OUR LIVES ARE REFLECTIONS OF THE QUALITY OF OUR PRAYERS Homily for Thursday of the12week in ordinary time JUNE 2022

OUR LIVES ARE REFLECTIONS OF THE QUALITY OF OUR PRAYERS

Matthew 7:21-29

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, today's Gospel reading reminds us that prayer alone without good works is insufficient to guarantee entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said to his disciples “Not everyone who says to me, Lord Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21). Jesus reminds us today that prayer is both vertical and horizontal. Vertical because we lift our souls, minds and hearts to God our Father who is in heaven, and horizontal because the quality of our prayer depends on the way we live our lives in relation to our neighbour. So we live the way we pray and pray the way we live. Yes, the nature of our lives is a reflection of the quality of our prayer. Both the vertical and the horizontal go hand in hand. This is similar to the declaration in the letter of St. James that 'Faith without good works is dead (James 2:14). St. John tells us that if anyone says, “I love God, yet hates his brother and sister, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother and sister, who he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” ( 1John 4:20). Prayer, therefore, is an expression of our love for God and our neighbour.

Beloved in Christ, this declaration of Jesus in the Gospel of today is very significant because many have divorced the vertical aspect of prayer (worship to God) from the horizontal aspect (love of neighbour), and have prioritised the vertical aspect of prayer to the detriment of the horizontal. Concluding in themselves that prayer is sufficient if one lifts the mind and heart to God without consideration of the love for one's neighbour. Many have structured their energies and strengths toward making prophecies in the name of God, toward becoming miracle workers and ministers capable of casting out demons in the name of God. But are very shallow in the simple virtues of the kingdom of God: Charity to the needy, kindness, hospitality to strangers, compassion, mercy, care for the less privileged, concern for the poor and destitute, kindness to the ophans, widows and widowers, visit those in captivity, feeding the hungry, quenching the thirsty, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick etc. These virtues seem neglected, even though we have so many in our churches who demonstrate gestures of prayer. There seems to be a disconnect in understanding or volition towards what prayer encompasses. Friends in Christ, let us not be merely listeners of the word of God but doers of the word of God so that we may be like the house built on a solid foundation, rain came, flood rose, gale blew against the house and it did not fall.

We pray in this eucharistic celebration that we may gain the sufficient graces to help us translate into practical love of our neighbours, the worship of we offer to God. May the name of God be glorified in our lives both now and forever more. Amen

Have a fruitful day!

Fr Remi osj