487. Praying for others

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 487

Ave Maria series

Why should we petition God for other people?

As Abraham intervened by his prayer for the inhabitants of Sodom, as Jesus prayed for his disciples, and as the early Christian community looked “not only to (their) own interests, but also to the interests of others”(Philippians 2:4), so too Christians always pray for everyone—for people who are dear to their hearts, for people who are not close to them, and even for their enemies. [2634-2636, 2647]

“Eternal rest grant them, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May their souls and the souls of all the departed rest in peace. Amen.”  L. to R. Robert. John, Laurie and Rose visit the graves of Uncle Kenneth and Grandparents Elisabeth and Elton.…..487

On a broader scale,the intentions Jesus asks to bring to Him in the Divine Mercy nine day novena are:  “All mankind, especially sinners… the souls of priests and religious… all devout and faithful souls… those who do not believe in God and who do not yet know Me… the souls of those who have separated themselves from My church… the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children… the souls who especially venerate and glorify My mercy… the souls who are detained in purgatory… and, souls who have become lukewarm.”–St Maria Faustina  Kowalska, Diary 1209-1229

The more a person learns to pray, the more profoundly he realizes that he has ties to a spiritual family through which the power of prayer is made effective.  With all my concern for the people whom I love, I stand in the midst of the family of mankind and may receive strength from the prayers of others and may call down divine assistance for others. 477

“…Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  --Romans 8:34-35

“To intercede means to send someone an angel.”  --Martin Luther (1483-1546)

“There must be people who pray even for those who never pray.”  --Victor Hugo (1802-1885, French writer

[2634-2636, 2647]

PRAYER OF INTERCESSION

2634 Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.¹¹² He is "able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."¹¹³ The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us . . . and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”¹¹⁴–CCC

112. Compare Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1; 1 Timothy 2:5-8.

113.   Hebrews 7:25.

114.   Romans 8:26-27.

2635 Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks "not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others," even to the point of praying for those who do him harm.¹¹⁵–CCC

115.   Philippians 2:4; compare Acts of the Apostles 7:60; Luke 23:28,34.

2636 The first Christian communities lived this form of fellowship intensely.¹¹⁶ Thus the Apostle Paul gives them a share in his ministry of preaching the Gospel¹¹⁷ but also intercedes for them.¹¹⁸ The intercession of Christians recognizes no boundaries: "for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions," for persecutors, for the salvation of those who reject the Gospel. –CCC

116.  Compare Acts of the Apostles 12:5; Acts 20:36; Acts 21:5; 2 Corinthians 9:14.

117.  Compare Ephesians 6:18-20; Colossians 4:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:25..

118.   Compare 2 Thessalonians 1:11; Colossians 1:3; Philippians 1:3-4.

IN BRIEF

2647 Prayer of intercession consists in asking on behalf of another. It knows no boundaries and extends to one's enemies.–CCC

People  Family gravesite Woodruff Cemetery

486. Prayer of petition

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 486

Ave Maria series

Why should we petition God?

God, who knows us through and through, knows what we need.  Nevertheless, God wants us to ask, to turn to him in times of need, to cry out, implore, lament, call upon him, indeed, even to struggle with him in prayer. [2629-2633]

Parable of the unjust steward.  --A Jan Luyken etching found in the Bowyer Bible. …..486

The Parable of the Persistent Widow.  

Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.  He said,“There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being.  And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’  For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’” The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.  Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?  Will he be slow to answer them?  I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.  But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  -- Luke 18:1-8

Certainly God does not need our petitions in order to help us.  It is for our own sake that we are supposed to offer prayers of petition. Someone who does not ask and does not want to ask shuts himself up in himself.  Only a person who asks opens himself and turns to the Author of all good. Someone who asks goes back home to God. Thus the prayer of petition brings man into the right relationship to God, who respects our freedom.

[2629-2633]

PRAYER OF PETITION

2629 The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even "struggle in prayer."¹⁰² Its most usual form, because the most spontaneous, is petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to him. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

102.Compare Romans 15:30; Colossians 4:12.

2630 The New Testament contains scarcely any prayers of lamentation, so frequent in the Old Testament. In the risen Christ the Church's petition is buoyed by hope, even if we still wait in a state of expectation and must be converted anew every day. Christian petition, what St. Paul calls "groaning," arises from another depth, that of creation "in labor pains" and that of ourselves "as we wait for the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved."¹⁰³ In the end, however, "with sighs too deep for words" the Holy Spirit "helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”¹⁰⁴–CCC

103.Romans 8:22-24.

104.  Romans 8:26.

2631 The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!”¹⁰⁵ —CCC

105.Luke 18:9-14.                                     

 [The prayer of petition] is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that "we receive from him whatever we ask."106  Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer.—CCC 

106. 1 John 3:22; compare 1 Jn 1:7.

