20200303
PRAYING
WITH THE MIND OF GOD
03 March, 2020,
Tuesday, 1st Week of Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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Isaiah 55:10-11 ©
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The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me empty
Thus says the
Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return
without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed
for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth
does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in
what it was sent to do.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 33(34):4-7,16-19 ©
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The
Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
Glorify
the Lord with me.
Together
let us praise his name.
I
sought the Lord and he answered me;
from
all my terrors he set me free.
The
Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
Look
towards him and be radiant;
let
your faces not be abashed.
This
poor man called, the Lord heard him
and
rescued him from all his distress.
The
Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
The
Lord turns his face against the wicked
to
destroy their remembrance from the earth.
The
Lord turns his eyes to the just
and
his ears to their appeal.
The
Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
They
call and the Lord hears
and
rescues them in all their distress.
The
Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those
whose spirit is crushed he will save.
The
Lord rescues the just in all their distress.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Mt4:4
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Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Man
does not live on bread alone,
but
on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Praise
and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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Gospel
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Matthew 6:7-15 ©
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How to pray
Jesus said to his
disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that
by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your
Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:
‘Our
Father in heaven,
may
your name be held holy,
your
kingdom come,
your
will be done,
on
earth as in heaven.
Give
us today our daily bread.
And
forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
And
do not put us to the test,
but
save us from the evil one.
‘Yes, if you
forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but
if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings
either.’
PRAYING WITH THE
MIND OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 55:10-11; PS 34:4-7, 16-19; MT 6:7-15 ]
In the gospel, Jesus
instructed us not to pray like the pagans. “In your prayers do not babble
as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make
themselves heard.” When we think that it is through countless prayers,
chants, screaming and crying that the Lord would be forced to hear our prayers,
or that God must be appeased like a human being before He answers our prayers
then we are praying like the pagans. This is because pagans do not know
God, His mind and His heart.
However, Jesus made it
clear, “Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask
him.” Indeed,
God as our heavenly Father knows what we need more than we know
ourselves. This was what the Lord said further on in the gospel.
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask
him!” (Mt 7:11) The psalmist
testifies to us of God’s love, “Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us
praise his name. I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors
he set me free. Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be
abashed. This poor man called, the Lord heard him and rescued him from
all his distress. The Lord turns his face against the wicked to destroy
their remembrance from the earth. The Lord turns his eyes to the just and his
ears to their appeal. They call and the Lord hears and rescues them in all
their distress. The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose
spirit is crushed he will save.”
When we pray we must
know whom we are praying to and how He acts towards us. In other words, we must pray with
the mind of God. This is what the Lord said, “I will do whatever you ask
in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name
you ask me for anything, I will do it.” (Jn 14:13f) Indeed, when we pray
with the mind and heart of God, our prayers will always be efficacious because
we will pray in the name of our Lord. This is what the prophet assures us
in the first reading. “Thus says the Lord: As the rain and the snow come
down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it
yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating,
so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without
carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.”
God’s mind and heart is expressed in the scriptures which is the Word of God.
Hence, there is no
better way to pray than according to the scriptures or even using the words of
scriptures since they are inspired words. It is for this reason that the official prayers
of the Church, especially in the liturgy, are taken from the scriptures,
particularly the psalms. This is to ensure that our prayers are one with
God. Among all the prayers from the scriptures, there is none comparable
to the prayer that the Lord taught us, namely, the Lord’s Prayer because this
prayer contains all prayers.
The “Our Father” is the
common prayer of the Church in response to the Kingdom Message of our Lord. The Kingdom Message of course is the
central theme of the preaching of Jesus. His mission was to establish the
kingdom of God. He came to restore humanity and to give us true
freedom. This is only possible when we submit ourselves to the rule of
God’s love. If the world is in disorder and in misery, it is
because instead of allowing God to rule our lives, we allow Satan to rule
us. For this reason, Jesus began His mission by proclaiming that the
Kingdom of God is near at hand. And He said, “Repent and believe in the
good news.” (Mk 1:15) So
what does it mean to repent and believe in the gospel?
It means firstly that we
recognize the holiness and goodness of God. In addressing, “Our
Father”, we enter into a relationship with Him as Jesus did when He addressed
God as Abba, Father.
Our relationship with God therefore is not so much as a subject to the
tyrannical omnipotent King but as a son or daughter to his or her father.
We are invited to address God in intimate terms like a child of our heavenly
Father. This is what the Lord said to us, “Truly I tell you, unless you
change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 18:3f) When we
see God as our Father, then our relationship is one of trust and love. We
can be confident that God our Father will look after us and knows what is best
for us; and that He would never leave us. Hence, we must trust in
His wisdom.
Secondly, we pray to Him
who is in heaven.
This does not mean that He is far away from us. Heaven is a symbol of
transcendence. In other words, God is omnipotent and He transcends all of
us in our difficulties and pains. He is never overwhelmed, unlike us, by
the demands of our fellowmen. God as transcendence whilst identifying
with us in our pains would never be crushed and defeated by our sufferings that
He carries in His heart. So when we say that God is in heaven, we mean
that He feels with us in our pains, suffers with us and will help us to
overcome everything in life. There is no problem that He cannot solve.
Thirdly, we pray that
His Name be kept holy.
This is a reminder that because we are His children, we become the face of God
to others. If we truly believe that God is our Father, then we must
honour Him by living a life of holiness. Unless we live a holy life, we
will tarnish the name of God and prevent His holiness from being
displayed. Children, after all, are a reflection of their parents.
Whether a child is well brought up or not, is a reflection of his or her
parents. Similarly, parents are honoured when their children are honoured,
and disgraced when their children live a wayward life.
Fourthly, we pray that
His kingdom would come. God’s
kingdom is the rule of love, truth, justice and compassion. In this
petition, we are praying that the kingdom values that Jesus taught us,
particularly in the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, be the principles
by which we live out our Christian life. The kingdom message as taught by
the Lord and summed up in the Sermon on the Mount gives us the blueprint for
how we should relate with our brothers and sisters, and how we value the things
of this world. When we understand the essential values and things of the
kingdom, then we should only pray for such things rather than those things that
do not bring us real happiness. Again, the Lord urges us, “Therefore do
not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will
we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and
indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well.” (Mt 6:31-33)
Finally, the mind of God
is expressed in His will. This
is why we pray, “your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” In the final
analysis, it is doing His will that will give us happiness. Jesus Himself
sought to do His Father’s will no matter how difficult it is. “My
food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” (Jn 4:34) “I have come down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.” (Jn 6:38) At His passion, He said,
“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but
yours be done.” (Lk 22:42) On the cross,
He prayed, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Lk 23:46) In His will is our peace
because His will is His wisdom.
This, then, is the way
we should pray.
The first part of the Lord’s Prayer situates all the specific prayers as
elaborated in the second part in the context of God’s divine majesty and
providence. We must contextualize our prayer according to the mind and
will of God. However, most of all, we must know who we are praying
to. When we relate to God as our Father, then we as His children can pray
with confidence, trusting in His divine providence and wisdom. When we
pray according to His will and His word, His grace will be efficacious.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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