Our Lady Of Grace Church

10/18/2022

09/14/2022

Sunday September 18, 2022
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Janice Lahti
A challenging set of readings! Jesus puts a difficult scenario in front of His disciples. Our main character, the steward of a wealthy man, is trying to establish new prospects given that he will be shortly out of work. His action to ensure his master’s debtors are now indebted to him is celebrated by his boss, the rich man. This quality of shrewdness or ingenuity is seen as positive by the rich man. And the quality is also seen as useful in the eyes of Jesus. Jesus is aligned with the view of the rich man. Not what we would expect? What’s the lesson here?
Perhaps we need to look more closely at what Jesus might be pointing us to. We always forget that what we have – our strengths and all our possessions are gifts, despite what we may think about how hard we’ve worked or studied to achieve these. Everything is pure gift, the overflowing generosity of God. Can we apply these gifts with as much ingenuity as the steward did but in the service of a greater good, not our personal ends or projects that fill our own barns? If we harness our energy and determination and apply our gifts to God’s purpose, to the care and uplifting of others, what could be accomplished? Contemplate this - if with complete devotion, each of us used our gifts for only the good of others rather than ourselves, would not our families, communities and world be completely transformed?
Amos points to the fact that our deeds that hurt and take advantage of others are not forgotten. They have lasting impact and reverberate far beyond the deed itself. With how much ingenuity and effort are we acting to address the difficult situations of those around us? Do we note the problem, say a prayer, and move on. Or do we offer up our resources and talents in ways big and small to truly live the commandment to Love one another.
No slave can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and wealth. We get so turned around and caught in our own worries, agendas, and perceived needs. And as we accumulate even a little power or influence – in families, in friend circles, or at work – how do we use it? And in our institutions of government, health care, education – how do we use our power and influence?
Timothy reminds us that we must pray for kings and all who are in high positions. Such timely words with the death of Queen Elizabeth and King Charles assuming the throne. Power and wealth can do good but the temptation to use it to feather our own nests is so strong. And the stories we tell ourselves to justify our actions keep us locked away from truly challenging ourselves on who the master of our heart truly is. It’s a humbling moment when we gain insight into our unconscious motives that drive our use of power, our pursuit of wealth. And what a
grace to hear and absorb the difficult lessons of this week’s readings and move a little closer to living the demanding call to give all we’ve been given in service of Love.

09/07/2022

Sunday September 11, 2022
24rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Mary Jean Giliberto

No Sin Too Great

There is no sin so great that God will not forgive if our repentance is sincere. God does not count how many times we stumble; but he does count how many times we rise up and turn to Him. If we are too weak to rise up on our own, He stretches out His arm to give a helping hand.

Don't run away shamed and disheartened.
Rest in my love, trust me again.
[Fr Eugene O'Reilly, song lyrics to “Come as You Are”]

For some, the biggest stumbling block to repentance is thinking that one’s sin is too great or too ingrained for God to forgive. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have several examples of people who committed grievous sins in today’s readings.

In the first reading, the Israelites turned against God by worshipping the golden calf. God threatens to obliterate the idolaters, but Moses intercedes for them. Because of Moses’ pleas, God relents and does not carry out the punishment He had threatened to inflict.

Today’s responsorial psalm is Psalm 51, which is David’s heartfelt plea to God asking forgiveness for his sins. David’s sins were of a serious nature. He was guilty of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. With a humble and contrite spirit, David turns to God asking Him to cleanse him from his sin and create a clean heart. God hears and answers David’s plea.

In today’s second reading, St. Paul admits that he “was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant”. St Paul credits the abundance of God’s grace and mercy for his conversion.

The prodigal son in the Gospel wasted his inheritance in dissolute living. He runs out of money and is unable to maintain his over-indulgent lifestyle. He eventually finds himself deprived of even the basic necessities of life. He returns to his father seeking forgiveness. His father welcomes him with open arms.

