July 26: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass / Preparándonos para Celebrar la Misa Dominical

St. Luke’s Gospel is notable for its focus on prayer. More than the other Gospel writers, he draws attention to Jesus praying – whether alone, in the hills, or in the Garden of Olives.

We know that there are seemingly countless ways or methods of prayer and there many supposed "gurus" offering to teach us things like meditation. Perhaps we can readily identify with the disciple in Luke 11, 1-13 who asked, after watching Jesus at prayer, “Lord, teach us to pray.” That disciple and the others wanted to know how Jesus prayed – from His own heart and in His own words.

Like that unnamed disciple, we are invited to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray.” But let’s remember, first we need to sit in silence, just aware of Him. Then, gradually, like the apprentice learning from the master, or rather, like good soil becoming fertile from the falling dew, our prayer will take root and germinate in our hearts. Slowly, we too will begin to repeat that central prayer which links our whole being to the One who Jesus calls “Abba, Father.”

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Before coming to Mass this weekend: prepare to hear how “different” St. Luke’s “version” of the Lord’s Prayer is. The official “version,” which was adopted by the Church for public prayer is St. Matthew’s (6, 9-13), which is longer and more liturgical, with its seven petitions. St. Luke’s is shorter, containing only five petitions, but it is more directly personal. Instead of “Our Father who art in heaven,” as in St. Matthew, St. Luke’s version begins with the simple cry “Father!” It is a form of address that would not have been on the lips of anyone but Jesus. It originated in and revealed His profound bond with the Father. Ponder what a gift it is that Jesus has asked us to make His prayer our own, and thus His own loving relationship with the Father our own.

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Cada vez que celebramos la Eucaristía, como la de este domingo, estamos celebrando gozosamente la Pascua del Señor, con el compromiso de dar testimonio, de comunicar la Buena Nueva, sintiendo la necesidad de entrar en comunión y diálogo con los demás que necesitan conocer a Dios.

El domingo que viene, el Señor nos va a enseñar a orar, a dirigirnos a nuestro Padre, con humildad y confianza filial, sin descanso, insistentemente, en un diálogo amoroso de apertura y aceptación de la voluntad de Dios, que no siempre coincide con nuestros deseos. Y, según Jesús, esta oración siempre es escuchada por nuestro Padre bueno, ya que Él espera nuestra respuesta al amor que constantemente nos ofrece.