The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Today's readings provide us with two instances of weariness when it comes to prayer. Moses hands grow physically tired, and a judge grows emotionally tired. While the fatigue is different, the message is the same. Even when we find ourselves weary, we must pray. But how? How is it we should pray? What should we do and who should we be? We must learn how to pray. https://thefriar.org/2022/10/16/learn-how-to-pray-because-pray-you-must/ #thefriar #Catholic #homily #learntopray #prayer #silence #listentoGod

What can often be forgotten is that evil actions have damaging effects not only for us, but for others. More than that, we see in everyday life that it can be the case that this damage can last for generations. While it is not the case that we are responsible for the failings of others, the effects of the evil actions can cause us and others to become broken, and that brokenness can last for a long time. That is why we need to seek the healing that only Jesus can provide, and to celebrate often the sacrament of confessions.

There was a real challenge for the early Church. As the gospel message was accepted by Gentiles, what requirements would there be? Would they have to follow the Jewish Law? Would they have to follow kosher rules? Did following Jesus mean they had to follow the Law? Paul indicates that true freedom is not about what we do, but more about what Jesus does for us.

It can be easy for us not to realize just what a curse it was to have leprosy. It meant a person was completely cut off from society. It meant a person was forced to beg for survival. It meant a person was thought of as having done some terrible evil because they had become a leper. So why is it Naaman would not do the simple and ordinary to be healed? And how is it that wen God does extraordinary things for the lepers, they could not see how critical it was to be grateful? And yet it can be that way with us too.

If you look carefully at the gospels and Jesus, he often uses ordinary examples to help us to understand complex things. He tells parables using everyday examples. Today he uses the love of parents for children as a way to think a little bit about God's love for us. It is a reminder that Jesus always wants to show us how to live more completely out of our relationship with him.

There is a critical importance in good friends. In my life as an educator, it is true and consistent. The kid you really worry about because of bad behavior invariably finds another kid in the same situation. They become friends. And while sometimes those friendships can be really great, at other times the two friends lead each other astray. The spiritual life can be like that too. There are those friends who lead us closer to God, and others who tempt us to move away from God. Remember,

"Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth. Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; those who fear God will find them. Those who fear the Lord enjoy stable friendship, for as they are, so will their neighbors be." Sirach 6:14-17

Pope Paul VI is often quoted saying, "If you want peace, work for justice." In other words, if people do not have even the basic things they have a right to, like food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and the means to get these things, then of course things will be unsettled. Saint John Baptist de la Salle saw the issues he faced in his day and responded by providing the means to get these things. For a Lasallian, this is the way we are to live life.

In today's first reading and in the saint we celebrate for Mass, we encounter two people with incredible stories. Saint Paul was a really, really, really serious Jew. He says he went far beyond his contemporaries in the practice of the faith. Francis was a man who had a difficult relationship with his father. Both men, however, changed their lives.

They realize that who they were did not determine who they would become. And the legacy they left us is really quite amazing. Saint Paul was the amazing evangelist of the Gentiles, and Saint Francis was the amazing founder of a religious order. Your story does not define who it is that you will become. You are in control of your life and the choices you make. Like Saint Paul and Saint Francis, you can be someone who does great things too, regardless of where you start.

It does not take too much looking to see that life is hard. People all around the world are suffering because of violence, poverty, oppression and indifference. And in our personal lives there are people who suffer and struggle.  Our lives too have suffering and hardship. People we love get sick. We might struggle economically. There may be too much violence in our lives. Habakkuk is the prophet who asks these tough questions of God. In a life filled with difficulty, we have to remember we are not alone.

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Three great archangels that have a powerful mission in the church. Michael, the great defender in battle. Gabriel sent to make the great announcement of Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Raphael the angel of healing. And to be sure, we are still in need of protection from evil, great announcements of God's plan, and healing from the overwhelming brokenness that is all too present in our world. Most important is that they serve to remind us of the presence of God that is always all around us. Take some time today to think about how God defends us from evil, sends us to proclaim to others the important good news of God's salvation, and the critical role God plays in helping us in our brokenness.

There is also a well-known prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel that can serve as powerful spiritual guide and help. You can read the prayer here.