All these people (the Israelites, David, St Paul, and the prodigal son) had committed great sins and all had a profound conversion experience that allowed them to leave their sins behind and turn to God. Sometimes the means of conversion comes through the prayers and pleadings of another person, as with Moses pleading to God for mercy for the idolatrous Israelites. Sometimes the conversion is precipitated by a direct act of God, as with the vision St. Paul experienced on the road to Damascus. Sometimes the conversion is an inner realization, as with the prodigal son returning home to his father. Whatever the reason, the important point is that God forgives when we turn to him with a contrite heart and ask His forgiveness.

… there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. [Luke 15:7]

Let us pray for ourselves. Let us pray for each other. Let us trust in God’s great mercy and love and seek His forgiveness. No sin is too great. God is greater. No sin is too ingrained. God can free us.

09/01/2022

Sunday September 4, 2022
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Kerry Tucker

Have you heard of the “hard sayings of Jesus”? For some Christians, it is a familiar way of talking about some things that Jesus said in Scripture that, from a human point of view, would be difficult to believe or do. For me, one of these hard sayings appears near the start of today’s Gospel reading. In it, Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, spouse and children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and even their life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Living with Christ, Sunday Missal 2021-2022, 512-513). How can anyone, humanly speaking, despise the members of their immediate family; their parents, their siblings, their husbands or wives, their children and perhaps, most challengingly, their own lives to follow Christ?

Jesus goes on to say more difficult words to the masses of people who were following him around at the time, “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Living with Christ, Sunday Missal 2021-2022, 513). The word “cross” that Jesus uses here would very likely have had an immediate visceral effect on the crowd around him. Since, according to a note on v. 27 in The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, RSV, Expanded Edition (1977), it was a cross that Israel’s Roman occupiers used at that time to execute people. And those being executed were required to carry their cross to the site of their death. It would probably have been like someone today speaking about self-administered lethal injections.

Shocking, yes. But that is what Jesus was trying to do. Shock the crowd around him. According to another note in The New Oxford Annotated Bible on v. 26, he was using hyperbole. Jesus sometimes did this, to drive home his point. And, in this case, his point is the cost of discipleship. The New Oxford Annotated Bible goes on to say in a note on v. 27 that Jesus is not literally meaning that we have to “hate” our relatives, or our own lives to follow him. Rather, he is saying, as can be seen in a parallel passage (Matt. 10: 37-38) that we must love him more than we love our families or ourselves or we are not living up to his call on our lives.

Dietrich Bonhoffer was a German minister and theologian, who lived during the N**i regime. He wrote a book at that time that when translated into English was given the title, The Cost of Discipleship (Wikipedia, “The Cost of Discipleship”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cost_of_Discipleship. Accessed August 30, 2022). Perhaps the English publisher was thinking of Jesus’ words in this passage when they chose the title. Because in it Bonhoeffer, principally, argues for a “’costly grace’” against what he saw as a “cheap grace” in the German state church of his day. He wrote that “’Cheap grace is the grace we bestow upon ourselves…grace without discipleship…Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again…It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a [person] the only true life”

In his own life, Bonhoffer seems to have embraced the high price of following Christ. He chose a “’costly grace” and in so doing may provide Christians with a modern instance of what being a true disciple of Jesus looks like. According to the Amazon.ca website, “Bonhoffer…was an exemplar of sacrificial faith: he opposed the N**is from the first and was eventually imprisoned in Buchenwald and hung by the Gestapo in 1945”

(https://www.amazon.ca/Cost-Discipleship-Dietrich-Bonhoeffer/dp/0684815001).

The Cost of Discipleship

08/25/2022

Sunday August 28, 2022
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Dan Perron

Humility: The Unpopular Virtue ​

There is no merit in being lowly in the eyes of society and the lowly, the needy, the weak and the vulnerable are often looked upon with contempt in our contemporary culture. North American and European society are extremely focused on success, merit and the accomplishments that can be listed on a resumé. Indeed, many of us place our self-worth in the merits and accomplishments we have achieved over the course of our lives and hence, all the expressions society has accumulated to describe the successful life: the self-made millionaire, the power broker or the gifted entrepreneur. These successful individuals are viewed as rich, powerful, often self-taught, self-reliant, and independent. They do not need anybody. Gospel values are quite the opposite: the weak, the lowly and the God-reliant are to be praised.

