29th Sunday Ordinary :: C

29th Sunday in OT, October 21, 2007 Prayer and the Connection to God Scripture Readings First Exodus 17:8-13 Second 2 Tim 3:14-4:2 Gospel Luke 18: 1-8 Prepared by: Fr. Jonathan Kalisch, O.P. 1. Subject Matter •

The Israelites’ military victory depended largely on the intercessory prayer power of Moses.

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Prayer is relationship with God. The way one prays, reveals that relationship.

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If the disciples do not “cry out day and night” to the Lord, then they do not have faith, for that is what faith does.

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“Be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient.”

2. Exegetical Notes •

This parable on prayer and the one that follows (Lk 9-14) are found only in Luke. Throughout Luke-Acts, there is an emphasis on the prayer of Jesus and the disciples. See Lk 6:28; 11:12; 22:40, 46; and Acts: 1:14; 2:42; 3:1; 6:4, 6; 10:4, 9, 30-31; 12:5, 12; 16:13, 16, 25; 20:36; 21:5; 22:17; 28:8.

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Lk 18:1: The continuous sense of the present tense of the verb to pray is used here - with a meaning of consistency and perseverance, not perpetual. Here, Luke highlights the notion that one should not ‘give up’ praying because of discouragement.

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Luke echoes typical Pauline themes: “pray always” (1 Thes 5:17; 2 The 1:11; Rom 1:10; 12:12; Eph 6:18) and “do not lose heart” (2 Thes 3:13; 2 Cor 4:1, 16; Gal 6:9; Eph 3:13)

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Lk 18:2: The judge is a stock character, with no regard for God, no scruples, and incapable of shame. Any God-fearing jurist would feel obligated by Torah to take special care of the widow. (See Deut 10:18; 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13)

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Lk 18:5 can be translated as “Otherwise she will keep coming and end up giving me a black eye.” The sense is that the widow keeps “giving me such a beating.” There is ambiguity in the phrase such that it could mean that the widow literally socked the judge, or else she is

damaging his reputation. Thus, although he has no regard for humans, he may depend on his reputation to continue being a judge. •

Lk 18:7 – crying out to him day and night: This verb is often used for appealing to God for help (see Exod 8:12; 15:25; Num 12:13). Deut 15:9 reports the threat that the poor man who is given nothing, “and he will cry out to the Lord against you and it will be sin in you.”

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Lk 18:8 – do justice for them quickly: can mean ‘accomplish their vindication.’ “It is possible…for God to wait for what seems like a long time – as did the judge – and then decide ‘quickly’ to act – as did the judge.” (Johnson)

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Lk 18:8 The reference to the Son of Man’s coming echoes Lk 17:22, 24, 26, and 30. The underlying question is whether the parousia will ever take place and the behavior such doubt induces (Lk 12:45-46; 2 Pet 3:4-10). The parable is meant to encourage the disciples to continue praying “thy kingdom come” since God is faithful and will vindicate his people.

3. References to the Catechism of the Catholic Church •

2559: "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God.”

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2560: "If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

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2564: Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of the Son of God made man.

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2567: God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer. In prayer, the faithful God's initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation.

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2577: From this intimacy with the faithful God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, Moses drew strength and determination for his intercession. He does not pray for himself but for the people whom God made his own. Moses already intercedes for them during the battle with the Amalekites and prays to obtain healing for Miriam. But it is chiefly after their apostasy that Moses "stands in the breach" before God in order to save the people. The arguments of his prayer—for intercession is also a mysterious battle—will inspire the boldness of the great intercessors among the Jewish people and in the Church: God is love; he is therefore righteous and faithful; he cannot contradict himself; he must remember his

marvelous deeds, since his glory is at stake, and he cannot forsake this people that bears his name. •

2609: Once committed to conversion, the heart learns to pray in faith. Faith is a filial adherence to God beyond what we feel and understand. It is possible because the beloved Son gives us access to the Father. He can ask us to "seek" and to "knock," since he himself is the door and the way.

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2610: Just as Jesus prays to the Father and gives thanks before receiving his gifts, so he teaches us filial boldness: "Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will." Such is the power of prayer and of faith that does not doubt: "all things are possible to him who believes." Jesus is as saddened by the "lack of faith" of his own neighbors and the "little faith" of his own disciples as he is struck with admiration at the great faith of the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman.

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2611: The prayer of faith consists not only in saying "Lord, Lord," but in disposing the heart to do the will of the Father. Jesus calls his disciples to bring into their prayer this concern for cooperating with the divine plan.

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2612: In Jesus "the Kingdom of God is at hand." He calls his hearers to conversion and faith, but also to watchfulness. In prayer the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes, in memory of his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second coming in glory. In communion with their Master, the disciples' prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation.

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2613: Three principal parables on prayer are transmitted to us by St. Luke: The first, "the importunate friend," invites us to urgent prayer: "Knock, and it will be opened to you." To the one who prays like this, the heavenly Father will "give whatever he needs," and above all the Holy Spirit who contains all gifts. The second, "the importunate widow," is centered on one of the qualities of prayer: it is necessary to pray always without ceasing and with the patience of faith. "And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" The third parable, "the Pharisee and the tax collector," concerns the humility of the heart that prays. "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" The Church continues to make this prayer its own: Kyrie eleison!

