Sunday, July 21, 2013

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C - July 21, 2013


16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle C
July 21, 2013      7:30 and 9:00am 

Saint Margaret Parish, Bel Air


A Way of Praying

This morning, I want to share with you a way of praying.

We often talk about the importance of prayer.  Each of us knows by heart some prayers that we have learned, like the Our Father or the Hail Mary.

Today, I want to share with you not another prayer, but a way or pattern for praying personally.  This way finds its origin in Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.

It has five parts or steps.  They are outlined on the handout that you were given as you entered church and you might want to follow along as I lead us through this.

Thanksgiving

First, it is good to begin our prayer with Thanksgiving.

Each day it is important each day to thank God not just in general, but for someone or something specific.  It might be our health, a family member, a doctor, our job, our home, and on it goes. 

When we say thanks to God, we are being positive, recognizing the good that is in our lives.  And we are being humble, recognizing that all that we have is ultimately a gift from God.

This positive and humble spirit can affect all that we do throughout the day.  So it is important always to begin our prayer by giving thanks to God.    

Enlightenment

Then we move to Enlightenment.

We all need light or enlightenment in some way.  Maybe for our faith itself when we are doubting or confused or trying to understand more.

Maybe we need light when life just seems like all darkness to us and we cannot see the end of the tunnel.  After we ask God for the enlightenment or light that we need, I recommend that we read a passage from one of the gospels.

Read just one section, a few verses, like today’s gospel story, then re-read it, and just ask: what is God saying to me here?  This prayer for enlightenment is important for our relationship with God and for us personally.

Review

Then we move to Review.

The idea here is to look back and see how God came to me yesterday.  Maybe God came in an unexpected kind word.

Maybe God came to me in a respectful, caring confrontation about something I have done.  Maybe God came in the sunshine or flowers.

Maybe God came in the Eucharist where I really felt God’s closeness.  So, review, look back to see how God came to me yesterday.

Repent

Then we move to Repent.

The issue here is: where have I fallen short of the gospel?  Have I offended others by something I said or by how I said it?

Have I used well the gifts and opportunities God has given me?  What pops up as something I feel guilty for doing?

Or what pops up as something good that I could have done but failed to do?  So, how do I need to repent and live the gospel more fully?

Resolve

And finally, we come to Resolve.

This can flow right from Repent.  So we might resolve to count to ten and get hold of our temper or foul language.

You might resolve to really be there for your children and take in what is going on in their lives.  We might resolve to take the initiative to try to clear up some antagonism between myself and another person.

We might resolve to seek advice or counseling for a problem that just will not go away.  So, we end our prayer with a resolve on what we need to do this day.   

Conclusion

In today’s gospel, a woman named Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet listening, and her sister Martha is anxious and preoccupied about all the details of the meal.

Jesus says that Mary “has chosen the better part.”  Here Jesus is not saying that it is better just to focus on him or better to pray than to tend to the necessities of life.

He is saying that it is better to make sure that we do pray so that our prayer will influence how we do all the stuff we have to do.  We need this grounding in our relationship with God, and the way of praying I recommend today is one way of doing that.