The scriptures today present us with the virtue of humility. Sirach instructs us to “perform our tasks with humility.” (Sirach 3:17) But what is this virtue? If we confine ourselves to today’s Gospel, we should seek the lowest place when going to a banquet and invite the destitute to our homes if we decide to throw a banquet ourselves. In order to really understand humility, we must interpret today’s readings through the lens of other passages in the Scriptures, like the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (. 8:1-2) The poor in spirit and those who mourn are not self-reliant, they are the anawim; those who must rely on God and God’s strength because they trust not their own. Life has not broken the spirit of the anawim because they are full of hope. The difference is that their hope is not in their accomplishments, their accumulation of wealth, or the merits of their actions over the course of their lives. Even their own natural gifts of intelligence, artistic ability or beauty have no relevance to them because they do not focus on themselves at all—they focus on the Lord. They see the Lord’s goodness as the only thing worth relying on because God, being infinite and eternal, is the most trustworthy person upon whom to place one’s hope, faith and most importantly, love. The humble person does not say, I am such a lowly and useless person. Indeed, the humble person does not think much of her or himself at all.

God is the focus of the humble person. There is no sense of self-importance because he or she knows that compared to God, we are nothing and have accomplished nothing. The things that society and the world holds as important are ephemeral while the goods and gifts of God are everlasting. Humble persons do not have self-loathing but genuine self-knowledge—a knowledge that recognizes all our limitations, weaknesses, and sinfulness as well as our God given strengths, talents, and virtues. Humility allows us to see ourselves as God sees us: like the secrets Sirach mentions in verse 19. It also empowers us to truly love our neighbour because it stamps out competition, gossip, back-biting and jealousy. When we know ourselves and see ourselves as God sees us, we also know that we are loved as a precious child. In Peter Van Breemen’s seminal work, As Bread That is Broken, the author calls this knowledge as a recognition that God’s love is the “deepest ground of our being.” Nothing can compare to this love and the recognition that God loves me for me is transformative. There is no magic to acquiring humility. It is a journey that takes a lifetime because one cannot, except by a special gift of grace (like the of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus), know God’s love for us except through self-knowledge and a lifetime of relationship with Him. Socrates said that self-knowledge is the beginning of wisdom, and I would add it is the beginning of humility. God’s grace will help us to do the rest, if we open the door to the One who is knocking.

So, we thank God for the daily trials that reveal to us our pettiness, selfishness and pride. We receive all life’s difficulties as grace filled moments meant to deepen our self-knowledge and humble us through the humiliation of seeing our failures, weaknesses and incapacity to love God and neighbour. Indeed, we embrace all of them as if each revelation was given to us by God’s loving hand. With time, patience and an attentive heart, the Lord shows us that He loves us in spite of all these faults and failings, and He lifts us up to eat at His banquet table.
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1Pet. 5:5-7

08/10/2022

Sunday August 14, 2022
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Paul Legace

In today’s gospel three key words are central to Jesus’ message, division, choices and faith. Our Lord tells his disciples very abruptly that he has come not to unify but to divide. When one reads this gospel for the first time Jesus is very angry, impatient and resentful. These characteristics aren’t ones I would normally associate with Christ and thus I’m shocked with his forceful tone. Why does he speak in this manner? What message is he trying to communicate to his disciples? Upon reflection Jesus is talking about making a choice; will you follow the path he has blazed that centres upon self-sacrifice and kindness or follow your own desires? We mustn’t neglect our faith when making this difficult decision as well. The decision is one that will change our lives, involve hardships but can bring much joy and happiness.

When one reads the Gospel of Luke prior to today’s excerpt Jesus tells his followers the parable of the master and the servant. The good servant is awake, prepared for the master to return after a wedding feast even though he doesn’t know when his master will return. In the same manner one doesn’t know the hour or the day when the Son of Man will return. One must be living a life that reflects what God desires, being kind and merciful to others especially the poor and marginalized, being honest and just with all you meet. The gospel this week is also about making choices when one is faced with division and uncertainty. Jesus tells the crowd “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already!” Luke Timothy Johnson in Sacra Pagina believes Jesus is speaking about a prophetic passion and urgency. Jesus’ passion will divide many people, divide households; this is because there will be diverse decisions made in response to the prophet himself and his message about the kingdom of God. Those who see him must not have blinders on; they must not let the light in them turn to darkness.

