Wednesday - October 11, 2017
God bestows more consideration on the purity of the intention with which our actions are performed than on the actions themselves.
-- St. Augustine
TODAY'S READINGS
October 11, 2017
Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 463
Reading 1JON 4:1-11
Jonah was greatly displeasedand became angry that God did not carry out the evil
he threatened against Nineveh.
He prayed, "I beseech you, LORD,
is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?
This is why I fled at first to Tarshish.
I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God,
slow to anger, rich in clemency, loath to punish.
And now, LORD, please take my life from me;
for it is better for me to die than to live."
But the LORD asked, "Have you reason to be angry?"
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?"
Responsorial PsalmPS 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10
R. (15) Lord, you are merciful and gracious.Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
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.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
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.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
AlleluiaROM 8:15BC
R. Alleluia, alleluia.You have received a spirit of adoption as sons
through which we cry: Abba! Father!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 11:1-4
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "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."
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Praying against evil
The scene in today's first reading takes place after the Ninevites converted. Jonah wanted revenge, not mercy, for those who had inflicted harm on his people. But God was concerned about the Ninevites, who "could not distinguish their right from their left" (good from evil), i.e., they had poorly formed consciences.
He is just as concerned today for the evil-doers that we know. All were made in the image of God, but they don't know their right hand from their left. Succumbing to the spirit of evil makes people very, very stupid, so stupid that they cannot understand truth when it stares them in the face or knocks on their hearts. Of course God cares about them! He is their Father.
Are we going to be complainers like Jonah? Jesus taught us how to turn our concerns into prayer (see today's Gospel reading). Remember, the Lord's Prayer is said in the plural: It's not meant to be prayed just for our own individual sake. We're supposed to use it to pray for others, too. And it's meant to be prayed in community, because it's in the community of believers that God provides the answers to our prayers.
OUR FATHER - Daddy, Father of us all, You love all of your children, even those who don't know You.
WHO IS IN HEAVEN - You are Lord over all. Eventually, we will all come face-to-face with Your infinite love and realize how little we have loved. Help us all to discover Your love here on earth and convert to it before it's too late.
HOLY IS YOUR NAME - Help us all to revere You and to recognize Your great mercy. Help those who, because of their involvement in evil, are most in need of Your mercy. Help us all to turn away from everything that is not of You.
YOUR KINGDOM COME - Whatever is fighting against Your kingdom, our Savior Jesus has already defeated it through the cross and his resurrection. May his Precious Blood cover every evil-doer for whom I am praying: Break Satan's strongholds and heal their minds and souls.
YOUR WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN - Help us all to know Your will, clearly and accurately, and fill us with a zeal for doing what You ask of us. Give us special graces to hear and grasp Your will more profoundly.
GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD - You know what we need for understanding and doing Your will. Help us all to receive it and be nourished by it. Evil-doers are starving for You; use the circumstances of their day today to help them find You.
FORGIVE US OUR SINS - Forgive us for succumbing to temptation and for allowing ourselves to be confused about what is right and what is wrong. Forgive us for contributing to evil in the world by our unloving actions and by our lack of loving actions.
FOR WE OURSELVES FORGIVE EVERYONE IN DEBT TO US - Lord, I do forgive everyone who has sinned. I join You, merciful Father, in forgiving those who do evil. Break the chains of hatred and violence that hold so many people in Satan's grip. Empower me to be part of Your plan to overcome evil with love.
DO NOT SUBJECT US TO THE FINAL TEST - Do not let anyone for whom I'm praying die before they have recognized and accepted Your love. Help us all to become like Jesus, who is the human embodiment of Perfect Love.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL - Deliver me and the whole world from all tactics of the devil. Rescue evil-doers from living as Satan's instruments; set them free to enjoy Jesus Christ here on earth and then eternally in heaven.
AMEN!
Prayer
Good Father: Place in my heart the desire for a greater intimacy with You. May my words, works and how I treat You be the fruit of this deep meeting in Your love. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that,
“one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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