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DEACON JOHN'S DESK
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17th Sunday of Ordinary Time |
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Luke gives more attention to Jesus' teachings on
prayer than any other Gospel writer. He also mentions Jesus at
prayer more than the others. In today's reading, from the
beginning of Chapter 11 of his Gospel, Luke presents most of
Jesus' teaching on prayer. It consists of Jesus teaching a
prayer to his disciples, a parable on the persistent neighbor,
and assurances that God hears our
prayers.
The disciples notice Jesus praying “in a certain
place.” They ask him to teach them to pray just as John the
Baptist had taught his disciples. Jesus teaches them a simple
version of the most famous Christian prayer, the Our Father, or
the Lord's Prayer. Matthew's version shows signs of being shaped
by public prayer. After reading many commentaries over the
years, I believe that Luke's version is probably closer to the
original form that Jesus taught. Stripped of much of the
language we are used to, Luke's version seems simple and direct.
We pray that God's name will be recognized as holy and that his
rule over all will be established. This is followed by petitions
for our needs for bread, for forgiveness, and for deliverance.
Luke uses the more theological language of “sins” rather than
“debts,” which is used in Matthew's
version.
Having taught his disciples a simple, daily
prayer, Jesus goes on to reassure them that God answers prayers.
First he tells a parable about a persistent neighbor who asks a
friend for bread at midnight. The friend is already in bed and
has no desire to disturb his family by opening the door. But
because the neighbor is persistent, the sleeping man gets up and
gives him all that he needs. If a neighbor is willing to help us
if we are persistent enough, how could God not respond to our
requests and helps us with our needs?
This teaching concludes with the reminder that if
we seek, we will get a response. If a human father, with all his
faults, knows how to give good gifts to his children, how much
more will our heavenly Father give us? Instead of good gifts,
however, Luke substitutes the word Holy Spirit. This
foreshadows the gift of the Holy Spirit, who is central to
Luke's theology and who will play an important role in the
growth of the early Church after Pentecost that we read about in
the Acts of the Apostles.
The parable and the concluding teaching in this
section should not lead us to think of prayer as a series of
requests presented to God. Rather, as Jesus teaches in his model
prayer, prayer consists in recognizing God's holiness and his
rule over all things. |
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Flint Public Library
Founded March 22, 1851
It needs help to take it into the 21st century. Do
your part. Vote on August 3rd. |
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Thought for
Today & Tomorrow
“We have staked the whole future of
American civilization, not upon the power of government, far
from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political
institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to
the Ten Commandments of God.”
James
Madison,
1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia
“The Law given
from Sinai [The Ten Commandments] was a civil and municipal as
well as a moral and religious code.”Letter
to his son
John Quincy Adams.
“All the
miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition,
injustice, oppression, slavery
and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts
contained in the Bible.”
Noah Webster.
“God who
gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation
be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a
conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a
gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with
His justice cannot sleep forever.”
[Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781]
“It [the Bible]
is a document in proof that I am a real Christian, that is to
say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus."
[Jan 9, 1816 Letter to Charles Thomson]
Thomas Jefferson - Author of the Declaration of
Independence
Are we a nation under God?
YES.
Are we ALL children of God? YES.
Now, which God?
See above again. |
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Calendar Humor
Marquees and Church Signs
“If you’re looking for a sign to go back to
church Maybe this is it!”
“You
are not too bad to come in, but you’re not too good to stay
out.”
†
“What part
of ‘thou shalt not’ don’t you Understand?” |
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St.
Ignatius Loyola
Founder of the Jesuits |
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St. Ignatius was born in the
family
castle in Guipúzcoa, Spain, the youngest of 13 children, and was
called Iñigo. When he was old enough, he became a page, and then
a soldier of
Spain
to fight against the French. A cannon ball and a series of bad
operations ended his military career in 1521. While
Ignatius recovered, he read the lives of the saints, and decided
to dedicate himself to becoming a soldier of the Catholic faith.
Soon after he experienced visions, but a year later he suffered
a trial of fears and scruples, driving him almost to despair.
Out of this experience he wrote his famous "Spiritual
Exercises". After traveling and studying in different schools,
he finished in Paris, where he received his degree at the age of
43. Many first hated St. Ignatius because of his humble
lifestyle. Despite this, he attracted several followers at the
university, including St. Francis Xavier, and soon started his
order called The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. There are 38
members of the Society of Jesus who have been declared Blessed,
and 38 who have been canonized as saints. He died at the age of
65.
Feast day July 31st. Patron of Soldiers
–A prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Lord, teach me
to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will. |
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Please don’t forget about our SJV shut-ins, elderly and infirmed
of our parish. They need our prayers. They would love a card, a
call or a visit. Sometimes we know of a person that can’t come
to church for one reason or another. If you do know a
parishioner or family member who can not make it to church,
please get their name and address to Deacon John.
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