In the second reading St. Paul implores the Hebrews to throw off everything that weighs them down, including sin so they can persevere and continue running the race. He wants them to stay focused on Jesus who will lead them in their faith and bring it to perfection. St. Paul essentially tells the Hebrews they need to have faith in Christ. They have not seen him but need to have hope just like the Old Testament prophets had faith. They need to be determined! Jesus never doubted his Father, despite the challenges and rejections he encountered during his ministry and even the suffering and death by crucifixion. Many American bishops believe Paul tells these early Christians the challenges of human life have meaning when they are seen as God’s discipline. If they stay faithful to the word and persevere they will be given eternal life in God’s kingdom.

The first reading from the Book of Jeremiah tells of King Zedekiah and how he listened to certain officials and had the prophet Jeremiah dropped into a cistern to die. An Ethiopian officer, named Ebed-melech convinces the King that he has been wrong in listening to his officials and their wickedness. King Zedekiah allows Ebed-melech to rescue Jeremiah from certain death. The king essentially allows the light within him to see the error of his ways. He will listen to God’s prophet Jeremiah even though his words are not easy to follow and run counter to his official’s advice.

How do these readings apply to us today in the 21st century? How can we change our attitudes and actions to reflect the gospel message? How can we distinguish the love of God from other forms that seem to bombard us daily in the media? One needs to look to Jesus to see how he lived his life to understand the love of God. He helped those who were marginalized, the poor, the sick, widows and many others. In our parish we have a number of groups who work tirelessly to help those who are poor and on the margins of our community such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Welcoming Arms, the CWL and the Knights of Columbus. One could volunteer some time to assist one of these organizations or contribute money to assist them.

Seeking justice is another goal Christ sought when he walked upon the earth for those who were poor, suffered from disease and were marginalized from society at that time. Pope Francis visited Canada three weeks ago to offer an official apology from the Catholic Church to the First Nations, Metis and Inuit Peoples for the role it played in residential schools and the harm it inflicted upon the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. This was a heartfelt gesture on the part of Pope Francis and was a necessary step to bring about reconciliation and healing. Much harm was inflicted upon the First Nations regarding many forms of abuse, the destruction of their culture, language and the death of many children due to neglect and very poor living conditions in these residential schools. A number of unmarked grave sites have been discovered where children were buried unceremoniously and more will probably come to light in the near future. The Catholic Church needs to do all it can to pay the compensation ordered by the courts, release all records about these schools and the deaths of those who were forced to attend them. The Church needs to assist lawyers on behalf of victims to bring all perpetrators responsible for the abuse to justice regardless of their age. These acts of justice would be ones Christ would deem necessary based on his conduct with the marginalized and his teachings about forgiveness. We as Catholics should continue to ask questions and hold our Church leaders to account for the Catholic Church’s actions in this deplorable chapter of Canadian history.

How do we care for the vulnerable in our society? How did Christ show compassion to widows, orphans and the downtrodden in his time? We were all children at some point in time. Who cared for you, fed, clothed, sheltered and loved you as a child and adolescent? We need to think carefully about how we treat our aging parents and older members of our society. As an aging population, Canada will need to provide more resources so that the health and welfare of this sector of the population is not neglected. The pandemic has exposed the numerous weaknesses in our long term care facilities. Who will lobby our provincial and federal governments to improve the care of our most vulnerable? Are there other models open to our society besides the institutional for profit model of care? Is enough being done to train and provide a living wage for personal support workers? Do we as Catholics see the value in someone long after they produce goods or provide services to our society? If we do, our actions towards the senior segment of our society must change.

