October 18: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass / Preparándonos para Celebrar la Misa Dominical

The late Pope Francis, when pondering the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18, 1-8, suggested that the Church is the widow! He said that her plea and her persistence are exactly what the Church must be about in this world: willing to fight, with consistent and never ending insistence, on justice. Specifically, on justice in a world too accustomed to injustice and too comfortable to address and respond to the cry of those who wait for justice. And Biblical justice means: making things right according to God’s standard, encompassing fairness, providing for equitable treatment and, if needed, restorative correction. In a profound way, justice is our mission, and only by persistent demands will justice ever come.

Meanwhile, what are we to do when it appears that justice is painfully slow in coming? This is when faith comes to the fore, the faith which St. Luke invites us to explore with that cry of Jesus at the end of the parable: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” He is talking about the faith that provides the vision and the hope we need. If there is no faith, there will be no reason to persevere and persist ... and how sad would that be?

Justice is what the widow wanted. Justice must be what the Church wants. Justice, in fact, is the dream and vision of Jesus Himself: justice for widows, justice for the poor, justice for the outcasts, justice for immigrants, justice for the helpless, and justice for the powerless of His time – and ours!

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Todos nosotros, los Bautizados, hemos hecho el compromiso de dar testimonio, de catequizar, de educar, y de comunicar la Buena Nueva por todos los medios a nuestro alcance, sintiendo la necesidad de entrar en comunión y diálogo con los hombres y mujeres en todas partes del mundo que buscan la verdad.

La Palabra de Dios del domingo que viene nos va a invitar a orar perseverantemente, sin descanso, con humildad y confianza. Oración así es un diálogo amoroso de apertura y aceptación, que siempre es escuchada por nuestro Padre. Pero debemos tener bien en claro que la ayuda de Dios no nos libera del trabajo y del esfuerzo de nuestra parte, ya que Él espera de nosotros el ofrecimiento de nosotros mismos y de todas nuestras actividades, hechos, y sueños … porque nuestra tarea es el consagrar a Dios el mundo entero.

Antes de venir a Misa el domingo, favor de pensar en que en la Eucaristía vamos a pedir de nuevo al Maestro: “¡Señor, enséñanos a orar!” Y Jesús mismo nos va a invitar a unir nuestras súplicas a las de Él.