20140716 THE PRAYER OF A HOLY PERSON WORKS WONDERS
Daily Reading for Wednesday, July 16th, 2014
1Kings 18 : 42-45
While Ahab went back to eat and drink, Elijah climbed
to the top of Carmel and bowed
down to the ground, putting his face between his knees.
43 'Now go up', he told his servant, 'and look out to
sea.' He went up and looked. 'There is nothing at all,' he said. Seven times Elijah told him
to go back.
44 The seventh time, the servant said, 'Now there is a
cloud, small as a man's hand, rising from the sea.' Elijah said, 'Go
and say to Ahab, "Harness the chariot and go down before the rain stops
you." '
45 And with that the sky grew dark with cloud and storm,
and rain fell in torrents. Ahab mounted his chariot and made for Jezreel.
Galatians 4 : 4-7
4 but when the completion of the time came, God sent his
Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law,
7 and so you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a
son, then an heir, by God's own act.
Gospel, JOHN
19:25-27
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.
26 Seeing his mother and the disciple whom he
loved standing near her, Jesus said to
his mother, 'Woman, this is your son.'
27 Then to the disciple he
said, 'This is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took
her into his home..
Scripture
Reflection
THE PRAYER OF A HOLY PERSON WORKS WONDERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 KINGS 18:42B-45A; GALATIANS
4:4-7; JOHN 19:25-27
Elijah
is the greatest prophet after Moses. He was not just a prophet but he worked miracles as
well through the power of God. His prayers were always heard.
Miracles happened at his command. This is seen in today’s miracle
of the rain after he brought the drought to Israel to awaken the leaders as to
who is the Lord, Baal or Yahweh. And then when he was hungry, he
multiplied the food for the poor widow who accommodated him and gave him food.
Where
did he get his power from? It was his faith. St James speaks of him as a holy
man who works wonders. “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He
prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for
three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain,
and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5:17f) He had faith in God’s
promises.
Furthermore,
he was intent on bringing sinners back to God. He was deeply
committed to the Lord and sought to clean Israel from the idolatry and evil
that king Ahab brought into Israel. He fought with the false prophets. He
was not afraid to confront King Ahab and Jezebel the evil queen. Again,
St James wrote, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the
truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this:
Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from
death and cover over a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20) Because of his
sincerity in bringing sinners back to God, he was given the power to perform
the mighty deeds of God.
His
power comes not just from his faith in God but because he was a righteous man. St James wrote, “And the prayer
offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them
up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
(James 5:15f) This is what the psalmist says as well. “Lord, who
shall be admitted to your tent and dwell on your holy mountain? He who walks
without fault; he who acts with justice and speaks the truth from his heart; he
who does not slander with his tongue; he who does no wrong to his brother, who
casts no slur on his neighbor.” Such was the holiness of Elijah;
one who was faithful to God and His commandments.
Finally,
he was above all a man of prayer. If he were a great prophet, it was because he was always
in communion with God. Indeed, he was always alert to the voice of
God and was always doing His will. Only when one is in communion with God
in prayer, can he find faith and strength to do God’s will and trust in His
promises.
Today,
as we celebrate the Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, we cannot but see the
similarities between her and Elijah. Mary certainly was a woman of great
faith in our Lord.
She put her total trust in the Lord, as seen at the Wedding in Cana and when
she stood by Jesus throughout His ministry, even when He was grossly
misunderstood and rejected by her relatives. She held on to the
love of God even when she had to witness the cruel torture and execution of her
Son. She was devoted to her son’s mission until death and was faithful to
Him at the cross when all abandoned Him. Only she could give Jesus
complete confidence, for she knew her Son better than anyone else.
Elizabeth praised Mary’s faith and so did the angel. “Blessed is she who
believed that what was said would be fulfilled.”
She
was also a woman of holiness and purity. The psalm applies to her completely. She
lived a life of holiness, purity and surrender to the will of God. She
heard the word of God and did His will, as the acclamation tells us.
Above
all, she was a woman of prayer, constantly contemplating on the Word of God and
His actions. Without
fail, she pondered on the Word of God and the events in her life, whether at
the birth of Jesus, at the Presentation, or at the foot of the cross.
Mary was always deep in contemplation. She knew that her Son would
answer her prayers and had total confidence in His love and mercy.
We
too are called to imitate her, especially in these three aspects of faith,
holiness and prayer. We are called to bring her into our home and make a place for
her as St John did. “Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother’.
And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.” Jesus gave
her to us. “Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near
her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son’.”
Since
we are His adopted brothers and sisters, let us also receive Mary as our
mother. This is
what St Paul wrote, “When the appointed time came, God sent his Son, born of a
woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law and to
enable us to be adopted as sons.” If we are truly His sons and daughters,
then we must live the life of Christ in imitation of Mary, the perfect disciple
of the Lord. “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the
Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’, and
it is this that makes you a son, you are not a slave anymore; and if God has
made you son, then he has made you heir.”
So
as we celebrate this feast, let us join Mary in her strive to be in union with
the Father, just as Jesus did. We need to have faith in His divine providence. In prayer
and contemplation, let us surrender our lives to the Lord, believing that He
will be faithful to those who love Him and do His will. Indeed, to
say that Mary is our Queen means that we become her children by doing God’s
will at all times. For she commands us, “Do whatever He tells you.”
In this way, we will share the fruits of the Spirit and find peace and security
in life.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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