Mother Church
celebrates the 28th day of July 2013 as the 17th Sunday
in ordinary time in the Church’s year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “God is in his holy dwelling; he will give a
home to the lonely, he gives power and strength to his people. Amen.”
Prayer is at the center of the readings of this day’s Holy Mass. In the first reading, from the Book of Genesis, Abraham intercedes with God on behalf of the condemned cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, again illustrating, as we saw in the first reading of last Sunday, that Abraham holds a special place before God and enjoys a close friendship with him. The intimacy between God and Abraham reminds us of the close relationship God had with our first parent Adam before the latter fell into sin. With Abraham, God reverses Adam’s fall and shows that he is a God who listens to the pleas of his people. In the second reading, from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, we see Paul’s converts being harassed by Jewish Christians, who want them to obey the old Law of Moses, particularly the law on circumcision. Paul argues that baptism in Christ is all that matters to a Christian because it brings to the baptized the effects of Christ’s death and resurrection. By rising from the dead Christ freed them and us from sin, a feat the ancient Law could not achieve. In the passage of Saint Luke’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his own disciples. They realize that their future preaching and mission will need constant help from God. Christ then teaches them to persevere in their prayer to God, who is their Father in heaven. As God listens to Abraham’s persistent appeal for mercy on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, so too does he listen to us when we appeal to him for help, either individually or collectively, especially during Eucharistic celebrations. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the courage of perseverance in prayer.
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