 
General Theme: Means of perseverance General Objective: To grow in our relationship with God through prayer Objective of the week: Prayer of petition and intercession INTRODUCTION In this introduction we´ll collect some inputs from Pope Francis during the General Audiences on December 9 and 16, 2020. The themes were prayer of petition and prayer of intercession. The prayer of petition (December 9,2020) The human heart tends toward prayer. It is simply human to ask, to supplicate. This is very human. Let us listen to the Catechism of the Catholic church: “By prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own last end. Therefore, we should not be shocked if we feel the need to pray, we should not be ashamed. And many of us have this feeling: we are ashamed to ask, to ask for help, to ask something of someone who can help us, to reach our purpose, and ashamed to ask God. One should not be ashamed to pray and to say: “Lord, I need this,” “Lord, I am in difficulty,” “Help me!”: It is the cry of the heart to God who is the Father. And we must learn to do so also in happy moments, to thank God for everything that is given to us, and not to take anything for granted or as if it were owed to us: everything is grace. The Lord always gives to us, always, and everything is grace, everything. The grace of God. However, we must not suffocate the supplication that rises up in us spontaneously. Prayer of petition goes in step with acceptance of our limitations and our nature as creatures. We make our prayers of petition with confidence in him who has triumphed over all evil through the cross and resurrection of his Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes on our behalf and quietly works to transform all things.” The prayer of intercession (December 16,2020) “In our continuing catechesis on Christian prayer, we now turn to the prayer of intercession. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read: “intercession - asking on behalf of another (…) has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy.” This is beautiful. Those who pray never turn their backs on the world. If prayer does not gather the joys and sorrows, the hopes, and the anxieties of humanity, it becomes a “decorative” activity, a superficial, theatrical, solitary way of behaving. Following the example and teaching of Jesus, whenever we pray in silence and solitude, so as better to listen to the Lord, we do not hide from the needs of others, but open our hearts to their sorrows and fears. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that our intercessory prayer, in communion with all the saints, participates in Christ’s own prayer (cf. No. 2635) The Church, in all her members, has the mission to practice the prayer of intercession: to intercede for others. This is especially so for those who exercise roles of responsibility: parents, teachers, ordained ministers, superiors of communities… Like Abraham and Moses, they must at times “defend” the people entrusted to them before God. We are talking about protecting them with God’s eyes and heart, with His same invincible compassion and tenderness. Pray with tenderness for others.” This week we will pray on John 17 to renew our trust in Jesus who is continuously praying for us. Let´s unite our prayer to Jesus for one another. MONDAY “Jesus prays for our firmness in faith” Luke 22:24-34 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the pagans have power over their people, and the rulers claim the title ‘Friends of the People.’ But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant. Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves. “You have stayed with me all through my trials; and just as my Father has given me the right to rule, so I will give you the same right. You will eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and you will sit on thrones to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. “Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers.” Peter answered, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you and to die with you!” “I tell you, Peter,” Jesus said, “the rooster will not crow tonight until you have said three times that you do not know me.” 1 Peter 1:6-7 Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. 7 Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed. I am inviting you to observe deeply in your thoughts the gesture of Jesus praying for all us. He is encouraging us to develop the attitude to pray for others. He puts emphasis that our life is designed by God not only to pray for our own selves but also to pray for the people around us. Jesus is also reminding us that our trials and difficulties are opportunities in order to develop endurance. That can lead us to be more aware of the real presence of God in our lives. Generously supplying us His own strength. He is also encouraging us not to focus only on our sadness because of our sufferings. But instead to present everything in front of God with the firmness of faith. For as we surpass from it, then it will become light for others. To those people who are in darkness because of their difficulties and trials. In this way our experience of having a firm faith in God can strengthen them. Let us thank our Lord Jesus for his self-giving, where He always spends time to pray for all of us, so that we can possess a firm faith in God.
