Daily Prayer
July 13th, 2010
‘Jesus began to reproach the towns in which most of his miracles had been worked, because they refused to repent’
Matthew 11: 20
In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus reproaching the towns which had refused to repent even though he had worked many miracles in their midst. Our Lord felt deeply the rejection and opposition which he met from his own people. Early in his ministry he was driven out of the synagogue, in Nazareth, where he had been brought up, so he adopted Capernaum as his hometown. Sadly he fared no better here in spite of all his teaching and miracles. He compares the spiritual condition of Capernaum unfavourably with Sodom, which was a byword, in his time, for godless behaviour. Later on we see Jesus shed tears over Jerusalem because they too had missed their opportunity and would be left desolate.
What about us today? We too have experienced the Lord’s goodness in so many ways. Jesus offers himself daily to us in the Eucharist; is always ready to forgive our failings and strengthens us in our daily struggles. All he asks is our love in return; a love which shows itself in doing his will. Let us pray for the gift of true repentance so that our hearts may be open to the Holy Spirit who will renew us with his gifts of love, joy and peace.
Prayer
Have mercy on me O God, in your goodness; in your tenderness wipe away my faults; wash me clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin.
For I am well aware of my faults. I have my sin constantly in my mind; having sinned against none other than you, having done what you regard as wrong. ( Psalm 51 )
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.”
