Will Jesus Take it All Away?

In this week's news, Jesus announced he will provide a spiritual bailout package. The strong moral decline has been caused by believers who have defaulted on their baptismal promises. Seriously though, unlike some working-class people, Jesus demands responsibility and that is a central theme in this week's Mass readings.

This week's readings revolve around the analogy of the vineyard. In the first reading, Isaih compares the Israelites to a vineyard. God has made preparations and have given the Israelites all that they need to serve him. But behold, Israel has produced "wild grapes". In other words, Israel has screwed up. Within the context of all 3 readings, we can see that God is displeased with the people he has entrusted his grace with. In the Gospel reading, the tenants (us-the people of God) make very poor use of the master's property. Despite the fact that the tenants (us) have been given all they need to proper, they act in an evil manner. The chief priests and elders know what justice calls for: "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus replies, "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." Personally, I don't want all that I have been given to be taken away from me. I don't want to waste what God has given me and few people do. These readings suggest that there are terrible consequences if we "do not produce fruit".

In the second reading, Paul tells us to "have no anxiety at all". He recommends that we pray and "the God of peace will be with you." This week's commentary focuses on prayer. Why do we pray? How do we pray? How does prayer protect us from being "evil tenants", and how can prayer keep us from losing everything that God has given us? There is commentary following the 2nd reading. The rest of the readings are at the end.


Reading II
Phil 4:6-9

Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.

Why We Should Pray

First of all, why is prayer important? Prayer is our relationship with God.1 After all, we can't go tandem bicycling with God, or play video games with him, so we must talk to him instead. Prayer is the encounter of God's desire for us, and our desire for him.2 Prayer is a way to experience union with God.3 Prayer is a way we nourish our relationship with God, just as conversation nourishes any of our friendships. First, we will discuss thanksgiving and petition, quality prayer, and finally, the peace and "fruits of prayer". In all of this, we shall learn how to be good "tenants" and avoid losing what God has given us.

Saying Thanks and Asking for Favors

In this reading, Paul includes thanksgiving as an important part of prayer. Why is thanksgiving important? First of all, it is God's will. The bible says, "In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."4 But why is it God's will? For one thing, expressing thanksgiving brings joy . It makes us happier. Thanksgiving is an expression of truth- the truth that all that we have comes from God. This idea of all things coming from God is a major theme of this week's readings. Thanksgiving gives us joy because it allows us to enjoy life. After all, have you ever been on vacation with one person who is constantly complaining while another person is extremely thankful? Which person is more full of joy? The thankful one of course! So, joy is a "fruit" of the holy spirit.5 That means, that joy becomes a permanent disposition of ours through the grace of the Holy Spirit. This comes largely through prayer. So, constant thanksgiving can make us permanently thankful and therefore, permanently joyful! God wants us to be joyful because he loves us and THAT is why it is God's will that we give thanks constantly.


Paul also says that we should "make our requests known to God". Why should we ask God to do things for us? We ask for God's help because "petitioning" God is an important part of prayer because when we ask for God's help we show that “we are aware of our relationship with God"6 In other words, as we ask God for help, we admit that he is involved in our lives and that we NEED his help. THis is critical to our relationship with God. After all, if we don't think we need him, then, we will go on without him, perhaps straight to hell. John 14:13 says that we give glory to God if we ask for anything in Jesus' name. In other words, asking God for favors admits that God can do anything and therefore asking God for help glorifies him. God wants us to ask for his help. We must do it every day!


To give thanks to God and to ask for his help, is to be a good "tenant" and to remain on the "vine" of life- God.


Quality Prayer


In this reading, Paul says that we should think about what is pure, just, etc. Isn't that what prayer is? In prayer, we think about God who is perfectly pure, just, lovely etc. God is great! With our eyes and hearts focused on someone so beautiful, we will experience "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding". Even popular secular literature admits that we tend to become what we think about most. To pray means to think about God. To think about God brings peace.


"The life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him.”7 Communion can be defined as "intimate communication". How would you like to be in intimate communication with the creator of the universe? That's what prayer is! God desires prayer and he desires communion. On the other hand, the devil despises that we experience communion with God. And so during prayer, we find ourselves distracted (the devil is pleased with this). I remember being at mass one day, and I couldn't stop thinking about fantasy football (an online game where grown men pretend like they are football coaches). During prayer, we experience distraction and in this distraction, we can see our attachment to THINGS and creatures (people).8 We are trying to pray and we find ourselves thinking about money, work, and our significant others. Sometimes, it seems like we are thinking of anything and everything besides God during our prayers! This experience reminds us that we are too attached to the world and not attached enough to God. We are warned in Matt 6:24 that we cannot serve 2 masters, yet continuous distraction and focus on something other than God during prayer can be a sign that we are INDEED trying to serve 2 masters.


