Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6, 7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
‘Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’
“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
Don’t babble
1. To be listened to. I always think of the phrase: “may your life become prayer and may your prayer become life”. That is how one learns to live life in the presence of God. Many people say, “I don’t have time to pray” and I always like to clarify that your time can already be a prayer if it’s a constant conversation with God, like the beating of the heart. Prayer is not a space apart in your life, but being aware at every moment that you are with God and that together you live life. The key to prayer is that you manage to lead your own life with the Lord and that you can change many things through prayer. When you pray, everything shines.
2. Forgiveness. It’s difficult to forgive and, in order to do so, you must first go through a process of prayer and spiritual growth. It’s never easy to forgive and to forgive from the heart you need to work on your heart. Tell the Lord in your prayer what you need to work on in order to forgive and, together with a heart that is filled with peace through prayer, you will achieve forgiveness. Forgiveness and prayer are two sides of the same coin.
3. Our Father. It’s the key prayer of our Christian life; it’s the most complete prayer because everything is contained in the words of the Lord’s Prayer. Today, I invite you to say the prayer slowly and meditate the words you express because they will stay in your heart. I’m going to meditate on “deliver us from evil” because I feel that in these last two months I have been tossed by problems all around me and every time I do something good, there are rumors and even misunderstandings. So, during the day I’ll repeat the phrase “deliver me from all evil” because of course the enemy will tempt us and attack us in order to prevent us from bringing souls to God. But I’m sure that with this prayer and with your intercessory prayer for me we’ll always overcome these difficult situations. Which words will remain in your heart today? Which phrase that calls your attention or that you need the most are you going to choose today?
Something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
