(Optional
Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs)
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| “Prayer on the Mount of Olives” by Hans Multscher, 1437 |
Readings and Commentary;[3]
Reading I: Isaiah 55:10-11
Thus says the LORD:
Just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the
earth,
making it fertile and
fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who
sows
and bread to the one who
eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my
mouth;
It shall not return to me
void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I
sent it.
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Commentary on Is 55:10-11
This reading
represents the conclusion of Isaiah’s exhortation about the New Jerusalem. In
these few verses we hear how the word of God must be soaked up by the faithful,
as rain is soaked up by the earth. Once it is absorbed it produces the desired
result. Similar thought is expressed in the Gospel of St. John in his
exhortation on the Eucharist (John6:32) as the Word come
down from heaven.
“The Word comes
from God, but it can be heard only when it is soaked up in human life and
spoken with human accents. Deutero-Isaiah (Deutero-Isaiah refers to the second
half of the book, written during the Babylonian exile.) explains world history,
particularly the sacred history of Israel, through the deep, omnipotent
presence of the Word (cf. Wisdom 8:1; 2 Corinthians 9:10). M.-E. Boismard attributes to this text the immediate
origin of the Johannine theology of the Word (St. John's Prologue [Westminster,
1957] 100). We hear its echo in John's doctrine of the Eucharist-the Word come
down from heaven and received as bread (John6:32, 35).”[4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
R. (18b) From all their distress God rescues the
just.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his
name.
I sought the LORD, and he
answered me
and delivered me from all my
fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be
radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush
with shame.
When the poor one called out,
the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he
saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
The LORD has eyes for the
just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the
evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of
them from the earth.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
When the just cry out, the
LORD hears them,
and from all their distress
he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the
brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in
spirit he saves.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
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Commentary on Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
Psalm 34 is a psalm of
thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of
being rescued (Psalm 34:5, 7), can teach the "poor," those who are
defenseless, to trust in God alone. The just cry out to the Lord and he hears
them and rescues them.
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Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble
like the pagans,
who think that they will be
heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you
need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread;
and forgive us our
trespasses,
as we forgive those who
trespass against us;
and lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
“If you forgive men their
transgressions,
your heavenly Father will
forgive you.
But if you do not forgive
men,
neither will your Father
forgive your transgressions.”
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Commentary on Mt 6:7-15
This Gospel passage from St.
Matthew actually interrupts the pattern in the Sermon on the Mount, in which
Jesus is clarifying the spirit of the Law regarding almsgiving, prayer, and
fasting. In the presentation of the Lord’s prayer, St. Matthew differs from the
presentation by St. Luke (Luke 11; 1-4) in
which the Lord was asked by the disciples how to pray. This passage begins by
telling the disciples: “do not babble like the pagans.” This may also be
critical of the Jewish tradition of presenting long lists of petitions to God
for help. The idea is the same: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask
him.”
The prayer in St. Matthew has
seven petitions (compared to six in St. Luke). The first three are synonymous,
asking that God’s ultimate reign at the Eschaton be brought to fulfillment. The
request for “daily bread” has a couple of possible meanings beyond the
obvious. It may be related to the petition in Matthew 6: 31-33 (“So do not worry and say, 'What are we to
eat?'”) and it may also be referring to the Messianic banquet of the Eucharist.
Using this interpretation, the fourth petition continues the intent of the
first three.
The fifth petition, “…forgive
us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us” is, in
spite of the denominational tradition, best translated as “debts.” In St.
Luke’s version, the word used is “sins,” an easier word for non-Jewish readers.
Regardless of the transliteration, the precondition for forgiveness given is
that we forgive others.
“…Lead us not into temptation”
is not likely intended to mean our daily encounter with “evil” or the “evil
one.” St. Matthew would agree with St. Paul, that God would easily avoid the
evil of the world (1 Corinthians 10: 13). Rather
the likely meaning would be that we not be led to a great test, that is,
despair at the tribulations of the Eschaton (the end times). Similarly the
final petition, “…deliver us from evil,” also would focus on the
Christian hope of salvation rather than damnation.
CCC: Mt 6:7 2608, 2668, 2776; Mt 6:8 443, 2736; Mt
6:9-13 1969, 2759, 2759; Mt 6:9 268, 443; Mt 6:10 2632; Mt 6:11 1165, 2659; Mt 6:12 2845; Mt
6:14-16 2792; Mt
6:14-15 2608, 2841
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Reflection:
We
can take the reading from Isaiah at face value and understand that the Prophet
was saying that his prayer would not be like sand thrown into the wind, that
his prayer, his dialogue with God, would bear fruit like rain falling on the
crops. Likewise, in the psalm, we give
thanks to the Lord for hearing us in our distress. What does he hear? He hears our prayer. Prayers uttered at strange moments, at
painful moments, even prayers uttered profanely and unintended are heard.
(Think of that the next time you hit your finger with a hammer!)
Scripture
brings us to closure on prayer with the story from Matthew about Jesus teaching
his disciples to pray using the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern. We begin by giving thanks and praise to God
for all his works and all his kindness both now and in eternity. Then we ask for what we need each day,
including forgiveness and asking for mercy as we promise to be merciful.
The
focus remains the same. We are called to
be a people of prayer. Whether
structured like the Liturgy of the Hours or short and simple like: “God help
me, a sinner,” we need to be in constant
communication with God. It is the Lord
that provides us continual guidance. It is the Lord who leads us down right
paths, and it is the Lord who speaks to us in the silence of our heart. It is silence that we often forget. We must spend time listening to what God
intends to tell us – as Fr. Pat Egan is fond of saying, “without bullying God into listening
to what we want him to say.”
As
we continue to grow in discipleship today, we remember that we are called to
pray constantly. We ask for the strength
to do just that.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Prayer on
the Mount of Olives” by Hans Multscher, 1437
[3] The readings are taken from
the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which
were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL).
This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary,
Prentice Hall, Inc.© 1968, 22:49 pp. 380
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