DAILY GOSPEL

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Wednesday, 10 October 2007

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Francis Borgia, St. Ghislain

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Saint Silouan : "Teach us to pray"

Book of Jonah 4,1-11.

But this was greatly displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. "I beseech you, LORD," he prayed, "is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish. And now, LORD, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live." But the LORD asked, "Have you reason to be angry?" Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant, that grew up over Jonah's head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was very happy over the plant. But the next morning at dawn God sent a worm which attacked the plant, so that it withered. And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah's head till he became faint. Then he asked for death, saying, "I would be better off dead than alive." But God said to Jonah, "Have you reason to be angry over the plant?" "I have reason to be angry," Jonah answered, "angry enough to die." Then the LORD said, "You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,1-4.

He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB

Commentary of the day :

Saint Silouan (1866-1938), Orthodox monk
Writings

"Teach us to pray"

If you want to pray with the mind in the heart and do not manage to do so, say your prayer with your lips and fix your mind on the words of the prayer, as is said in the Ladder of Perfection [of St John Climacus]. With time the Lord will give you undistracted "prayer of the heart" and you will pray with ease. Certain people, during the work of prayer, after forcing their intellect to descend into their heart, have sunk to such an extent that they cannot even articulate the prayer with their lips. But as for you, understand the law of the spiritual life: its gifts are granted only to simple, humble, obedient souls. The Lord will give prayer to anyone who is obedient and restrained in everything – in food, words, movements – and it will be accomplished with ease in his heart.

Unceasing prayer proceeds from love, but it is lost by passing judgement, empty words and intemperateness. Anyone who loves God is able to think of him day and night for there is no occupation that can hinder loving God. The apostles loved the Lord without the world distracting them and yet they remembered the world, prayed for it and gave themselves to preaching. On the other hand, it was said to Saint Arsenius: "Flee men", yet even in the desert the divine Spirit teaches us to pray for men and for the whole world.

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