YEAR A: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT (1)
YEAR A: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT
HOMILY THEME: PERFECT PRAYER
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
HOMILY: (Mt.6:7-15) Tuesday of the First We
Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven
YEAR A: HOMILY FOR TUESDAY OF THE 1ST WEEK OF LENT
HOMILY THEME: PERFECT PRAYER
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
HOMILY: (Mt.6:7-15) Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
In today’s Gospel Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. What He taught was what we now call “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Our Father” to some. It is considered a perfect prayer because it came from Jesus and it contains all the basic things we need to say to God or talk about with Him. It begins with recognizing God and submitting to His holy will. Furthermore, the prayer tells us to depend on God and appreciate His forgiving heart at the same time promising to share that forgiveness to others too. Finally, as in last Sunday’s Gospel, we pray that we will be free from temptations and evil.
Why pray? God told us to, that is why. But there must be something very important in it. The fact that our Lord Jesus Himself also prayed, should tell us it is vital to our relationship with God. We can compare it to the importance of communication with our love ones. But it should be more. While we should have a loving relationship with God, we must never forget He is God, omnipotent and ever present.The prayer taught by the Lord Jesus was consistent with that. While we can be close to God, even familiar with Him, we should always be aware of His being God. Jesus, called Him “Abba” meaning “Daddy” or “dad”. He was intimate with the Father, yet He was constantly obedient to Him. He was aware of His mission and He knew that He was never alone. The Father was always there making sure that His will will be done.
The first reading (Isaiah 55: 10-11) should clarify this more. The prophet compared the Word of God to the rain and snow which falls down on earth and do not return until they had served their purpose of watering the earth and making it fertile and fruitful. The same with the Word of God which will touch everyone’s heart and bear fruit on those who will accept it. The Word of God is the will of God. Jesus, the Word of God made flesh has come to fulfil the will of the Father. True to His mission, He went on with His ministry and teach, made miracles, suffered, died, and resurrected. All the time He was doing and living His ministry, He always took time to be alone and pray to the Father in heaven. He knew He had to be always connected with the Father. For Him, only the will of the Father was His mission.
God has also sent us on a mission by virtue of our baptism. We are expected to proclaim the Word of God (the will of God), pray for each other, and care for each other. Like Jesus, we ought to be always connected with the Father. We always need to pray.