The remedy is simple-we must pray more and reduce the amount of time and passion we give to things and people.9 If we are attached to God, we will be be good tenants, and we WILL produce fruit. God will help us do that.


Prayer is Not Enough


In this reading, Paul tells us to "Keep on DOING what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me." Christian life and prayer cannot be separated. Christian prayer involves continual sacrifice. In order to pray, we must turn off the television, be off the phone, and away from people. Christian life is the same way. Christian living involves sacrifice of time, resources, and personal ambitions. So our prayer resembles our christian life and our Christian life looks like our prayers. Paul says "Keep on DOING. Then the God of peace will be with you." So to pray that we will forgive the trespasses of others, and not actually do it, is a waste of time, energy and life. However, if we do what we pray, the peace we experience will be extraordinary. That is the promise of this reading.


Paul says, "keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me." I'm not sure if I've EVER known anyone who had the confidence to say that when talking about life in general. I have, however heard people say things like "daddy smokes, but you shouldn't" or "Yes, I am involved in premarital sex, but you shouldn't be". The reason Paul had the confidence to say "do what I do" was because he practiced what he preached! In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, "yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me." So when Paul hears Jesus saying,"the kingdom of God will be given to a people who produce its fruits." He has no fear. His life and his prayers are the same- both given to God. If we pray unceasingly and live out our prayer life by loving God above ALL THINGS and our neighbor as ourselves, we will have no fear and "the peace of God will be with [us]."


The Point


* prayer is our relationship with God. No prayer means no relationship- period
* constant thanksgiving to God brings joy! that joy can become a permanent part of us!
* we should ask for God's help for every area of our lives. If we don't want to let him into an area of our lives, it's usually because we are sinful in that area, or we are excessively proud (we think we don't need his help)
* prayer is intimate communication with God. This can only bring peace and happiness in life
* distraction in prayer reveals what we are attached to. Without an increased detachment, our prayer life and our Christian life will suffer
* we ask for God's help in prayer, but we must do our part as well, by living the faith by putting God above EVERYTHING and EVERYONE and by treating EVERYONE with love.


Real Life

I spent a year as a missionary. Those missionaries pray constantly. They pray everytime we drive from our home to El Paso. They pray during the drive from El Paso to Mexico. They pray during the work itself in Mexico. They pray all of the time! At first, I thought it was TOO MUCH prayer. But after a while, I began to dislike the prayer a lot less. I began to develop this unfamiliar intimacy with God. Worry and stress started to be replaced by peace, joy, and courage. I made a documentary of this missionary community. Click below to see the 7-minute documentary.God loves us!



1- CCC 2558
2- CCC 2560
3- CCC 2725
4- 1 Thessalonians 5:18
5- CCC 1832
6- CCC 2629
7- CCC 2565
8- CCC 2729
9- Loving people is what God asks us to do, but if we are more attached to a person than we are to God, we cannot serve God.

Reading 1
Is 5:1-7

Let me now sing of my friend,
my friend's song concerning his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside;
he spaded it, cleared it of stones,
and planted the choicest vines;
within it he built a watchtower,
and hewed out a wine press.
Then he looked for the crop of grapes,
but what it yielded was wild grapes.

Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard:
What more was there to do for my vineyard
that I had not done?
Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes,
did it bring forth wild grapes?
Now, I will let you know
what I mean to do with my vineyard:
take away its hedge, give it to grazing,
break through its wall, let it be trampled!
Yes, I will make it a ruin:
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
but overgrown with thorns and briers;
I will command the clouds
not to send rain upon it.
The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
he looked for judgment, but see, bloodshed!
for justice, but hark, the outcry!

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20

R. (Is 5:7a) The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
A vine from Egypt you transplanted;
you drove away the nations and planted it.
It put forth its foliage to the Sea,
its shoots as far as the River.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Why have you broken down its walls,
so that every passer-by plucks its fruit,
The boar from the forest lays it waste,
and the beasts of the field feed upon it?
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
O LORD, God of hosts, restore us;
if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
R. The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.


