Gospel Reflections for July 28 2019
Teach us to pray…
Jesus teaches His followers the famous “Our Father” prayer, perhaps the very first prayer you learned as a child. It is packed with meaning.
In those days, people lived in great fear of God. They would not say His name out loud or even directly write His name. Yet Jesus invites you to call God with the most intimate of family names, “Father.” How wonderful is that! However, Jesus does not want any confusion with your own father, good or bad, so He adds the word “Our.” That means Our Father in Heaven is a father to everyone on the planet! Therefore, we are all brothers and sisters to each other.
Not a bad idea to remember in this time of great political division! We affirm our even wider community this weekend at St. Bruno where we welcome a missionary priest to ask for support for our poor Catholic brothers and sisters around the world.
The modern English version Our Father closes with, “…and lead us not into temptation.” Many have wondered at those words. Would God actually ever do that? Of course not! It is an unfortunate translation of the original ancient Greek words into modern English.
Other languages have a much earlier, clearer, and better understanding that says, “Let us not fall into temptation.” That affirms that our falling into temptation remains our own personal responsibility.
Pope Francis recently permitted local Bishops around the world that still have the later version to adopt the earlier version if they want. Many have done so. There are no plans right now for English language nations to make this change, but it may happen in the future.
The Gospel ends with the famous line “Whatever you ask for in my name you will receive.” Some people think that just saying the phrase “in the name of God” means they will get the big lottery jackpot they’ve been praying for. Well, “in my name” actually means asking for things that God Himself would want for you, and that may be different from what you want.
Perhaps a sudden windfall of ten million dollars might actually make your life miserable, and thankfully God already sees that. (See my article “Can Your Prayer Change God’s Mind?”)
We always rely on the wisdom of God to know what is best for us, how to pray, and how to see those around us. He is Our Father.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Fr. Dave,
Thank you for the catechizes this beautiful morning, reviewed it with Gregorian Chant in the background – such a gr8 reflection to start the day!
Dio vi Benedica
Great music to start the day!
Dear Father Dave,
The Our Father is such a beautiful and perfect prayer. Thank you for your reflection.
I’m sitting in the middle of a garden, surrounded with plants and trees of all varieties. The birds are busy! It’s a spectacular morning.
God bless you.
Kathleen A.
I hope the rest of your week goes just as well!
My wife and I really like your “Gospel Reflections” ,every week. It would be nice if you had “Copy” button on this sight. Keep up the good work. Joe Ferro, St Paschal’s, Thousand Oaks,
Great idea. I will look into it.