Division, choices, and faith are part of everyday life. Christ wanted his followers to appreciate the hard choices they were going to have to make if they were going to follow him. His love for humankind knows no limits and his passion was the ultimate expression of that love. Do we have the strength of character to stand with the oppressed, the poor, and the marginalized in our society even if it’s not popular with our culture, friends and family members? Our actions will provide the answer.
Bibliography

Johnson, Luke Timothy. Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Luke. Edited by Daniel J. Harrington. Collegeville: A Michael Glazier Book, 1991.

08/06/2022

Sunday August 7, 2022
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Gerald Mackrell

From today’s collect. ‘That we may merit to enter into the inheritance which you have promised.’ Today’s readings emphasize the depth of gratitude we owe to our forefathers.

We today are blessed by our faith in the promises of God to our forefathers. The book of Wisdom tells us that the children of God offered sacrifice and with one accord they agreed to the Divine Laws of God. They accepted the rigors of this life, the blessings, and dangers this life posed, this due to their absolute faith in God’s promises. Thankfully, the faith of our fathers is living still, we are the benefactors of this great faith. We are also the forefathers of tomorrow's faithful. What an awesome responsibility we have to the next generation. Will they be able to repeat the words of the song, “faith of our fathers living still?”
In Hebrews, Paul the apostle writes. Faith is the things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. The Old Testament is filled with miracles and promises made to the chosen people. Things they cannot see and promises by an unseen God. The tents that Abraham and his peoples lived in, symbolized the temporary nature of their earthly bodies. The presence of God with them emphasized the eternal spirit in them. Faith in the promises of God was always foremost in their minds. To enter the eternal city with its permanent foundation, the architect, being none other than God HIMSELF, this was the goal, that the faith of our fathers aspired to. Faith in the unseen Father and Creator of all things was so ingrained in their character illustrates the impact the presence of God had in their lives.

Luke’s gospel talks of Jesus reaffirming the promises of God to our forefathers. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” He goes on to say, “Sell your possessions and give alms.” Jesus is really telling us to get rid of our obsession with things and to give thought to our neighbours on this journey of life. He continues with, “Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out,” My first thought was, what a strange request? Then, what to put in this purse? And what is it for?” Jesus answered that question with. “Fill it with treasures from heaven where no thief will come near.” Filling this purse with treasures from heaven can only mean pearls from God. Love, peace, patience, kindness, forgiveness, in other words, let the commandments of God be ingrained in us as they were in our forefathers. This purse filled with the attributes demanded by God provide assurance that our goal of eternal life in the City of God is achievable. This is His promise.
Luke must now impart to us this vital warning from Jesus. “Be prepared.” Our time in this tent city (physical lifetime) is extremely short. It is only the spirit within that can evade death. From biblical teachings in Genesis, we know that sin cannot exist in the presence of God. This very temporary existence offers us the opportunity of redemption and life in the spirit.

Jesus, whose only desire is for we to be reunited with the Father, implores us to discard our sinful ways in preparation for just that moment.
Time is the enemy of the body, sin the demise of the spirit.

07/30/2022

Sunday July 31, 2022
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Mary Bastedo

“What is my life really about anyway?” Summer can lead me to reflect on that question, as I contemplate the beauty of nature while sitting beside a lake or in my backyard or on a balcony, or as I enjoy time with family and friends. “What is important in my life? What do I value? What makes me happy” Jesus says in today’s Gospel what’s important is that we be “rich toward God.”

What does that mean? Being rich toward God suggests being generous towards God, ready to offer my gifts to be shared with others. It implies being grateful to God, aware that everything I am and possess is His gift. Being rich toward God implies trust in Him, openness to His desire and a willingness to risk. That kind of trust involves deep listening, being attentive to God’s voice and responsive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in my daily life. Being rich toward God is about seeking the things that are above, as Saint Paul so eloquently says in his letter to the Colossians. “Set your minds on things that are above....your life is hidden in Christ.”

What can we do to develop that richness toward God? A favourite analogy of Jesus is the one about the sower scattering seed on the soil. It’s the rich soil that is best able to receive the Word of God, the soil that has been cleared of rocks and weeds and is well cultivated, fertilized and watered. So, too, we can be intentional about clearing away the rocks and weeds that impede and choke out God’s life within us. We can pay attention to the condition of our soil, cultivating it, adding fertilizer at the right time and watering it daily. Saint Paul says, “Put to death whatever is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.” Those can be the boulders that completely prevent the life of God from abiding in me. The persistent desire for those things can be like weeds, continually popping up in my garden, threatening to choke out my efforts to be good.