Gospel
Mt 21:33-43

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking,
'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

Answering the Call and Getting Paid- God's Call For Us

This week, the stock market had it's biggest daily drop since the September 11th attacks. Some people are even afraid of an extended recession also known as a depression. This week's Gospel talks about the employer who unlike the stock market, always pays up. That employer is God.

This week’s readings are about how God calls us. The 1st reading describes what we are called to do. The Gospel, talks about how, when, and by whom we are called. Finally, the 2nd reading, tells us how to respond to the call properly. This picture also reminds me of the face we often make when God tells us that we have to STOP sinning.

Reading 1
Is 55:6-9

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

God Calls

Isaih says that God calls us to forsake our wicked ways and to turn to the Lord. Quite simply, that is the fundamental command that God gives us. That is the fundamental call of all Christians. Jesus said “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So many Christians, especially those who want to take their faith up a level are asking, “what does God want me to do?” More fundamentaly important than any charitable work, is God’s demand that we keep the commandments. Immediately after speaking the fundamental mission of the believer, Isaih talks about forgiveness. Why is that? Why is forgiveness such an important part of God's call to us?


Why does lack of forgiveness prevent us from answering God’s call? First of all, does God not ask us in his central prayer to forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us? Forgiveness is an indispensable party of daily, Christian life. Lack of forgiveness, is a not just a speed bump, but an impenetrable WALL between us and God. We can't answer God's call if we don't forgive because lack of forgiveness shows mistrust in God. How can we have a relationship with God if we don't trust him? We can't!

In the Lord’s prayer, we are told to forgive those who trespass against us. That includes forgiving OURSELVES! When we sin, we sin against God and we sin against ourselves. Our sin makes us afraid and angry. WE become angry towards ourselves and God. We fear ourselves and we fear God. Forgiveness allows us to rely on God’s mercy as Isaih says in the first reading. Forgiveness frees us of the anger and fear that sin creates. Isaih goes on to say that God’s ways are much greater than ours. His mercy and forgiveness is much greater than ours. We have serious difficulty forgiving ourselves and others. God’s mercy is so great that we can call on him for help. Once we take that step, we are well prepared to accept God’s call. We put our trust in the Lord and we give up our unnecessary baggage (unforgiveness).

God calls us to to turn away from sinfulness, and towards him. He asks us to forgive ourselves and others as we rely on the mercy of God. If we don’t do this, we cannot answer God’s call to us. Now let's look at the call from God.

Gospel
Mt 20:1-16a

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

The Gift of Salvation

This gospel is about how God offers salvation to all. Jesus uses this parable to teach this important lesson about God. Those people who the landowner calls are those standing in the streets. These people are probably not the most powerful people in the city. These are the people who are desperate and perhaps the less desired workers. It is not that these workers are great that they are offered wages. It is because of the landowner’s generosity. Just like the landowner, God calls and offers wages (salvation) to everyone. Salvation is free of charge- even to lowly sinners like ourselves.

So God calls everyone at different times in their lives. Some people have been living holy lives since birth and there are some who answer God’s call late in life. All are recipients of God’s same generous salvation . That is an important message in this parable. Equal wages in this gospel reminds us that we are not saved by God because we have done anything to earn it. We all get salvation (the same wage) because God offers it to us because of his generosity.

Some of the workers complain because they thought they would get more. This is very similar to the Gospel account in Luke 9:46 where the disciples are arguing over which one of them was the greatest. Jesus says, “the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest." It takes real humility to admit that all we have comes from God and the salvation and forgiveness we have received from God comes free of charge. So, no matter how good our behavior is, and when God calls us, we are not better than anyone else.

Now, that we know that God saves us for free, what is he calling us to do?

Reading II
Phil 1:20c-24, 27a

Brothers and sisters:
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.

Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.

How to Answer the Call

Paul says that to answer his call is to “conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ” or to do what God (the landowner) says. So God is asking us to answer his call by obeying his commandments. In Matthew 5:19, Jesus says that : whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. God's calling as described in this week's readings is very simple. We need to follow the commandments. We have to love God, and each other- that is our calling.


The Point
· God is calling ALL of us to turn away from sin, and turn to the Lord
· It is impossible to turn to the Lord without first asking God forgiveness and forgiving others as well as ourselves. Forgiveness shows that we believe and trust in God’s mercy
· In God’s call, he offers to save us. He does so free of charge. No one who receives God’s forgiveness and help is greater than another.
· God calls us to obey his commandments.

