By Kristine Schroeder
Lessons Learned
“Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we ourselves, do not know.” St. Padre Pio
St. Pope Paul VI once said, “The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer!” The Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time was no exception. First, in Exodus 17:8-13, Moses is faced with battling Amalek and his army. Knowing Joshua has a better sense of who should wage the fight, Moses assigns him the task of rallying the troops. Meanwhile, Moses ascends to the top of a hill with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses keeps his hands raised, the good guys are winning. However, Moses grows weary. Aaron and Hur then step in and support Moses’ hands. In the end, Aaron’s army is successful. Their actions represent the needs of our own Church. When all of us implement the mission we are called to do, our parish and the Catholic Church worldwide stand firm in the face of oppression.
In the second reading, 2 Timothy 3:14-4.2, St. Paul makes our mission clear. He tells us, the Church, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” The Scriptures are our source of truth about the moral and social issues of today and forever. Our duty is to take the time to prayerfully read and discern God’s precepts set forth by Jesus. Then, as Paul says, “I charge you … proclaim the Word: be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient, convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.”
We are not only responsible for studying God’s word, but more importantly, for sharing it in a loving manner with everyone we encounter throughout our day. At times that may be through words, but more often people come to know Christ through our everyday behaviors and choices.
Finally, Luke’s Gospel 18:1-8 reminds us that we cannot accomplish this mission alone. Just as Moses needed helped from Joshua, Aaron, Hur and an army willing to fight his battle, so too we need a communion of saints and angels and the grace of God to succeed in our vocation. Where do we find such celestial assistance? Prayer is our answer.
In the parable of the day’s Gospel, a widow persistently badgers a dishonest judge “who neither feared God nor respected any human being.” That did not deter her efforts. She persisted. Eventually, the judge ruled in her favor, not because he felt any moral compunction or empathy for the woman. Rather, he merely wanted to rid himself of the annoyance.
God, unlike the judge, is just, empathetic and true to his word. If we ask, he will answer us. The catch is we must ask as a child to his father understanding that God gives us what he knows is best. Too many times, we are disappointed or discouraged because we did not receive what we requested.
A loved one is dying, and we asked God to save him. A child has drifted away from the Church, and we plead with God to bring her back. There is tension in our marriage, a friend has deserted us, we did not get the job we wanted. Where is God? Why doesn’t he answer our prayers? Do what the widow did. Persist!
The answer is also present in the “Our Father.” Listen carefully to the words we say. “Thy will be done.” God is omnipotent. His plan is flawless even when it is painful or disappointing for us. Our prayers often seem unanswered because we ask as adults who believe we are in charge. God desires that we pray with the innocence and trust of a child. At some point, we will understand the response given.
Recently, I heard an exemplary explanation about the purpose of prayer. “The goal of prayer is to sync our will with God’s will.” Interestingly, Luke’s final words in this Gospel were, “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
When we pray, do we trust that God will answer us in the best possible way? The Mass offers us the greatest source of grace to aid us in praying with faith. Don’t miss this perfect prayer!