Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 24th July

'Our Father' doors, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Message from Fr Paul for Sunday, 24th July 2022

 Central to all faiths is prayer, communion with God. This can be intercessory prayer, praise and thanksgiving, a response to sacred scripture or the prayer of silent contemplation or prayer of the heart. It’s clear from the Gospels that Jesus was deep into the art of prayer, he prayed at all times and in all places, his life was pure prayer which he lived in communion with his heavenly Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. You can see that this was the area of his life that fascinated his disciples most. They were more than curious; they wanted to be able to do what Jesus did, spend nights in prayer in the solitude of the heart. 

In our Gospel today, Luke (Lk 11: 1-13) recounts an occasion when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, because John the Baptist had taught his disciples. Now we don’t know what John taught them, but we do know and base our lives on what Jesus taught his. First of all, he gave them a little prayer they could memorise, not that prayer was to be something recited by memory at speed. Hence the brevity of the Lord’s Prayer, particularly the version we find in Luke. He tells them to say this when they pray:

“Father, may your name be held holy,

your kingdom come;

give us each day our daily bread,

and forgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.

And do not put us to the test.”

We are to call God our Father and acknowledge his holiness. We long for the coming of his kingdom, that God might be all in all. As for our needs and those of others, we pray for what is essential and for what God wants to give us. Aware of our fragility and sinfulness, we ask for forgiveness, promising to forgive those who have offended us. We recognise that forgiveness must be reciprocal. There are times when the struggles of life are too much for us to bear and we give in before them. We ask that when that happens, we will remain strong before the power of evil. 

 In addition to praying the very words of Jesus, he also gives his disciples some examples and advice. To begin with there’s a sort of parable on persistence or perseverance in prayer. We must never give up, for God listens even when we think he doesn’t. Then comes the assurance that God always listens and gives us what is best for us. Ultimately, God wants to give us the Holy Spirit, his most precious and perfect gift. What is more, he knows our needs and fulfils every one of them. Let us thank God, today, for his goodness and incomparable generosity to us in Christ.