Real Life

This week, I was talking to my mom and she told me that she had been going to church for 30 years and never really had faith in God. That didn't really surprise me. I have been concerned about my mom for a long time now. I don't think she's ever been to confession and this has been a big concern of mine for a long time. After all, what will happen to her soul if she does not reconcile with God before her death? She is my mom, and I want her to go to heaven!

On Sunday, she listened to a priest talking on television about the faith, and she felt her eyes being opened to God. She asked me and my dad some fundamental questions about the faith and said that she was very happy and finally felt like she was understanding God better.

I was so happy because I had been praying fervently for her for the last year, and yesterday, she took a big step towards God and towards heaven without anyone forcing God down her throat. It’s true that God does call some people at “the end of the day” but, we must persist in prayer until the end our lives and even after we die. We must ask God to help us trust in him and turn to he “who is generous and forgiving”.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18

R. (18a) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

"Olympic Gold" - Training by Prayer

Olympic Gold This week, the world is watching the finest athletes show the fruits of lifetimes of training and discipline. The hard work might culminate in glory on top of the medal stand or the agony of defeat. One Swedish weightlifter threw his medal away- leading spectators talking steroids and javellin throwers criticizing his throwing technique). For us normal folks, the Olympics means just another week of getting fatter on our couches and assuring our girlfriends that we are superior basketballers, soccer players, and water poloers* than those so-called Olympians. Also, the Olympics is a great time to show that democracy is better than communism by dominating the communists in the trampoline event (yes, that's an actual event). At the Olympics, China hopes to prove its emergence as a world superpower by conquering the most dangerous territory in the world- the badminton courts.

*(you owe me a 5-cent royalty for every time you use the word water poloer)

But seriously, this week's commentary will focus on a relatively unknown champion of prayer, the Canaanite woman. There is commentary following the Gospel. The other readings are at the end.


Gospel Mt 15:21-28 At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.



The Source of Evil

The Canaanite woman (Canaanite) shows her faith immediately when she names the cause of her problem- a demon. A couple of months ago, I wrote that sin is what we should fear.³ It is not the devil that we should fear because he is no match for God. It is our COOPERATION with the devil that we should fear. Ultimately, he cannot force us into hell without our consent. But, knowing that this world is ruled by the devil and that "he is author and instigator of all evils"¹ IS important. It is important because many of us think that we are enemies of each other. I used to go to abortion clinics to pray, thinking that the abortion doctors were our enemies. I soon realized that they are VICTIMS. They have been deceived by the Father of Lies and are in need of our prayers. And that goes along with Jesus' command to "love our enemies". The Canaanite knew what afflicted her daughter. She could have blamed her husband, her physician, or the beef salesman at the marketplace. Instead of naming them as enemies, she knew that "our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.²

^{3 http://massexcitement.blogspot.com/search/label/fear}

Enemies

This is a very important distinction because we Christians have difficulties with people all of the time. If we think that our brothers and sisters are our enemies, we will treat them accordingly. In some cases, we end up killing our brothers and sisters because we see them as enemies. Another reason why it is important to identify the enemy is so that we can defend ourselves against him on our way to heaven. Jesus calls the devil the Father of Lies. The devil's first words to Eve were lies which ultimately lead to her death and and the death of billions of humans through sin. How can knowing this information help us in our relationship with God? Our relationship with God depends on what we do. He has already died on the cross for us and will always love us to the maximum. During this life, we can choose how to react to God's love and this will determine the quality of our relationship with him. We love him back by following his commandments. The devil wants us to spend an eternity in hell with him. His game plan is to tell us not to believe what God says. Here is why it important to recognize the devil and his works in this life, and here is how we can recognize his lies:

Recognizing Lies Easily

If someone (always a victim of the devil's lies) tells us to do something that is against Jesus teachings and against the Church's teachings, we can recognize it as a lie and an attempt of the devil to send us to hell. Some saints have been known to be masters of discerning whether something is coming from the devil or from God and here is a simple and powerful way to tell where something is coming from. When people tell us that :

• we don't have to attend church
• we can get divorced if we want
• it's okay to have pre-maritial sex as long as you love the person
• you don't have to pray in order to know God
• it's okay to hoard our wealth rather than share it

We can recognize immediately that these are lies spun by the devil and thus we can quietly and confidently ignore these lies. God wants us to know his enemy and how he operates. The Canaanite knew this. Another important thing to note is that this conversation she had with Jesus was a prayer. Isn't that what prayer is- a conversation with God? And so who does the Canaanite run to when her daughter is in trouble? She asks not her friends, doctors, or WebMD to help, but rather she goes straight to God with her concern. We should learn from this and seek God in prayer when we need help. Let's look at modern-day prayer

