Daily Prayer
June 20th, 2010
“Who do you say that I am?”
Luke 9: 20
To be fully known, accepted and understood by others, is one of the deepest hungers of the human heart. While self-belief is important, if we were to be honest, most of us are more than curious about what others think of us. In today’s excerpt from St. Luke’s Gospel, Jesus puts two questions to his followers.
The first question is: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They told him that some thought he was John the Baptist, others Elijah or one of the prophets who had come back to life. Jesus then asked them “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter, on behalf of them all, answered, “The Christ of God”
The Christian faith goes beyond knowing what others believe. It requires us to hold belief for ourselves. Peter has come a long way since he was first called by Jesus. Peter’s reply would have consequences for him. Jesus took Peter a step further and expanded on his answer. The consequences for Peter as for Jesus would lead to his own death.
The question is not simply looking for information. When Jesus asks us individually, “Who do you say that I am?” he wants us to take a stand. It is asking us where we stand in relationship to Jesus. It is a heart-searching question. Who do you say Jesus is? Jesus stands before you today and says: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ For all of us, we need to give a personal answer to Jesus’ question…
Prayer
"Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief"
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.”
