Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. And when the Lord God provided a gourd plant that grew up over Jonah’s head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was very happy over the plant. But the next morning at dawn God sent a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint. Then Jonah asked for death, saying, «I would be better off dead than alive». But God said to Jonah, «Have you reason to be angry over the plant?». «I have reason to be angry», Jonah answered, «angry enough to die». Then the Lord said, «You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?».
For you, o Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in kindness to all who call upon you. Hearken, o Lord, to my prayer and attend to the sound of my pleading.
All the nations you have made shall come and worship you, o Lord, and glorify your name. For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds; you alone are God.
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples”
Fr. Austin Chukwuemeka IHEKWEME (Ikenanzizi, Nigeria)Today we hear one of the disciples say to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples” (Lk 11:1). Jesus’ answer is simple and profound: “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed 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 us to the final test” (Lk 11:2-4). This can be summed up in one phrase: the right disposition for Christian prayer is the attitude of a child before his father.
We see immediately that prayer, according to Jesus, is a relationship of “father and child.” It’s a family matter, grounded in familiarity and love. The image of God as Father speaks to us of affection and intimacy—not primarily of power and authority.
To pray as Christians means putting ourselves in the position where we see God as our Father, speaking to Him as His sons: “You write: ‘To pray is to talk with God. But about what?’. About what? About Him, about yourself: joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions, daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions: and Love and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know yourself: ‘to get acquainted!” (Saint Josemaría)
When children speak to their parents, they focus on one thing: to express, in words and gestures, what they carry in their hearts. We grow as men and women of prayer when our dealings with God become more intimate—like the bond of a father with his child. Jesus Himself gave us this example. He is the way.
And if you turn to the Blessed Virgin, the teacher of prayer, how much easier it becomes! In fact: “The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary (...). No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.” (Saint John Paul II).
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
"You say that you don't know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and once you have said, 'Lord, I don't know how to pray!' rest assured that you have begun to do so" (Saint Josemaria Escrivá)
"Take the Gospel, read a small fragment, imagine what happened and discuss it with Jesus. In this way you will have your look fixed on Jesus and not on the soap opera, for instance” (Francis)
"When Jesus prays he is already teaching us how to pray... " (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nº 2607)
