Gospel: October 9, 2024
27th Week in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 3 / (Green/Red/White)
St. Denis, bishop & companions, martyrs / St. John Leonardi, priest
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 117: 1bc, 2
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
1st Reading: Galatians 2: 1-2, 7-14
After 14 years, I, again, went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and Titus came with us. Following a revelation, I went, to lay before them the gospel that I am preaching to the pagans. I had a private meeting with the leaders—lest I should be working, or have worked, in a wrong way.
They recognized that I have been entrusted to give the Good News to the pagan nations, just as Peter has been entrusted to give it to the Jews. In the same way that God made Peter the apostle of the Jews, he made me the apostle of the pagans.
James, Cephas and John acknowledged the graces God gave me. Those men, who were regarded as the pillars of the Church, stretched out their hand to me and Barnabas, as a sign of fellowship; we would go to the pagans, and they, to the Jews. We should only keep in mind, the poor among them. I have taken care to do this.
When, later, Cephas came to Antioch, I confronted him, since he deserved to be blamed. Before some of James’ people arrived, he used to eat with non-Jewish people. But when they arrived, he withdrew, and did not mingle anymore with them, for fear of the Jewish group. The rest of the Jews followed him in this pretense, and even Barnabas was part of this insincerity. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas publicly: If you, who are Jewish, agreed to live like the non-Jews, setting aside the Jewish customs, why do you, now, compel the non-Jews to live like Jews?
Gospel: Luke 11: 1-4
One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:
Father, hallowed be your name, may your kingdom come, give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong, and do not bring us to the test.”
Reflection:
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Today’s Gospel tells of the Lucan version of the “Our Father,” the longer version of which is in Matthew (cf. Mt 6:9-13). In today’s Gospel, Luke provides a short introduction telling how Jesus himself was praying in a certain place. Afterward, one of his disciples requested that Jesus would teach them how to pray. We may reflect not only on our need to pray but also on our need to ask the Lord so that he may teach us how to really pray as we ought.
Moreover, the said request made by one of Jesus’ disciples was born out of the fact that they saw Jesus’ example. Jesus immersed himself in prayer. The disciple who requested that they may be taught by Jesus how to pray also mentioned John the Baptist who also taught his disciples to pray. Hence, both Jesus and John the Baptist taught their respective disciples by example. Prayer is an act of relating with God that can be taught and learned. Do we still bear witness to a life of prayer? Do we teach prayer to our children by example?