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2697: Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that prayer is a remembrance of God often awakened by the memory of the heart: "We must remember God more often than we draw breath. But we cannot pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it. These are the special times of Christian prayer, both in intensity and duration.

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2734: Filial trust is tested—it proves itself—in tribulation. The principal difficulty concerns the prayer of petition, for oneself or for others in intercession. Some even stop praying because they think their petition is not heard. Here two questions should be asked: Why do we think our petition has not been heard? How is our prayer heard, how is it "efficacious"?

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2735: In the first place, we ought to be astonished by this fact: when we praise God or give him thanks for his benefits in general, we are not particularly concerned whether or not our prayer is acceptable to him. On the other hand, we demand to see the results of our petitions. What is the image of God that motivates our prayer: an instrument to be used? or the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?

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2736: Are we convinced that "we do not know how to pray as we ought"? Are we asking God for "what is good for us"? Our Father knows what we need before we ask him, but he awaits our petition because the dignity of his children lies in their freedom. We must pray, then, with his Spirit of freedom, to be able truly to know what he wants.

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2737: "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." If we ask with a divided heart, we are "adulterers"; God cannot answer us, for he desires our well-being, our life. "Or do you suppose that it is in vain that the scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us?'" That our God is "jealous" for us is the sign of how true his love is. If we enter into the desire of his Spirit, we shall be heard.

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2742: "Pray constantly . . . always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." St. Paul adds, "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints." For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing." This tireless fervor can come only from love. Against our dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is that of humble, trusting, and persevering love. This love opens our hearts to three enlightening and life-giving facts of faith about prayer.

4. Patristic Commentary and Other Authorities •

St. Ambrose: “The Lord Jesus, in his divine wisdom, taught you about the goodness of the Father, so that you might ask for the things that are good from Goodness itself. He urges you to pray earnestly and frequently, not offering long and wearisome prayers, but praying often, and with perseverance. Lengthy prayers are usually filled with empty words, while neglect of prayer results in indifference to prayer.”

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St. Ambrose: “You are told to pray especially for the people, that is, for the whole body, for all its members, the family of your mother the Church; the badge of membership in this body is love for each other. If you pray only for yourself, you pray for yourself alone. If each prays for himself, he receives less from God’s goodness than the one who prays on behalf of others. But, as it is, because each prays for all, all are in fact praying for each other.”

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St. Augustine: “In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened.”

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St. Augustine: ”God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give.”

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Evagrius Ponticus: “Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer.”

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Pope John Paul II: “Why must we pray? We must pray first and foremost because we are believers. Prayer is in fact the recognition of our limitation and our dependence: we come from God, we belong to God and we return to God! We cannot, therefore, but abandon ourselves to him, our Creator and Lord, with full and complete confidence…Prayer, therefore, is first of all an act of intelligence, a feeling of humility and gratitude, an attitude of trust and abandonment to him who gave us life out of love. Prayer is a mysterious but real dialogue with God, a dialogue of confidence and love.”

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Pope John Paul II: “For the Christian, in fact, prayer acquires a particular characteristic, which completely changes its innermost nature and innermost value…The Christian knows that his prayer is that of Jesus; every prayer of his starts from Jesus; it is he who prays in us, with us, for us. All those who believe in God, pray; but the Christian prays in Jesus Christ: Christ is our prayer!”

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Pope John Paul II: “Prayer gives the strength for great ideals, to maintain faith, charity, purity and generosity. Prayer gives the courage to emerge from indifference and guilt, if unfortunately one has yielded to temptation and weakness. Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one’s own life and of history in the salvific perspective of God and eternity. Therefore, do not stop praying! Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is a duty, but it is a great joy, because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ!”

5. Examples from the Saints and Other Exemplars •

St. John Vianney: “Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself.”

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St. Francis de Sales: “Everyone of us needs half an hour of prayer each day except when we are busy – then we need an hour.”

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St. Therese of Lisieux: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

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Bl. Mother Teresa: “I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and so weak. I think this is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on him twenty-four hours a day. All of us must cling to God through prayer. My secret is simple: I pray. Through prayer I become one in love with Christ. I realize that praying to him is loving him.”

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Bl. Mother Teresa: “We cannot find God in noise or agitation. Nature: trees, flowers and grass grow in silence. The stars, the moon, and the sun movie in silence. What is essential is not what we say but what God tells others through us. In silence He listens to us; in silence He speaks to our souls. In silence we are granted the privilege of listening to his voice. Silence of our eyes. Silence of our ears. Silence of our minds…In the silence of the heart God will speak.”

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Archbishop Fulton Sheen: “Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are preceded by a personal encounter with him. I have found that it takes some time to catch fire in prayer. This has been one of the advantages of the Holy Hour. Sitting before the Presence is like a body exposing itself to the sun to absorb its rays. In those moments one does not so much pour out written prayers, but listening takes place. Although before we love anyone we must have knowledge of that person, nevertheless, after we know, it is love that intensifies knowledge.”

