ME
NU

OMELIE / Omelie EN

20 ott 2019
20/10/2019 – 29th Sunday in O. T. Year C

20/10/2019 – 29th Sunday in O. T. Year C

Reading 1 EX 17,8-13 * Psalm 120 * Reading 2 2TM 3,14 - 4,2 * Gospel LK 18,1-8

 

During this missionary month we can ask ourselves what can we do for the Mission of the Church in the world? How can I contribute to the great task Jesus has given His apostles and disciples and “make disciples of all nations”? How can I love some people or even all men, in a way they can enjoy the sweetness of the Jesus’ yolk and they can be freed from their oppression, troubles and different problems conceived by the prince of this world?

We know that, as patron saint of the missions, has been chosen Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, a carmelitan nun who has never left to preach the gospel, instead she has made of her life a continuous prayer for the missionaries! In this way the Church itself helps us consider prayer as the first Christian missionary task! This is what Jesus said, when He saw the crowds coming to Him: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”!

Today’s readings are talking right about prayer. The Christian who does not pray very hardly can become aware of the need to preach the gospel, hardly he will make himself available to be witness to Jesus' salvation, on the contrary, he does not even know why he himself is a Christian anymore.

Therefore, Jesus is telling us a parable, and Luke says that He told it in order for us to understand that it is necessary “to pray always without becoming weary”. Is it possible to become weary when you pray? Of course, if we pray without love we become weary very fast, if we make of our prayer a recitation or repeating a set of words and chit-chatting with God! Instead, if our prayer is about showing love, we will not become weary, on the contrary! Jesus himself gave us the example of this: raised on the cross He started praying, and He kept going to the last breath, without getting weary. Today He is telling us that even a mean judge has listened to and given what she asked for to a widow, a poor helpless woman, because she insisted in asking for him to take action. The judge in the parable acted, notwithstanding his dishonesty, because the woman was trusting him only. How much more God, in His goodness, will care for those who have faith in Him only, and always go to Him for anything!

How will we behave towards God when we pray? Moses, for his people involved in the battle against the enemies, prayed so it could be spared and keep journeying towards the land where it would serve God and show His glory! Moses asked for help the people politically and socially more influential to continue the prayer, to keep his arms lifted, because the constant prayer that accompanies people's labours gets them good results out of their work. We will pray for the mission of the Church, so the hard work, often not very noticeable, of the missionaries will bear fruit, not thanks to the man's effort, but thanks to God's participation. The psalm makes us pray with this knowledge exactly: “My help is from the Lord! …The Lord will guard your coming and your going, both now and forever.”.

The Church in the whole world keeps fighting: it is forced to it by the evil, tempting the faithful, blocking the preaching, discouraging the people most involved in charity work. The insistence of our prayer is not going to be motivated by the desire to obtain from God personal advantages, even if they are not completely selfish; instead, we will care about the needs of the whole Church, and, today, about its work for the good of the whole human society.

How many peoples are still left in the dark about the message of God’s love and they live in fear of inexistent gods or mean and cunning men who are exploiting to their own advantage all the different beliefs! How many men do not know yet the peace and joy of the communion we can enjoy only because of the Holy Spirit Jesus is breathing on us!

In addition to the commitment to prayer, Saint Paul recommends us, as he does with Timothy, to remain firm in the knowledge of God that has been shared with us and in the continuous listening to the Scriptures. If the latter become our daily food, we will have wise, holy and confident words with which help our brothers and those who still are not our brothers, but they are about to become so when they will meet, thank to us, Jesus.

Today is the Missionary Day: today then it is necessary the constance in praying and in listening to the Word of God! These two activities are strengths that make the presence of the Church in the world fruitful. Prayer makes sure that the sword of the Word proclaimed on earth will save God's people from the enemy and attract towards the Saviour those who need to be saved! Through prayer and listening faithfully to the Word, I too will fulfill the missionary task of the Church!