them, will you not spare the place for the fifty just men in it? Do not think of doing such a thing: to kill the just man with the sinner, treating just and sinner alike! Do not think of it! Will the judge of the whole earth not administer justice?’ the Lord replied, ‘If at Sodom I find fifty just men in the town, I will spare the whole place because of them.’
Abraham replied, M am bold indeed to speak like this to my Lord, I who am dust and ashes. But perhaps the fifty just men lack five: will you destroy the whole city for five?’ ‘No,’ he replied ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five just men there.’ Again Abraham said to him, ‘Perhaps there will only be forty there.’ ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the forty.’
Abraham said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry, but give me leave to speak: perhaps there will only be thirty there.’ ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘I am bold indeed to speak like this, but perhaps there will only be twenty there.’ ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the twenty.’ He said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry if I speak once more: perhaps there will only be ten.’ ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the ten.’
Psalm or canticle: Psalm 137:1-3,6-8
Second reading Colossians 2:12-14
You have been buried with Christ, when you were baptised; and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead. You were dead, because you were sinners and had not been circumcised: he has brought you to life with him, he has forgiven us all our sins.
He has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to pay; he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.
Gospel Luke 11:1-13
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:
“Father, may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”’
He also said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, “My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him”; and the man answers from inside the house, “Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you.” I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.
‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’
Reflection
By Patty De la Rosa-Paat
PRAYER on its literal meaning means: An act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of the mind to Divine things, not merely to acquire knowledge of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by acts of praise and thanksgiving, but petition is the principal act of prayer. (New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia)
I would say that the “Lord’s Prayer” is a perfect and beautiful prayer from which we honor God’s name but we address Him as our “ Father” , God is God and God is our Father. No one can break our relationship with Him. This is what we receive in the Sacrament of Baptism - we are freed from original sin and we become the adopted children of God.
Like a Father-child relationship, a child seeks comfort from His father. His presence is very important before a child’s eyes for the child knows he is protected and nobody could hurt him. The essence of being a father is to sacrifice his own life and happiness for the interest of his children. He doesn’t give everything for he knows what is good for them. A father is the one who molds his children for them to become better persons. Though, sometimes he can become tough in some of his decisions but just like a mother, father knows what is best for his children.
And so as God, He is our Greatest Provider in all aspects and our Creator, and we are His masterpiece. God provides everything that we have. The food that we eat, the air that we breathe and, water that we drink. In short all our basic needs were provided by God. What you see on earth is God’s perfect creation.
When we pray, we believe in God’s name, power, presence, and holiness. He is the Supreme Being and the ruler of the universe. He is our protector. He is the loving God, the Faithful One.
Sometimes when things go wrong or something bad happens to us we easily lose our faith in Him. When we struggle God doesn’t punish nor betray us. Whatever we are going through, God give us strength and direction that we need. God is always there even if don’t ask. He knows every single detail of our lives and He has not abandoned us.
Life is beautiful but it is full of challenges. Prayer is the best thing we can do. God doesn’t see our flaws and weaknesses. As Jesus said “For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”. We should prepare ourselves for a long journey. God rewards for those who seek Him. A dialogue with God is very important for He knows what is in our hearts. We must live according to His will and the kingdom of heaven will be open to us.
In every prayer that we made, we are having a privileged conversation with God. It is not just a simple conversation it is our way of strengthening our faith in Him.
Prayer is powerful let us bow our heads and pray...
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever. Amen.
Be Greedy To Bless Others
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