Daily Reading & Meditation
Thursday (3/5): "How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"
Scripture: Matthew 7:7-12
7 "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12 So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
Old Testament Reading: Esther C:12,14-16,23-25 (Deuterocanonical portion)
“And Esther the queen, seized with deadly anxiety, fled to the Lord. And she prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: “O my Lord, you only are our King; help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, for my danger is in my hand. Ever since I was born I have heard in the tribe of my family that you, O Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers from among all their ancestors, from an everlasting inheritance, and that you did for them all that you promised.”
Meditation: Do you expect God to hear your prayers? Esther’s prayer on behalf of her people is a model for us. She prayed for help according to God’s promise to be faithful to his people. God wants us to remember his promises and to count on his help when we pray. Jesus wanted to raise the expectations of his disciples when he taught them how to pray. Jesus’ parable of the father feeding his son illustrates the unthinkable! How could a loving father refuse to give his son what is good; or worse, to give him what is harmful? In conclusion Jesus makes a startling claim: How much more will the heavenly Father give to those who ask! Our heavenly Father graciously gives beyond our expectations. Jesus taught his disciples to pray with confidence because the Heavenly Father in his goodness always answers prayers. That is why we can boldly pray: Give us this day our daily bread.
Those who know and trust in God's love, pray with great boldness. Listen to what John Chrysostom, a 5th century church father, has to say about the power of prayer: “Prayer is an all-efficient panoply [i.e. 'a full suit of armor' or 'splendid array'], a treasure undiminished, a mine never exhausted, a sky unobstructed by clouds, a haven unruffled by storm. It is the root, the fountain, and the mother of a thousand blessings. It exceeds a monarch’s power. ..I speak not of the prayer which is cold and feeble and devoid of zeal. I speak of that which proceeds from a mind outstretched, the child of a contrite spirit, the offspring of a soul converted – this is the prayer which mounts to heaven. ..The power of prayer has subdued the strength of fire, bridled the rage of lions, silenced anarchy, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, enlarged the gates of heaven, relieved diseases, averted frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. In sum prayer has power to destroy whatever is at enmity with the good.”
Prayer flows from the love of God; and the personal love we show to our neighbor is fueled by the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Jesus concludes his discourse on prayer with the reminder that we must treat our neighbor in the same way we wish to be treated by God and by others. We must not just avoid doing harm to our neighbor, we must actively seek his or her welfare. In doing so, we fulfill the law and the prophets, namely what God requires of us — loving God with all that we have and are and loving our neighbor as ourselves. The Holy Spirit is every ready to transform our lives in Jesus’ way of love. Do you thirst for holiness and for the fire of God’s love?
"Let me love you, my Lord and my God, and see myself as I really am — a pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to respect and love all whose lives I touch, those in authority over me or those under my authority, my friends and my enemies. Help me to conquer anger with gentleness, greed by generosity, apathy by fervor. Help me to forget myself and reach out towards others." (Prayer attributed to Clement XI of Rome)
Psalm 138:1-8
1 I give thee thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the Gods I sing thy praise;
2 I bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy name for thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for thou hast exalted above everything thy name and thy word.
3 On the day I called, thou didst answer me, my strength of soul thou didst increase.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, for they have heard the words of thy mouth;
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly; but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou dost preserve my life; thou dost stretch out thy hand against the wrath of my enemies, and thy right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me; thy steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever. Do not forsake the work of thy hands.
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(c) 2009 Don Schwager
Keep it Simple. Keep it Real.
I’m writing to you from Rome, the Eternal City. I’m on pilgrimage with a handful of seminarians.
Some of the seminarians on pilgrimage
While it sounds glamorous, it is a pilgrimage. We’re in the serious business of praying and seeking God. Granted, we’re having tons of fun, but it is a matter of faith that brings us to this country infused with spirituality and tradition.
Please know that I thank you for your incredible responses to my email about prayer intentions. Know that we’ll definitely be praying for them at different altars throughout the city.
Just some of the prayer intentions we collected from the GBM website.
This update on our pilgrimage in Rome fits perfectly into our Lenten theme. Pilgrimages help people to literally move forward in their spiritual life. On this pilgrimage, we’re moving at a pretty fast pace. There’s so much to see, but the only way we will see it is if we take the time to see it. Even though we’re moving quickly, we’re also making sure to slow down at the appropriate times and not rush the pilgrimage. Find the balance between moving quickly and slowing down will we allows the proper dynamic for growth.
Lent is a great time for us to slow down while moving forward in faith – the perfect time for everyone to go on such a pilgrimage.
The paradox is interesting: to move forward by slowing down. We can fit into either category; people who need to slow down or people who need to get going. A pilgrimage gives you the opportunity to do both at the same time.
Piazza Navona at night; once a place where Romans enjoyed bloody circus killings of Christians, it is now a bustling spot for vendors and tourists.
People often ask me for spiritual advice, especially during Lent. The best advice I can give is the same advice I gave to the seminarians: keep it simple and keep it real.
By keeping things simple and real, we will remember that the Sabbath day is a command by God to get to church; we recognize the real force that prevents us from growing closer to God is laziness. By keeping it simple and real we can admit that we are sometimes too busy for prayer or we’re not busy enough without prayer.
prayer in chapel
Second, please keep in mind two media opportunities. The Washington Post came out to do an interview. Hopefully that will give the Grace Before Meals movement some good press. More good news comes from the Food Network: we’ve been in talks about the possibility of doing a segment on the network. Yes, our goal is still to get on PBS, but we need sponsors to provide those funds. Contact us if you know anyone. In the meantime, doing something for Food Network would not only be an honor, it’d be loads of fun. Stay tuned.
As I lead this pilgrimage for our seminarians in the Eternal City, please know of our prayers for all of our subscribers. We pray that each of you can experience the love and joy of this holy season. God’s love and joy is real. It’s that simple!
St. Peter's Basilica
Spaghetti al Vongole (Spaghetti and Clams)
Last Thursday I had the chance to co-host the popular satellite radio show “The Catholics Next Door” with Greg and Jennifer. (In my last blast I called her Susan, only because I know another great Catholic family – Greg and Susan. Sorry Jennifer. Mea culpa, which in Latin means, “My bad.”)
During the show we took a caller who was Byzantine Catholic, originally from New York and now living in one of the Carolinas; nice guy. We talked about what the Eastern Rite Churches do for Lenten fasts. They also abstain from meat on Fridays and Sundays. While I can’t remember all of the nuances to the Eastern Rites fasts, he did mention that one of his favorite Lenten dishes is linguine al vongole (linguine and clam sauce). I had to agree.
Talk about keeping it simple and real. On one of my nights in Roma, I dined on a perfect Lenten meal. Since it was absolutely delicious, I sometimes wonder whether it counts as a penitential meal. But the recipe is so simple and real that I just had to provide this possible Friday of Lent recipe.
Click here for the recipe.
Keep It Simple and Real
One way to keep things simple and real is to examine your conscience each night as you prepare to go to bed. There are several ways you can do this. One way is review the 10 commandments. And, there are also several guiding questions you may find in prayer books. Another way to do this is by asking 3 simple questions in your prayer.
Let us pray:
(1) How can I improve my relationship with God and make it holier?
(2) How can I improve my relationship with others and make these holier?
(3) How can I improve myself and become holier for God and others?
If we just think about these questions every now and again we may find that prayers become more fruitful when we keep them simple and real.
Ask Fr. Leo for fatherly advice.
Any submissions may be used in future Grace Before Meals publications.Sphere: Related Content
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