6. Quotations from Pope Benedict XVI •

“Since the center of the person of Jesus is prayer, it is essential to participate in his prayer if we are to know and understand him…Prayer is the act of self-surrender by which we enter the Body of Christ. Thus it is an act of love. As love, in and with the Body of Christ, it is always both love of God and love of neighbor, knowing and fulfilling itself as love for the members of this Body.”

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“The person of Jesus is constituted by the act of prayer, of unbroken communication with the one he calls ‘Father.’ If this is the case, it is only possible really to understand this person by entering into this act of prayer, by participating in it. This is suggested by Jesus’ saying that no one can come to him unless the Father draws him (Jn 6:44). Where there is no Father, there is no Son. Where there is no relationship with God, there can be no understanding of him who, in his innermost self, is nothing but relationship with God, the Father…therefore a participation in the mind of Jesus, i.e., in his prayer,…is the basic precondition if real understanding, in the sense of modern hermeneutics – i.e., the entering-in to the same time and the same meaning – is to take place.”

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“The basic reason why man can speak with God arises from the fact that God himself is speech, Word. His nature is to speak, to hear, to reply…Only because there is already speech, ‘Logos,’ in God can there be speech, ‘Logos,’ to God. Philosophically we could put it like this: the Logos in God is the ontological foundation for prayer.”

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“The Incarnation of the Logos brings eternity into time and time into eternity. As a result of the Incarnation, human speech has become a component in divine speech; it has been taken up, unconfusedly and inseparably, into that speech which is God’s inner nature. Through the Spirit of Christ, who is the Spirit of God, we can share in the human nature of Jesus Christ; and in sharing in his dialogue with God, we can share in the dialogue which God is. This is prayer, which becomes a real exchange between God and man.”

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“Prayer is an act of being; it is affirmation, albeit not affirmation of myself as I am and of the world as it is, but affirmation of the ground of being and hence a purifying of myself and of the world from this ground upward…In the purification which issues from the fundamental Yes we discover the active power of prayer, which (a) yields a deep security in the affirmation of being, as a foil to the hectic world of self-made man, yet which (b) is by no means a flight from the world but rather entrusts people with the task of purifying the world and empowers them to carry it out…It is the Son who guides us along the path of purification which leads to the door of the Yes.”

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“Why is God silent? Why does he withdraw? Why is it that just the opposite of what I wanted is happening? This distance between what Jesus promised and what we experience in our own lives makes you think, every time – it has that effect in each generation, for each single person, and even for me. Each one of us has to struggle to work out an answer for himself, so that in the end he comes to understand why God has spoken to him precisely like that. Augustine and other great Christians say that God gives us what is best for us – even when we do not recognize this at first. Often, we think that exactly the opposite of what he does would really be best for us. We have to learn to accept this path, which, on the basis of our experience and our suffering, is difficult for us, and to see it as the way in which God is guiding us.”

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“God’s way is often a path that enormously reshapes and remolds our life, a path in which we are truly changed and straightened out. To that extent, we have to say that this ‘Ask, and you will receive’ certainly cannot mean that I can call God in as a handyman who will make my life easy every time I want something. Or who will take away suffering and questioning. On the contrary, it means that God definitely hears me and what he grants is, in the way known only to him, what is right for me.”

7. Other Considerations •

“The parable of the widow and the unjust judge is brilliantly placed immediately after the discourse in which Jesus makes clear that the kingdom he proclaims is not yet the end-time, that there must be a period in which the disciples will ‘long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it” (17:22)…The readers can all too easily see themselves as the widow, subject to oppression and delayed retribution, and by losing hope and courage become those who ‘ have faith for a time but in season of testing fall away’ (8:13).” (Johnson).

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The question of God’s delay – is it out of merciful patience, to give the wicked time to convert (2 Pet 3:9) and provide the disciples with time to complete their renunciation and dedication to God? (JBC)

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Jesus’ teaching about perseverance in prayer is combined with a warning about remaining steadfast in faith – the two go hand in hand. While the Lord promised that His Church will remain true to its mission (Mt 28:20), not everyone will remain faithful. St. Paul speaks of the “rebellion” of those who mysteriously turn their backs on the true faith in 2 Thes 2:3, and Jesus himself announces this in Mt 24:12-13. Thus, Jesus warns us to remain watchful and firm in the faith, even when others fall away.

Recommended Resources Benedictus: Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI ed. Peter John Cameron, Ignatius Press, 2006. Christ Our Light: Readings on Gospel Themes II, Ordinary Time, trans. And ed. By Friends of Henry Ashworth, Exordium Books, 1985. Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Raymond Brown, Joseph Fitzmyer, and Roland Murphy, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1968. Luke Timothy Johnson, The Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina Series, vol. 3, ed. By Daniel J Harrington, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1991. The Navarre Bible: St. Luke, Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1998. United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2006.