28th Sunday of the year
October 10th, 2010
"Still happier those who hear the Word of God and keep it"
Luke 11 : 28
Jesus had just cast out a dumb demon and instead of having his power acknowledged, he was accused by some bystanders of being in league with Satan himself! It was a woman in the crowd who raised her voice to offer homage to the Lord. And she did it by praying a blessing on his Mother. Jesus, of course, is happy to hear His Mother being praised but he uses this opportunity to teach us that we can all be blessed if we listen to God’’s Word and let it rule our lives.
On more than one occasion St. Luke associates Mary with fidelity to the Word of God. Her response on being asked to become the Mother of God’’s Son was “Let it be done to me according to your Word” Luke 1 : 38. At the birth of Jesus and again when Jesus as a boy is found in the Temple, we are told that Mary “Kept all these things in her heart” Luke 2 : 19. An on the occasion when Mary and her brethren were looking for Jesus we are told “My Mother and my brethren are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” Luke 8 : 21.
Jesus is giving us His Mother as the perfect example of a true Disciple. It’’s not any blood relationship, or belonging to a particular race or religion which makes us fit for the Kingdom of God. Fellowship is open to all who “Hear the Word of God and keep it.”
Prayer
Prayer : "Lord your Word is a lamp to my feet, a light on my path. As your Word unfolds, it gives light, and the simple understand. I am up before dawn to call for help, I put my hope in your Word. I long for you, Yahweh, my Saviour, your law is my delight" verses taken from Psalm 118
The prayer for each day has been prepared by various members of the Holy Family Association. All who visit our website are remembered in prayer. If you would like us to pray for a particular need, simply complete and submit the form on the right hand side of this page. You may wish to leave a comment in the space below.
Just a Thought
How the Holy Family prayer: A Reflection by Pope Benedict XVI
“I would like to invite you to reflect on the place of prayer in the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home of Nazareth, in fact, is a school of prayer where we learn to listen, to ponder and to penetrate the profound meaning of the manifestation of the Son of God, drawing our example from Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
Pope Paul VI during his visit to Nazareth said “we come to understand the need for a spiritual discipline, if we wish to follow the teaching of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ.” And he added: “First, it teaches us silence. Oh! That there would be reborn in us the esteem for silence, that wonderful and indispensable atmosphere of the spirit: while we are deafened by so many noises, sounds and clamorous voices in the frantic and tumultuous times of modern life. Oh! Silence of Nazareth, teach us to be resolute in good thoughts, intent upon the interior life, ready to listen well to the secret inspirations of God and the exhortations of the true masters.”
We can glean several insights on the Holy Family’s prayer and relationship with God from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ childhood. We may begin with the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. St. Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph, “when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, brought the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord”(2:22). Like every observant Jewish family, Jesus’ parents go up to the temple to consecrate the firstborn son to God and to offer sacrifice. Moved by fidelity to the law’s prescriptions, they set off from Bethlehem and go up to Jerusalem with Jesus, who is now forty days old. Instead of a one-year-old lamb, they present the offering of simple families; that is two young pigeons. The Holy Family’s pilgrimage is one of faith, of the offering of gifts, a symbol of prayer, and of encounter with the Lord, whom Mary and Joseph already see in the son Jesus.”
