11TH THURSDAY HOMILY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

11TH THURSDAY HOMILY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: HOW TO PRAY

BY: Bishop Gerald M. Musa

2 Cor 11:1-11; Psalm 111:1-4, 7-8; Matt 6:7-15

Prayer is not an opportunity to display eloquence, grammar, and phonetics, but a way to strengthen our relationship with God. Jesus says, “In praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Therefore, prayer must not be noisy, meaningless, empty, or a multiplication of words.

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In speaking about effective prayers, St. Francis de Sales says, “Do not distress yourself about prayers. It is not always necessary to employ words, even inwardly; it is enough to raise your heart and let it rest in our Lord, to look lovingly up toward this divine Lover of our souls, for between lovers the eyes speak more eloquently than the tongue.”

Prayer is not just expressing our personal needs to God, but also expressing our communal needs as a family, community, nation, and corporate entity. Prayer cannot be reduced to requests for material needs while neglecting our spiritual needs. In praying, we seek God’s mercy and ask for the grace to be merciful, we submit ourselves to His will; we entrust ourselves to His deliverance, seek strength to conquer evil, and trust in His providence.

The Our Father (Pater Noster) is a prayer that reminds us that we have a common Father, who is God, and that we have a common bond as children of the same Father.

How effective is our prayer?

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