Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
July 24, 2016
Gospel: Lk 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had
finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just
as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed
(1) be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily
bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject
(2) us to the final test."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a
friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of
bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have
nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the
door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot
get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give the
visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him
whatever he needs because of his persistence (3). “And I tell you, ask and you will
receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For
everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who
knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a
snake
when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when
he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him?"
(http://www.usccb.org)
The difficult words
(1)Hallowed means holy.
(2)To subject means to make someone do
something. Here it is the part of the Our Father that asks God to “lead us not
into temptation.”
(3)Persistence means never
giving up.
This week’s spotlight
What is a just person?
In the Bible, a just person is someone who is a friend
of God. A just person listens to God and puts his word into practice, thanks to
his or her faith in him. A just person has a living relationship with God.
Abraham is truly just in the eyes of God. The opposite of a just person is a
sinner.
Why do we say "Our" Father?
Perhaps you have noticed that Jesus didn't teach us to
say, "My Father who art in heaven" or"give me this day my daily
bread.” Jesus asked us to say, "Our Father, who art in heaven" and
"give us this day our daily bread." Being a Christian is not just
about “me and God." The Our Father reminds us that we must always pray for
one another and remain together as brothers and sisters, united in God's love.
Reflection
“God, our Father”
In our lives there are some very ordinary but
wonderful things that make us happy and we often don’t even realize it. It may
be a loving mother who holds us in her arms when we are unhappy; a proud father
who gives us the strength to grow and to learn; or a brother or sister who
always looks out for us. If one of these people is sick, or if we are separated
from one of them, we miss him or her.
When this happens, we understand how much that person
really means to us. The prayer that Jesus gave us, the Our Father, is a
wonderful gift, but we often say it without thinking about the meaning of the
words. Even worse, we may forget to say it at all. Nevertheless, what a gift it
is to say to God that he is our Father and that we trust in him because we are
his children. So, let’s try to rediscover the meaning of this beautiful prayer,
treasure it, and pass it on to others. Remember that God is your Father and is
always at your side. He will never let you down. Trust in him!
Discussion questions
1.How does Jesus want us to pray?
2.What prayer does Jesus teach us?
3.What does Jesus call God?
4.How does praying the “Our Father” help us to live as God’s children?
5.Why does Jesus teach us to pray “Our Father” but not “My Father”?
6.Do you believe that God hears your prayers?
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. Thanks
to Jesus, we rejoice to call you our Father. Help me to love others as my
brothers and sisters, and to lead them closer to you.
This week…
Say the Our Father together
This week, you could invite
everyone who is on vacation with you (and who would like to participate) to say
the Our Father together during the evening prayers. It’s a beautiful prayer to
say with others.
Teach the Our Father to someone
who doesn’t know it
Perhaps there is an acquaintance of yours who doesn't yet know the Our
Father. If he feels like learning it, you could teach it to him. If you don't
yet know it yourself very well, take advantage of the occasion to learn it,
too.
Crossword Puzzle
Source: usccb.org
- Magnifikid - sermons4kids.com – rclblectionary.com –usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm
