Homily for Wednesday, Week 27 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Wednesday
27th Week of Ordinary Time

Oct. 9, 2024
Luke 11: 1-4
Salesian HS, New Rochelle, N.Y.

The Lord's Prayer (James Tissot)

Jesus’ disciples have observed him at prayer and ask him to help them pray.  He teaches them the prayer we know as the Our Father, from its 1st words in St. Matthew’s version of the prayer, which we find in the Sermon on the Mount (6:9-13).  St. Luke’s version is a little shorter but strikes the same essentials:  attention to the priority of God, attention to our own needs, and attention to others.

We pray that God be honored—by us and by everyone.  When we say, “Your name,” we mean God himself, not just his name.  We can start by being careful how we speak of him, e.g., by not blurting out “Oh my God!” when we’re surprised or upset; that’s disrespectful of God.  We pray then that God’s kingdom come, i.e., that we all strive to do God’s will in our lives, that God’s desires rule.

We pray for what we need in life—not just food (“our daily bread”) but also shelter, clothing, education, employment, safety.  We desire these not only for ourselves but for everyone:  “our daily bread,” not “my daily bread.”

We’re concerned for more than this life.  So we pray that God forgive our sins.  Without forgiveness, we can’t be part of God’s kingdom; we can’t come to eternal life.  We want our whole lives to be aligned with God.  That’s why we also pray not to be “subjected to the final test,” i.e., to serious temptation.

For others, we offer forgiveness.  Lots of people offend us in many ways—physical harm, psychological harm, speaking badly about us, hassling us.  Just as Jesus forgave the people who executed him, just as we pray that God forgive us, so we must learn to forgive, to wish that God bless everyone and bring everyone—not just ourselves—into his kingdom and eternal life.  That’s not easy for us to do; we can begin by praying for whoever offends us, and by asking God to help us be polite, patient, and kind with everyone, even people we don’t like.

May God’s will be done in us and in everyone.