Last Sunday's homily is available by email request
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at www.usccb.org/readings
-check out this weeks LinCLetter at www.parishLinCLetter.blogspot.com
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00pm, 9:30am and 12:30pm on Sunday
There is something I want God to do for me!
The approach of the disciples to Jesus in this Sunday's Gospel does, oddly, sound like a lot of my prayers and maybe yours. In fact, I'm afraid for many people this petition or request or intercession is the only way that God is addressed.
I know that this doesn't sound that strange to a lot of parents. In fact I often hear folks say, "the only time that kid calls me is when he needs something." This "need-fulfillment" basis for a relationship is one that raises some serious questions about our prayer life.
I recently was asked by someone, "how do I know that God is talking to me?" After making sure the person wasn't hearing voices, I clarified the question and realized that what was really being asked is "how do I listen to God?" That is a refreshing approach to prayer - listening to God.
In last week's homily I was speaking about our attachment to the survival mode of living that makes it difficult to choose real life. Someone asked me during the week "how do I get out of the rat race and start living life?" My answer is this homily today. Being free from the survival mode of existence begins with our re-imagining who God is. And our prayer habits are the quickest way to understand who God is for us.
Like the disciples, the way we address God reveals what we think of God. I'm wondering if you would be able to create a "profile" of your God based upon your habit of praying. You say, "I don't pray at all outside of Mass"? That is certainly an understanding of God that says you don't need God in your life.
So, what is your habit of praying? What does that tell you about who God is in your world? Let's look at the prayer that Jesus taught us. What does that prayer tell us about who God was for Jesus? Could our God start to look more like Jesus' God? I bet we're all going to have to change the way we pray.
