A. Opening Song [if done with others]
B. Opening Prayer: Come Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth you Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
C. Reading of the Day:
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| Image from the cathiolicregister.org via google.com |
From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 7 to 15
“Do not be like [the
Gentiles], for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” – Matthew
6:8
D. Period of Silence: Personal integration of the reading
E. Reflection on the Reading: What is God’s message for you today?
Today's Sharing:
The Lord tells us that the Father already knows what we need before we even open our mouth to pray and yet God still wants us to pray. It is because God wants us to acknowledge our complete dependence on Him, to totally submit to His providence, to show Him how much we love Him. God wants us to communicate with Him, to tell Him stories of what happens to our lives, of what we need to sustain our journey through life, of what we hope and aspire for, of what we wish would happen, and more, with the attitude of being ready to accept whatever response He gives, whether favorable or not.
Our Lord also tells us that, “Anything you ask the Father in my name, He will give you” [John 16:23]. And the Apostle James reminds us that when we do not get what we ask from the Father, it might be because we don't ask properly, that is, we pray for things only to satisfy our passions [see James 4:3] and not to glorify God or manifest our dependence on Him. However, sometimes, God only delays granting what we pray for to see our persistence and perseverance. The Lord also encourages not to lose heart and to continue praying and asking God for what we believe could be beneficial to us and to others by telling the story of the the person asking his friend for a favor at midnight [see Luke 11: 5-13] and the Parable of the Persistent Widow [see Luke 18: 1-8]. Furthermore, whether God gives us what we ask for or not, we must never give up. As the Apostle says, we must pray unceasingly [1 Thessalonians 5:17].
Every time we pray
therefore we must have the attitude of Jesus: saying to God that His will be
done not ours. We may ask many things and hope that they be provided by the
Father. But we must never expect that he will grant us all that we ask for though He listens to our prayers and He can surely provide us what we need, He also makes sure - because He knows in advance the consequences of what He gives - whether it will be good for us or not.
F. Application of the Message
- What are the things that you have prayed for so far to which God has responded to positively or negatively?
- What are you are willing to abstain from today in order to have more time to pray?
- What are you willing to share materially so that you could inspire others to pray?
G. Praying the Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
H. Closing Prayer: Here you say your personal thanksgiving to the Father for today’s message
i. Closing Song [if done with others]
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