2632 Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ.¹⁰⁷ There is a hierarchy in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary to welcome it and cooperate with its coming. This collaboration with the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is now that of the Church, is the object of the prayer of the apostolic community.¹⁰⁸ It is the prayer of Paul, the apostle par excellence, which reveals to us how the divine solicitude for all the churches ought to inspire Christian prayer.¹⁰⁹ By prayer every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom. –CCC

107.  Compare Matthew 6:10,33; Luke 11:2,13.

108.  Compare Acts of the Apostles 6:6;  Acts 13:3.

109.  Compare Romans 10:1; Ephesians 1:16-23; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:3-6; Col 4:3-4,12.

2633 When we share in God's saving love, we understand that every need can become the object of petition. Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name.¹¹⁰ It is with this confidence that St. James and St. Paul exhort us to pray at all times.¹¹¹–CCC

110. Compare John 14:13.

111.  Compare James 1:5-8; Ephesians 5:20; Philippians 4:6-7; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.

JT  parable of the unjust steward

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 6, 2019

As Habakkuck prophesized “Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord,” or should we hope to hear from Jesus, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"

Lectionary: 141

Reading 1   HABAKKUCK 1:2-3; 2:2-4

How long, O LORD?  I cry for helpbut you do not listen!  I cry out to you, "Violence!"but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me;there is strife, and clamorous discord.  Then the LORD answered me and said:Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.  For the vision still has its time,presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.

Responsorial  PSALM 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
 let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
 let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
 let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
 and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
 "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
 as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
 they tested me though they had seen my works."

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2   2 TIMOTHY 1:6-8, 13-14

Beloved:
I remind you, to stir into flamethe gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardicebut rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;but bear your share of hardship for the gospelwith the strength that comes from God.
Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me,in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 
Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spiritthat dwells within us.

Alleluia 1 PeTer 1:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever.
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel   LUKE 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." The Lord replied,"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,you would say to this mulberry tree,'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.
"Who among you would say to your servantwho has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,'Come here immediately and take your place at table'? Would he not rather say to him,'Prepare something for me to eat.Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.You may eat and drink when I am finished'? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? So should it be with you.  When you have done all you have been commanded,say, 'We are unprofitable servants;we have done what we were obliged to do.'"

People  Refuge severe overcrowding of refugees

485. Divine Mercy

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 485

Ave Maria series

Why should we adore God?

Every person who understands that he is God’s creature will humbly recognize the Almighty and adore him. Christian adoration, however, sees not only the greatness, omnipotence, and holiness of God.  It also kneels before the divine Love that became man in Jesus Christ.

“I want the whole world to know my infinite mercy.  I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in my mercy” –Jesus’ words to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #687. …..485

Someone who really adores God kneels down before him or prostrates himself on the ground.  This gives expression to the truth about the relation between man and God: He is great and we are little.  At the same time, man is never greater than when he freely and devoutly kneels down before God.  The unbeliever who is seeking God and is beginning to pray can find God in this way.  353

“Worship…is not a luxury, but a priority.  To seek Jesus must be the constant desire of believers, young people and adults, of the faithful and of their pastors.”  --Pope Benedict XVI, August 28, 2005

“Every day, at sunrise and sunset, believers renew their ‘adoration’ or acknowledgment of the presence of God, Creator and Lord of the Universe.  This recognition is full of gratitude that wells up from the depths of their heart and floods their entire being, for it is only by adoring and loving God above all things that human beings can totally fulfill themselves.”  --Pope Benedict XVI, August 7, 2005

Divine Mercy Painting

484. YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 484

Ave Maria series

What is a prayer of blessing?

A prayer of blessing is a prayer that calls down God’s blessing upon us.  From God alone all blessings flow.  His goodness, his closeness, his mercy—that is blessing. “May the Lord bless you” is the shortest prayer of blessing.  [2626-2627]

The Great Amen, which dates back about 800 years in the Catholic Mass, is being sung by the congregation at Our Lady Queen of the Universe Parish, Woodruff, Wisconsin.The priest and deacon are holding aloft the now consecrated bread and wine. …..484

"Bless us O Lord and these and all thy gifts which we are about to receive through Christ our Lord. Amen" is a Catholic blessing said before a meal.

"We give thee thanks for all thy blessing and may all the souls departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen." is a Catholic prayer of thanksgiving said following a meal.

Every Christian should call down God’s blessing upon himself and upon other people.  Parents can trace the Sign of the Cross on their child’s forehead.  People who love each other can bless one another.  Furthermore a priest, by virtue of his office, blesses explicitly in the name of Jesus and on behalf of the Church.  His request for blessings is made especially effective through Holy Orders and the prayer power of the whole Church.

“Prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”  --St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

[2626-2627]

PRAYER OF ADORATION

2626 Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other. The prayer of blessing is man's response to God's gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing.--Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

2627 Two fundamental forms express this movement: our prayer ascends in the Holy Spirit through Christ to the Father - we bless him for having blessed us;⁹⁷ it implores the grace of the Holy Spirit that descends through Christ from the Father - he blesses us.⁹⁸ --CCC

97. Compare Ephesians 1:3-14; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; 1 Peter 1:3-9.

98.  Compare 2 Corinthians 13:14; Romans 15:5-6,13; Ephesians 6:23-24.

Sacrament  Eucharist the Great Amen