HOMILY FOR THURSDAY OF THE 11TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME CYCLE II
THEME: HOW TO PRAY
BY: FR GERALD M. MUSA
HOMILY FOR THURSDAY JUNE 16 2022
Prayer is not an opportunity to display eloquence, grammar, and phonetics, but a way to strengthen relationship with God. Jesus says, “In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Therefore, prayer must not be noisy, meaningless, empty, or multiplication of words. In speaking about effective prayers, St. Francis de Sales says, “Do not distress yourself about prayers. It is not always necessary to employ words, even inwardly, it is enough to raise your heart and let it rest in our Lord, to look lovingly, up toward this divine Lover of our souls for between lovers the eyes speak more eloquently than the tongue.” Prayer is not just an expressing our personal needs to God, but also expressing our communal needs as a family, community, nation and as a corporate entity. Prayer cannot be reduced into requests for material needs while neglecting our spiritual needs. In praying, we seek for God’s mercy and ask for the grace to be merciful, we submit ourselves to his will; we entrust ourselves to his deliverance, seek for strength to conquer evil and trust in his providence. The ‘Our Father’ (Pater Noster) is a prayer that reminds us that we have a common Father, who is God and that we have a common bond as children of the same Father. How effective is our prayer?
MATTHEW 6:7-15;