Praying Today

For almost all of my life, I prayed before some meals and sometimes at night for 30 seconds. This prayer had very little effect on my relationship with God and I never felt like it made us any closer. We are reminded in this Gospel that prayer is a conversation with a person- Jesus (and the Father, Holy Spirit - God). Now what if I started calling my best friend for 30 seconds every other day and before some meals for 30 seconds? What would happen to our relationship? It would dwindle down to nothing just like the people we send Christmas cards to once a year without talking to them. My friend would get pissed if I rarely spoke to him and for only 60 seconds at a time maximum. God wants MORE than a pretend relationship like this.

Dry Prayers

What if every time my friend came over to my house I picked up a book off the shelf and started reading it to him? He would probably get annoyed and it would not be as a good as actual conversation. This is what it sounds like to God when we recite prayers like the "bless us oh Lord for these thy gifts...." and "our father who art in heaven..." without even thinking about God. These prayers in themselves are good and I pray them myself routinely. But these prayers are not enough. God is a person. He wants a relationship. We have to spend TIME talking to him just like any other friend. When I started to pray at length to God, I found that it got better and better. So did our relationship. It reminds me of playing the violin. After I play for 30 minutes straight, it gets easier and easier and soon I am in rhythm. Not much later, I get on fire with the violin and it sounds great! The same goes for prayer. If we want to know God, we have to talk to him at length. Just like with any relationship, we have to work hard like the best Olympians- not like couch potatoes.

The Point

• All evil originates from the Devil. He is our enemy- not our brothers and sisters
• We should pray for our Earthly enemies. They are victims of the devil's lies.
• EVERYTHING we hear that is against Jesus and the Church's teachings (they are the same) is a lie. We shouldn't do what liars tell us to do
• Praying for 60 seconds per day is not enough
• God is a person. We have to work at our relationship with him and spend time talking to him
• formal prayers are not enough for a relationship with God. God desires sincere conversation with him.
• 8 hours of prayer a day is not necessary, but prayer often improves as the conversations get longer.

Real Life

During the last 11 months, I spent a lot of time visiting jail inmates and the poor. Every time we participated in these ministries, we prayed a long exorcism prayer to St. Michael asking for protection against the devil and his angels. This prayer was recommended by Pope John Paul II. The man who suggested this prayer during our ministries was very aware of the devil's hatred of the ministries we participated in. Anyhow, we missionaries were constantly aware of the enemy and said prayers against him. A few months ago, I was doing my regular jail visit in Juarez. When we entered the secured area near the cells, we heard the VERY loud screaming of a young lady in custody. She was wrestling very frantically with some cops and screaming "release me, release me!!!!!!" Even after they put her on the ground by herself, she continued to scream and scream. This was very unusual. Not long afterwards one person in our group was preaching to the inmates when suddenly, I saw some people carry out one of the inmates by his hands and feet as he yelled and struggled. At that point, it seemed clear that the devil was very upset with our presence that day. This type of thing (the nature and quantity of screaming and carrying a guy out of the cell) was very unusual. Soon after the man was carried out, we prayed right outside of the cells and asked the inmates to join us in a prayer out loud. I felt grace and soon I was weeping. I noticed that many of the inmates were weeping which was unusual. God was doing something great for all of us on that day. When one of the missionaries laid hands on the inmates, they started staggering, as though they were about to faint and they all cried. I think the devil was mad that we were there that day because God had plans to deliver tremendous graces. Actually, that day, we were short-handed for the first time in my memory. Perhaps God wanted to remind us to rely on him and would provide us with the help we needed. Just this past week, my mom lost her purse and she was very upset. She started crying so, I pulled out my copy of the exorcism prayer almost immediately after I prayed it, she found the purse.

God Loves Us!

Click here to view and print the prayer http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/3543/exorcism.htm

Pope JP 2 recommends the prayer
http://www.tldm.org/News6/exorcism.htm

1- CCC 2854
2- Ephesians 6:12
3- http://massexcitement.blogspot.com/search/label/fearr

Reading 1 Is 56:1, 6-7 Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants— all who keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R. O God, let all the nations praise you! May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

Reading II Rom 11:13-15, 29-32 Brothers and sisters: I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.