Babbling Pagans

Today in the gospel Jesus’ disciples inquire about how to pray. Jesus could have answered in many different ways and He gives us this prayer. We should probably pay attention to what He has to tell us! The Our Father is a prayer we pray so often, every Sunday at Mass, in our rosaries, and daily prayer times. Yet, how often do we just “babble like the pagans” which Jesus warns against and not really know what we are truly praying? I know I do it often. This Lent is perhaps an invitation for us to take a closer look at this familiar prayer. 

“This is how you are to pray:

Our Father who art in heaven,

     Immediately we are reminded of our Divine Sonship, we are sons and daughters of a most High King which makes us royalty!! We address Our Father who is in heaven- this reminds us that if Our Father is in Heaven, then that is our home too! It invites us to look where we are headed -- we are pilgrims, this isn’t it!

hallowed be thy name, 

        Do you even know what hallowed means!? I sure didn’t. It means to “honor as holy.” From the beginning we are are called to recognize and praise He who is all power, knowledge, mercy, beauty, goodness, and love.

thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, 

      Notice here it’s about building His Kingdom and doing His will. The task of the Christian is to unite our life so closely that we can say with St. Paul, “it’s no longer I, but Christ that lives within me.”

on earth as it is in heaven.

        We’re called to bring the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord here and now!

Give us this day our daily bread; 

       Here Jesus does not say, “our daily steak and lobster,” but daily bread. Bread is what we need, not all about what we want. It is about being content with what we have and trusting that He will provide all that we need.

and forgive us our trespasses,as we forgive those who trespass against us; 

        We are called to extend the same mercy that Christ Himself bestows upon us when people hurt, ignore, lie, and chastise us.

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

         Left to our own devices we would be unable to withstand the temptations and evil of the world, the flesh, and the Devil so we beg the Lord to "lead us not" and "deliver us from."

Amen!

-Caitlin Mulcahy

About the Author

Caitlin is a native of Denver, CO, a graduate of Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and a 4th year FOCUS Missionary. She served her first two years with FOCUS at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and is in her second year at Georgia Southern University. Her favorite things about the South are Banana Puddin' and cotton! She is engaged to Jacob Pride and is currently enjoying planning their wedding for this coming May!

Being the Hands and Feet of Jesus

No one ever said that the Christian walk was an easy one. In fact, many of the great disciples, from St. Paul to Mother Teresa, have reminded us that choosing to follow Jesus can be a difficult path. Thankfully, Holy Scripture gives us a roadmap, plenty of do’s and don’ts to help us navigate our way toward our Savior. Today’s first reading from Leviticus gives us some of the don’ts.  “You shall not steal. You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another. You shall not swear falsely by my name.”  This looks pretty straightforward.  Most of us don’t literally steal, lie or swear by Him.  But what if we remember that everything we have is from Jesus? Are we using the gifts He has loaned us for His glory? If we have extra money and we believe that this is a provision from Him, isn’t squandering it on (insert your luxury of choice) a theft? If we have a skill or talent, and we use our free time watching reality TV, aren’t we stealing that gift from Him?  How often do we say, “I swear to God?” Popular reality starlets proudly proclaim “Bible” instead of “I swear.” It doesn’t seem like much but asking for the clarity to see even the small ways we offend the Lord can draw us closer to Him.

In His mercy, God also gives us suggestions of do’s in today’s Gospel from Matthew. They are not ways to earn His freely given love and grace, but ways that help us become more like Him, and become one with Him.  “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.” Jesus is pretty clear here. Saying “I believe in you” a few times in your life or going to Mass each Sunday aren’t all that He asks of us. We must resist the secular pull toward egocentrism, even self-centeredness.  Richard Sterns writes in his book, The Hole in our Gospel, that today’s Christian might re-read that passage from Matthew 25. It could say

For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.

The majority of us are good, loving people. But during these 40 days, how can we stretch ourselves from being a “good person” to literally being the hands and feet of Jesus in this broken world?  He needs us to put down the iphone and write a note to our grandmother or call (not text) our mom just to say hi. He needs us to live the scripture we may so readily quote by caring for orphans and frustrating roommates alike. He needs us to spend a few minutes each day praying for people who have no one to pray for them.  By acting out the faith we profess, we walk a path that leads directly into His loving and tender embrace. 

