• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

  • Online Masses
    • Passionist Online Masses and Services
  • 300th Jubilee
    • Opening Mass of the Passionist Jubilee Year
    • Video: 300th Jubilee – English
    • Video: Jubileo Pasionista – Español
    • Jubilee Icon Itinerary
    • Jubilee Resources
    • Jubilee Song
  • Pray
    • Daily Reflections
    • Prayer Request
    • Sunday Homily
    • Passionist Spirituality and Prayer
    • Stations of the Cross
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
  • Grow
    • Journey into the Mystery of Christ Crucified
    • Celebrating the Feast of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Subscribe to E-News
    • Passionist Magazine
      • Passionist Magazine, Spring 2020
    • Passionist Ministries
      • Preaching
      • Hispanic Ministry
      • Haiti
      • Parish Life
      • Earth and Spirit Center
      • Education
      • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Retreat Centers
    • Passionist Solidarity Network
    • Sacred Heart Monastery
      • History of Sacred Heart Monastery
      • A Day in the Life of Senior Passionists
      • “Pillars” of the Community
  • Join
    • Nicholas Divine, CP, Ordination to the Diaconate
    • Are You Being Called?
    • Discerning Your Call
    • Pray With Us
    • Passionist Vocation Directors
    • Lay Partnerships
  • Connect
    • Find a Passionist
    • Passionist Websites
    • Fr. Cedric Pisegna, CP, Live with Passion!
    • Passionist Alumni Association
      • Reunions
      • 2019 Passionist Alumni Reunion
      • Welcome
      • Letter from the Provincial
        • These Men We Call Our Brothers
      • Mission Statement
      • CrossRoads Bulletin
      • Alumni Enrollment Form
        • Alumni Survey
      • Reunion Photo Gallery
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Monthly Giving
    • Leave a Legacy
      • Giving Matters
      • Ways to Give
      • Donor Relations
      • Testimonials
    • Prayer and Seasonal Cards
    • Privacy Policy Statement
  • Learn
    • Our Founder
    • History
    • The Letters of St. Paul of the Cross
    • The Diary of St. Paul of the Cross
    • Mission and Charism
    • Saints and Blesseds
    • FAQs
    • Find a Passionist
    • STUDIES IN PASSIONIST HISTORY AND SPIRITUALITY
  • Safe Environments

Daily Scripture, June 18, 2020

Scripture:

Sirach 48:1-14
Matthew 6:7-15

Reflection:

In this passage one of Jesus’ disciples asks him how to pray?  Jesus answers the request with the “Our Father.”  In the early community of the Church only the Baptized were allowed to say this prayer.  In fact, the Didache tells us that in the early Church this prayer was recited three times a day standing up.

The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke have this prayer in their narratives.  In Matthew there are seven petitions.  In Luke there are four petitions.  Matthew’s version was recited in a liturgical setting.  Luke’s version was recited in a Baptismal setting.  Matthew addresses God as “Heavenly Father.”  Luke addresses God as “Father” Abba. Both versions demonstrate for us the personal relationship Matthew and Luke have with “the Father.”

Both versions are models for Christian prayer.   The first thing they teach us is that we, too, need to have a personal relationship with God.  We acknowledge that what is most important is that God’s concerns must always be placed first.  The second thing we do is place our petition out there for God to see.  At the same time, we make our petitions before God and to the extent that they enter into God’s plan we ask for them to be answered for us.

In a way this prayer tells us we are to place God’s wishes first.  We present our needs as long as they enter into God’s purposes.  In our prayer it is not our purpose for the mind of God to be changed.  It is important that we persist in our prayers so that we can discern the will of God.

Prayer in the Christian tradition is not necessarily a mystical experience.  It is working with God for the salvation of others.  The power of Christian prayer is based on the reality that our God is our Father. God loves is and listens to our prayers.   We pray because we trust in God’s hearing our prayers and God’s answering them.  Because we pray we are people of hope.  We have hope and believe in the future because God cares for us.


Fr. Ken O’Malley, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community at Sacred Heart Monastery in Louisville, Kentucky.

Footer

Facebook Feed

Support the Passionists

Contact the Passionists

The Passionists of Holy Cross Province
660 Busse Highway | Park Ridge, IL 60068
Tel: 847.518.8844 | Toll-free: 800.295.9048 | Fax: 847.518.0461
Safe Environments | Board Member Portal | Copyright © 2021 | Log in