We may need help with this. Friends of mine have been eking out a farming existence on land near Bancroft for 40 years, gradually clearing land which is very rocky. In the initial stage they hire a bulldozer to clear out the rocks. Then they use horses to till the land and every year they add fertilizer to get a decent crop of hay or oats. They have learned what their particular soil requires and now their farm is very fruitful. When I visited them this summer I came away with fresh garden vegetables, eggs, maple syrup and homemade jam. They are rich towards God - and others. What can I learn from them? In my life, the bulldozer may be going to confession or choosing to speak to a counsellor to help sort out what’s blocking me. The horses that till the land may be people I reach out to, asking for help. The fertilizer could be a time of retreat and the water daily times of prayer or spiritual reading.

As my heart becomes richer toward God, I’m able to loosen my grip on the possessions that I think define me, things I am holding on to for security. I realize more and more that it is God’s love that defines me and my security is in Him alone. Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are a warning, a caution: “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” May these days of summer help us to realize that what’s most important in our lives is our relationship with God and may we have the grace to let go of anything that prevents us from growing in being rich toward God.

07/20/2022

Sunday July 24, 2022
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Parishioner Reflection
By: Jim McDonald

In today’s gospel reading from Luke Chapter 11, one of Jesus’ disciples asks him to teach them how to pray. Prayer is something that many of us struggle with. Perhaps we cannot find the words, or words that we think will be pleasing or acceptable to God. Perhaps finding the time to pray or the right disposition of mind and heart to pray is difficult with all of life’s business and distractions. I suspect that Jesus’ response somewhat surprised the disciples in its conciseness and yet it is a powerful prayer that reflects Jesus’ love for the Father and God’s great commandment in Deuteronomy 6:4.

Not being from a Catholic family, I attended public school at a time when the “Lord’s Prayer” was still recited by every class at the beginning of every school day. This practice was soon abolished and I quickly forgot to pray. Many years later, when I was just beginning my university education, I was prompted (by a small voice in my head) to try to remember this prayer. At first, I could not recall all of the words and it took some time and persistence before I could recite the entire prayer. Not having any other way to pray, the “Our Father” became my mainstay so to speak. I did not know the significance of Jesus’ words, only that they were Jesus’ words and that was enough.

The Our Father is a very short but very powerful prayer and it highlights the “simple” but profound request of the Lord that we acknowledge him as King in our hearts and lives, in love and truth, that he is our loving Father whose love never fails and knows no limits.

We ask that the Father’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And what is God’s will? Nothing less than that we love God with all of our hearts, with all of our soul, with all of our minds and with all our strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. And as we learned from Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan, our neighbour is anyone and everyone, those whom we meet, who the Lord places in our path or for whom we pray as a community.

We ask Him to give us our daily bread, not just the bread that He knows we need for physical survival, but the heavenly bread that comes down from heaven, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. This is the food that sustains us each day and helps us to become more like Jesus and to love as He loves.

We ask Him to forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us. Ultimately, we ask for the grace to forgive as Jesus forgives, not once, not seven times, but seventy-times seven times; that is, without limit. This is not possible in and of ourselves. The measure with which we give will be given to us in full measure.

We ask that we not be led into temptation and that God will deliver us from evil. We need His grace to remain faithful to God, to be faithful witnesses and to persevere in difficult times, in a world that shouts “there is no God” and would have us do whatever we want.

These are certainly difficult times in which we live and many people are afraid and in despair. The Lord’s Prayer is a source of hope and trust in God’s mercy, love, consolation and providence. When we do not know how to pray or cannot find the words to pray, we can still our hearts in God’s presence and pray the Our Father in trust and hope. The Lord is faithful and hears our prayer.
I urge everyone (myself included), especially the young as they seek to know and understand who they are and what is God’s purpose for them, to simply 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. Amen.”

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit will respond in ways we cannot imagine