-Keri Ninness

About the Author

Keri Ninness is a native of Savannah. After receiving a Master's degree in social work, she spent four years working in child protective services and then moved to Atlanta to work in an inner city hospital with HIV/AIDS patients. Happily married to Ross, she now uses all those social work skills begging her toddler to stop coloring on walls and convincing her 5 month old that waking at 2 am is simply not okay. In between those hostile negotiations, she works part-time for an au pair agency and blogs about daily life at www.surrealgrace.blogspot.com

Resisting Temptation

       
             Jesus gives us two great strategies for resisting temptation in today’s Gospel. The first, fasting, is the act of denying ourselves something we want so we will have the willpower to resist sin. Since fasting is widespread and well understood, I would like to focus on the second, scripture memorization. This practice allows us to fill our heads with holy thoughts to take the place of unholy thoughts.

            The Spirit led Jesus into the desert to prepare Him for His mission of salvation because it is a place free of distraction—there is no choice but to be alone with our thoughts, so whatever we have filled our minds with is what will keep us company during “desert times.” We all experience desert times, and we need them to come to know ourselves and see the areas in which we need to grow, but we usually try to avoid them at all costs by playing music, surfing the internet, or any number of other distractions. However, no matter how we try to fight it, there will still be desert times—lying in bed waiting to fall asleep at night, after hearing difficult news, or, at the least, when the radio in the car breaks! Let’s take a lesson from Jesus who teaches us to go into the desert to better hear the voice of God. Be warned, listening to God is risky business—he might ask you to DO something!

            If our thoughts are our only companions when we find ourselves in the desert, and if we can’t avoid the desert forever (and shouldn’t try to), we had better purify our thoughts, right? Jews of Jesus’ day would have memorized most or all of their scriptures (the Old Testament). That’s why He was able to recall the passages He used to refute the devil’s temptations. Scripture memorization is a great and powerful tool to force out unholy thoughts by asking God to replace them with holy ones. Wouldn’t it be great if, the next time you were anxious about the future, Jeremiah 29:11 popped into your head? (“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”) This is what St. Paul is talking about in the second reading today when he says “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” We don’t have to memorize the entire Bible, but there are scripture verses in it which deal with every fear, sin, or struggle we’ll ever encounter. A quick internet search will give you a few good ones to help with whatever you struggle with. This strategy is dyn-o-mite for those who struggle with purity!

- Michael LaPointe

About the Author

Michael LaPointe is a Second year FOCUS missionary at Georgia Southern. Originally from Montgomery, AL, he graduated from Auburn University in 2011.

God wants to heal us

I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners. – Luke 5:32

What a hopeful and comforting statement from our Savior in the gospel reading of today! To think that God actually wants to heal us and love us after we have betrayed Him by choosing sin. God loves us so much that no matter how full of sinful sickness we are, He will continually call us back to Himself.

The gospel story today focuses on Levi (otherwise known as Matthew). Levi was a tax collector. Tax collectors were considered outcasts by their fellow Jews because they conspired with the Romans to collect the tax money and often collected more than what was demanded to satisfy their own greed. They lived a life of selfish pursuits and comfort. So needless to say, when Jesus was seen with Levi, many of His followers and those who were suspicious of Him were very indignant.  All we are told is that when Jesus saw Levi, He called out and said “Follow me.” Then Levi does something amazing.  The Scriptures say “And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed Him.”[1] How did Levi do it? How could he leave everything behind so quickly and so seemingly unattached? Essentially Levi must have been looking for a change and when he was given the chance, he immediately responded. He repented, followed Jesus, and began life anew.

Levi was responding to the longing that God has placed in all our hearts from the very beginning; a longing to know, love, and serve Him to the best of our ability.  Like Levi, we frequently seek happiness in the things of this world but this only brings us emptiness. We will only experience true freedom and happiness when we turn from a life of selfish pursuits and follow Christ. This is echoed in the first reading for today in Isaiah. God promises that we will delight in Him and experience joy if we live a life of virtue and follow His statutes.

Levi found this joy when Jesus called him. Indeed he even gave a big banquet to celebrate! We too can find this joy if we repent of our sinfulness and follow the call He has placed on our hearts to love Him first. He will heal us from the wounds of the past and allow us to begin a new life.

What are one or two things that are keeping you from following God more closely? Place those at the foot of the cross and ask God to help you make a change. Prayerfully consider how you will make that change so you can love God more deeply today. Trust in His infinite love and mercy and know that He desires to bring you great joy when you follow Him.

 ~ Helen Almeter

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[1] Luke5:28