20240220 SCRIPTURE AND PRAYER
20 February 2024, Tuesday, 1st Week of Lent
First reading | Isaiah 55:10-11 © |
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.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 33(34):4-7,16-19 © |
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.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:4 |
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!
Gospel | Matthew 6:7-15 © |
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.’
SCRIPTURE AND PRAYER
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISA 55:10-11; PS 34:4-7,16-19; MT 6:7-15]
One of the pillars of the spiritual exercises recommended by the Lord and affirmed by the Church for use particularly in the season of Lent is prayer. But what is prayer? For many, to pray means to say a list of formulated prayers. For others, it is a list of petitions asking God for this and that. But in the gospel, Jesus made it clear that “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.”
How, then, do we pray? This was the request of the disciples when they saw the Lord in prayer. The depth of prayer has much to do with our knowledge and love for the Word of God. The best prayers are reformulations of the Word of God in concrete situations. The needs of the biblical people were no different from ours. Only the circumstances have changed but the fundamental needs and desires have not.
That is why we cannot pray properly unless we are first familiar with the Word of God. Jesus in the gospel made it clear. “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (Jn 14:23) So too, in the first reading, God said, “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.” Only those who understand the Word of God and obey it will find life.
Authentic prayers are therefore always founded on the Word of God. The official prayers of the Church, especially liturgical prayers, are all based on the bible, particularly the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours. The Word of God is the soul of all true Christian prayers because to pray is to allow God to pray in and through us. This is why when we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, especially the psalms, we are using the very Word of God given to us in the Bible to pray to God Himself. Prayers that originate from God and used to pray to Him make it a perfect prayer.
Consequently, it must be said that a deeper love for the Word of God, a deeper meditation and understanding of the scriptures will also help us to pray to God more personally, deeply and efficaciously. If Catholics find it difficult to pray spontaneously, it is because many do not read the Word of God regularly and so are unable to use the words from the scripture to pray back to God. Without a deeper meditation on the Word of God, they do not know who God is personally and hence are not able to have a real conversation with Him. St Jerome says that to be ignorant of the scriptures is to be ignorant of our Lord. Only by contemplating on the scriptures can we enter into the heart and mind of God and the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So if we want to deepen our prayer life, we must deepen our love for the Word of God.
The case in point is the Lord’s Prayer presented to us in the gospel. In truth, the Lord’s Prayer is but a summary of the pertinent points of the gospel teachings of our Lord and a recapitulation of the entire message of the Bible. What Jesus has done for us in the Lord’s Prayer is to extract from the Word of God, the fundamental principles and points for our way of life. It can be said to be a summary of the gospel. In teaching the disciples to pray this prayer, Jesus was giving them the Christian badge and identity of being His follower.
In the first petition, when we pray, “Our Father in heaven”, we are called to remember that God is our Heavenly Father. He is the One who looks after us. “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Lk 11:13) Indeed, He is not just our creator, nor is He distant from His creation. He is not an impersonal being but someone who relates with us, feels with us and is identified with us in our pains and suffering. “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them.” (Ex 3:7f)
In the second petition, we pray “may your name be held holy.” In other words, we are called to praise God not just with our words but also with our lives. The responsorial psalm says, “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.” To keep His name holy is to glorify and praise Him so that we are reminded of His majesty and holiness. By so doing, we, as His children, will not do anything to tarnish His name and His glory. To keep His name holy is to live our lives in such a way that we give glory to Him.
After giving glory to God, we pray, “your kingdom come.” For the Israelites, God was not only their creator or Father but He was also their King. In fact, all earthly kings are representatives of God, the only King of the universe. It was the belief of the Israelites that God had appointed them to establish His kingdom of justice and peace in the world. “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:6) It is our task to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as in heaven. The centrality of the message of Jesus in the gospel is the theme of the Kingdom of God. To pray for the coming of God’s kingdom is to pray that His rule will be established in the hearts of all so that all will live by the gospel principles of justice, peace and love.
The next petition, “your will be done, on earth as in heaven” is a corollary to the preceding petition. To pray that God’s reign be on this earth is to pray that we will only seek to do His will and not ours; and that His will is His wisdom. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” (Jn 4:34) And at the Garden of Gethsemane, He surrendered to God’s will when He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mk 14:36) And at His final moments, He prayed, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” (Lk 23:46) We too must seek only His will and surrender our lives to His holy will.
Following our praises to God, we pray for ourselves. “Give us today our daily bread.” Asking for our daily needs is what we are invited to pray. God does not want us to hoard or be anxious about tomorrow. When He gave manna to the Israelites, He did not allow them to collect too much but just for the need of the day. In this way, we learn how to be contented and live in trust in His divine providence. Our unhappiness comes about because we want more and more. If we have the basic needs of life, we should learn to be satisfied. Otherwise, we can never be happy in life. Our greed is like an abyss that cannot be filled. There are more important things in life than food and possessions. This is what the Lord said, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Mt 6:31,33) Most of all, the daily bread refers to the Word of God and the Eucharist. These two spiritual kinds of bread must be consumed daily if we are to live meaningfully. Through the Bread of life, we are inspired and guided. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16)
Above all, if many of us are not happy and at peace with ourselves and with others, it is because of the lack of forgiveness in our lives towards ourselves and towards others who sinned against us. Hence, one of the most recurrent teachings of our Lord is on the importance of divine forgiveness and human forgiveness. We must pray daily “And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us” because we are all sinners and always in need of being forgiven and to forgive others. Indeed, Jesus elaborated further, “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.”
Finally, we pray, “And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one.” Indeed, the battle against the Evil One continues every day in our life. The setting of Jesus’ ministry is in the context of His warfare against the Kingdom of Satan. Therefore we are being tested and challenged each day to be faithful to God and His will. From the outset of His ministry, Jesus was tempted by Satan when He was hungry and weak. (cf Mt 4:1-11) But we are confident the Lord will assist us and fight the devil for us. The psalmist says, “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.”
In conclusion, we can see clearly how the Lord’s Prayer is the pattern of all prayers, simply because it is rooted in the teaching of Christ and the entire Bible. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we bring to mind all that we have learnt in scriptures and express for ourselves the mind of God. Jesus promised us that if we did that, “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Jn 14:13) St John wrote, “And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1Jn 5:14)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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