TGIMMOctober9

October 9

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, October 9

LUKE 11:1-4
I teach you a very important prayer.

Prayerthoughts
a. Jesus once again is in prayer as he is so often in the Gospels. In my prayer life, am I spending enough time thinking directly of the Lord and what he has done for me?

b. We want to know “how to pray” as the Apostles asked Jesus. Jesus gives an “informal prayer,” that is one un-memorized, a prayer from the heart. Studying prayer might be helpful.. perhaps the Catechism's presentation, numbers 2558 ff.

c. The first part of Jesus’ prayer is praise of God. Do I praise the Lord enough for all the good things of the world and my life?

d. The second part is a prayer of petition. In my prayer of petition, do I spend too much time on myself rather than others?

e. The Lord calls us to pray for ourselves, in which we should ask for our “daily bread,” that is, the Lord’s help as we live our day today. As I look at my day today or tomorrow, when can I seek the Lord’s presence more?

f. In the prayer for ourselves, the Lord tells us to forgive. First of all, we must ask for forgiveness, that is, we must recognize our sinfulness. What especially should I show sorrow for in my life?

g. Part of the forgiveness is forgiving others. Do I criticize other’s imperfections too much in my thoughts or words?

h. Finally, the Lord says that we should pray for protection from the evil around us. Have I allowed the love of material things take over too much of my thinking?

i. My prayerthoughts…

Today I will write down each phrase of Luke’s rendition of the Our Father, and write my own reflection.

Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

THE OUR FATHER

+ In the letter to the Galatians, chapter 2, today’s reading, Paul is referring to the so-called “Council of Jerusalem” found described in Acts 15

- here it is told from Paul’s point of view as he is justifying himself to the Galatians

- an indication of how the early church had to struggle with Jewish laws

- even Peter was wrong, and even Paul later on

- all of this indicating the growing pains of the new church

+ One thing that the new church had to do was pray

- Luke recalls his own rendition of what we have come to call the “Our Father”

- as we go about our daily lives, the “concepts” of the prayer are extremely important, since they are Jesus’ thoughts on the way we should pray

- praise of God

- acknowledgment that God is much more important than we are

- and that we want to follow the thoughts of the Kingdom that Jesus taught

- therefore, the importance of formal prayer—as we are doing here

- petitioning God, but at the same time working toward that end

- praying that the virtues of the Kingdom will be ours

- praying for sustenance even as we work for sustenance

- praying against temptation/sin even as we make efforts to stay away from sin

- petitioning God especially for forgiveness even as we work toward it

- acknowledging the fact that we sin before God

- we really do make mistakes

- and we know that others do too, and so we are willing to forgive them

+ This shorter form of the prayer is probably closer to Jesus’ words (than Matthew’s in the Sermon on the Mount)

- and the prayer itself is a significant prayer close to Jesus’ exact words, and therefore a prayer that should never be said without thought, although it is so well-known that we do just that

- make it a practice to recite it with thought

+ Paul recalls the struggles of the early church which was to struggle even more

- if only prayer were more of a guiding force throughout the centuries, the church would have fared better than it did.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Senorita" -- Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello

THE CONFUSION OF LOVE

The Gospel

MARK 6:19-25

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he like to listen to him. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias's own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, 'Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." He swore many things to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom." She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for? She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."

Gospelthink: Herod was a self-centered man who could not refrain from evil. I should study my own selfishness and see some areas where I an reform.

"I love it when you call me Senorita," the lady of the relationship sings, "I wish I could pretend I don’t need you, but every touch is true. Oh, I should be running. You keep me coming for you." The man in the relationship sings, "Sapphire moonlight, we danced for hours in the sand. Her body fit right in my hands." And she sings, "When you call me Senorita, I wish it wasn’t so hard to leave you. Locked in the hotel, there’s some things that never change. You say, ‘We’re just friends.’”

The account of John the Baptist's execution have many interesting people about whom one could spend some time for spiritual thought. One of them would be the young girl who performed the dance. She was obviously very good at what she did, but confused as could be seen from her interaction with the king and mother. She no doubt had a love for her mother who was not at all directed by the Hebrew law, but nonetheless she was confused enough to follow her mother's wishes.

Confusion on the part of the young person is the operative word in this whole scenario. She was taken up with the passion of the moment and lost sight of what she knew was right. Perhaps such is the thought of the young people who are sung about in Shawn Mendes' and Camila Cabello's song "Senorita." The young people are confused by the passion of the moment, and try to find an answer to their situation by giving themselves to love when true love was really not present yet.

Their confusion can be seen in their internal thinking which is brought out in the song. "I should be running," the girl sings and "I wish it wasn't so hard to leave you." As usual the physical part of their relationship feels good and seems to satisfy their immediate desires, but commitment cannot happen with confused feelings and thoughts.

That is an important lesson for young people. The feelings of love are very different from a forever commitment to love. Generally speaking, the young person will have the feelings of love first as they move into maturity. Only after the couple have been around for a while and worked at discovering the love they need will they understand true love. Only then will the confusion concerning love cease.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, we are often confused as we grow out of immaturity. Help us move toward maturity in everything that we do, especially in the area of love so that our lives will be less confusing. Be with us, we pray.

+++++

GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: When love is immature, young love can be very confusing.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Senorita" teach young people?
2. In the Gospel story, the daughter of Herodias is described as "confused." Give your own definition of "confusion."
3. In today's language that young people use, what does "We're just friends" imply?
4. If a mother should ask a son or daughter to do something wrong, how should a young person act?
5. In your opinion, why has the rule for sexual involvement, that is, no sex before marriage, been dismissed by our society?
6. Is it always true that commitment cannot happen with confused feelings? Yes or no and why?
7. What is your definition of commitment in love?