16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 19, 2020
Ps 86:5-6,9-10,15-16
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071920.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2020/2020-07-19
For we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
Prayer is a relationship and not some expressions by language or list of intentions. When a faithful soul or community of faithful souls enter in to a relationship with God’s love, a communication or a interactions or a dialogue of two spirits take place and this dialogue is called Prayer. The Vocal form of Prayers are always patterned or obligatory or coming from our thoughts or mind and always deceptive and difficult to discern the intentions.
The Lords Prayer is a relationship , Jesus enters in to a relationship with the Father in Love and exaltation. We can call it as a Praise and Worship and a dialogue of love of intercession. All Intercessions are charity or love comes out from the faithful Soul, so when we enter in Praise , Worship, Repentance, and faith through the Word of God , Intercessions of love towards our Neighbor over flow from our heart and cries out to the Father of love in Sighs and groans expressed in pain. These sighs may not be uttered in Words but a state of great Sorrow and pain. The outpouring love is the Holy spirit who joins with our Spirit and purifies our intentions and offers them to the Spirit of God . The outward signs can be of same as the signs Jesus went through at the Garden of Gethsemane like tears , internal pain , great distress in Spirit, great grieve , normal sweat or sweat of blood or may lead to Stigmata like St.Francis the Assisi and Padre Pio .
All prayers of Jesus was a relationship with the Father , it may be prayer of Praise or thanksgiving or intercession or petitions or repentance. The language used in the relationship is not even a sign but only a media so we must be very careful when we do vocal prayers. If we evaluate the Prayer of Pharisee and Publican , the Tax Collector did not consider himself to raise his eyes and beating his breast calls for mercy or enters in to a relationship with the Father in repentance but the Pharisee makes a big list of vocal prayer of all his good deeds. The publican went back justified and not the Pharisee. The Tax Collector by virtue was a sinner and broke the Commandments and deserved death and Pharisee kept all the Commandments and deserved life . The publican entered in to a relationship with the father by humbling himself but the Pharisee justified his actions in self righteousness. So the Prayer is an act of love or a relationship with the Father of love and when we enter in to this relationship , the love of God unites with the God of love and the Lord justifies us or a miracle takes place or we are made righteous or holy.
Gift of tongues is a Charismatic intercessory gift which must be used for others for the purification of soul but not the same as What St. Paul talks about in today’s second reading. Gift of tongues must be used in love , and the utterances must be inspired by love, otherwise if we make some noise in our mouth, it does not come from the Spirit but from our mind like any other noise or speech.
Prayer : Lord teach us how to pray . Amen.
PRAYER REFLECTIONS 