It is 23rd February 2021.
The readings are from Isaiah 55:10-11; and the Gospel from Matthew 6:7-15.
A visiting Chinese man in India was complaining while he travelled around the country about the speed of the transportation. He told an auto-driver that the buses, the trains are travelling very slow while in China they are pretty fast. After the visit to the places of interest, he asked the auto-driver how much he had to pay for the auto-metre that calculates his fare. He told him a very huge amount. Immediately the Chinese man complained that how come auto-metres alone are running fast. The auto-driver retorted him saying that sir, the meter is made in China.
Prayer is not about complaining what we are going through in our lives rather complementing God and constantly reporting back to God where we are and how far we are in line with God’s plans and directions.
The responsorial Psalm praises you, “The Lord will rescue the just from all their distress.” (Ps.34:17).
We all pray daily for something to God. Some of us are satisfied and contented with the outcome of our prayer and most of us are not. When our prayer is founded on the Word of God with the purpose of unifying, relating and bringing peace for our love circles of family and community, it is rewarding, motivating and moving. As long as our prayers are only about us, our family and kith and kin, we are not even near God. When we pray for ourselves, we have too many words to impress God. Jesus reminds us that we do not need a lot of words to obtain God’s blessings. Our prayer needs to fall in line with the model prayer Jesus offered to us all that includes, praises, petition, penance and protection from evil. Our Father is the model prayer that is communitarian. We have the Father for all of us to relate with one another, communicate and commune with. “And this is the confidence which we have in God, that if we ask anything according to God’s will God hears us.” (1 Jn.5:14).
May the Lord help us to pray in a way we include the Word, the community and the common good to obtain all we need. Have a lovely day. God bless you.