TUESDAY "Jesus prays for us to know Him” John 17:1-10 1 When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven[b] and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, 2 [c]just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. 3 [d]Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. 6 “I revealed your name[e] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, 8 because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, 10 and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. Ephesians 3:14-19 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[h] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Prayer is connecting to the ultimate source of life. It is recognizing the omnipotent presence of God who gratuitously shows love and compassion to all humankind. Jesus' prayer to the Father shows how God moves to pity for our supplications and how sensitive He is to our needs and thanksgiving. He also prays to each one of us that we may be one and strengthened by the Holy Spirit in following Him. Let us never hesitate to ask the Lord and have a heart-to-heart talk with Him, that we may never be magnetized by the forces of the world that weaken our faith. Let us also bring the needs of our brothers and sisters pleading before God for them. In all this, we glorify God.
WEDNESDAY “Jesus prays for our sanctification” John 17:11-19 And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost—so that the scripture might come true. And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you. 1 Peter 1:13-16 So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. 15Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. 16 The scripture says, “Be holy because I am holy.” Jesus has shared everything to his disciples how to live a life to the full for them to follow, yet Jesus is so aware of their frailties and limitations. With His compassion to them He intercedes for them and asks the Father to give them what they need to be sustained, the grace to always choose what is His will for them every moment of their life for temptation is real. How beautiful it is to recognize that Jesus our Lord is also praying for us to be holy, each one of us trying our best to follow Him. Isn’t it an invitation as well for us to pray to those brothers and sisters of ours who are giving their life to follow and serve the Lord?
THURSDAY “Jesus prays for us to be one” John 17:20-23 20 “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Ephesians 4:1-6 Unity in the Body. 1 [a]I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, 3 striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: 4 [b]one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Our Lord especially prayed, that all believers might be as one body under one head, animated by one soul, by their union with Christ and the Father in him, through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. Let us endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, praying that all believers may be more and more united in one mind and one heart. Prayer unites us with Christ in the same way constant communication with our friends and family keeps us on the same page. FRIDAY “Jesus prays for us to be with Him in heaven” John 17:24-26 Father! You have given them to me, and I want them to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, the glory you gave me; for you loved me before the world was made. Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you sent me. I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them.” John 14:1-6 “Do not be worried and upset,” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; so how can we know the way to get there?” Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me. Christ, as one with the Father, claimed on behalf of all that had been given to him, and should in due time believe on him, that they should be brought to heaven; and that there the whole company of the redeemed might behold his glory as their beloved Friend and Brother, and therein find happiness. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You place your trust in God. Trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, you may also be. You know the way to the place I am going.” Jesus praying for us to be in Him in heaven validates further His great love for each of us! He desires that we will be with Him here on Earth but more so in our final destination, in heaven-the dwelling place of the Holy Trinity. It is not enough that He died for us in the cross and saves us, rather, He continues to pray that we will be one with Him. So we can remain united with Him in all the circumstances/realities that we are facing-while still in this pilgrimage. Jesus praying for us so we can reach our final destination gives us faith, joy, trust and hope of something to look forward to-the reward of eternal life. This is where we are destined to be, as we are created for Him. Jesus' prayers invites us to always look up-heaven bound, no matter all the challenges we are facing. It also develops in us the attitude of worldly detachment knowing that everything is temporary. When we are one in prayer with Jesus, it cultivates in us eternal values that look forward to that great prize of heaven. Indeed as St. Paul confirms in Phil. 3:20 that “our citizenship is in heaven”.
SUNDAY 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time PRAYER FOR THE CONGRESS To be held in Loeches, Spain from August 30 – September 27, 2024 “Communion, Consecration and Participation in the Mission" Father, you who create and sustain all things with your love, we ask you to make us artisans of communion, so that as we journey towards the Congress we may know how to welcome the diversity that characterises us as the Verbum Dei Missionary Family.
Jesus, human face of God, consecrate us to your Word so that the Congress may be prepared and carried out in profound fidelity to your voice, listening to each one of us and to the signs of the times. Holy Spirit, you who open rivers in the desert, guide us in this time of discernment and decision, so that we may live, embody and offer our charism ever more fully, so that all the baptised may participate in the mission of Jesus entrusted to the Church. Accompany us, Mary, with your loving motherly presence and intercession, so that this Congress may be a channel of hope in which God transforms us and makes all things new. Amen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About the Guidelines SheetThe Guidelines sheet is a prayer guide with the Word of God to help us journey together and be one in our weekly prayer as one community. This contains daily passages from scriptures together with reflections focused on a common theme and intention for the week. Archives
January 2025
Categories |
||
Search by typing & pressing enter
RSS Feed
