Daily Prayer
June 10th, 2010
"Lord, may your healing love keep us from sin and keep us on the way that leads to you"
(Psalm 27)
Matthew 5.20-26
Jesus said to his disciples, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times,” “You shall not murder,” and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.”
But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment.
“So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go first to be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.
“But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister you are liable to judgment.”
Jesus shifts the ground from the act of murder to the emotional prelude to murder, anger.
We should acknowledge our emotions but not act them out in rage, or killing or other violence.
Jesus’ words touch deeply and gets at the root cause of moral activity. We must live life trusting in Gods mercy.
Prayer
God our Father you are our hope and strength without you we falter.
Help us to follow Jesus’ teaching and live according to your will. Amen
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.”
