17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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.

Flint Public Library

Founded March 22, 1851

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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.

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?” 

  St. Ignatius Loyola

    Founder of the Jesuits

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 31^st. 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.

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.