First Reading
Jonah 4:1-11
Jonah was greatly displeased
and became angry that God did not carry out the evil
he threatened against Nineveh.
He prayed, “I beseech you, LORD,
is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?
This is why I fled at first to Tarshish.
I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God,
slow to anger, rich in clemency, loath to punish.
And now, LORD, please take my life from me;
for it is better for me to die than to live.”
But the LORD asked, “Have you reason to be angry?”
Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it,
where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade,
to see what would happen to the city.
And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant
that grew up over Jonah’s head,
giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort,
Jonah was very happy over the plant.
But the next morning at dawn
God sent a worm that attacked the plant,
so that it withered.
And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind;
and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint.
Then Jonah asked for death, saying,
“I would be better off dead than alive.”
But God said to Jonah,
“Have you reason to be angry over the plant?”
“I have reason to be angry,” Jonah answered, “angry enough to die.”
Then the LORD said,
“You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor
and which you did not raise;
it came up in one night and in one night it perished.
And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city,
in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons
who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left,
not to mention the many cattle?”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10
R.(15) Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O Lord,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
Gospel
Luke 11:1-4
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)
REFLECTION
When I was younger, I didn’t really know how to pray. I didn’t see the point in why I had to put so much effort in something that I didn’t really want to do.
We had a Christian Life Education or CLE class that taught me a lot about God. It taught me stories about the Bible, how to be more Christ-centered and how to be closer to God. It also taught me basic prayers and from there I just followed a certain format for praying. I always started my prayer with saying thank you, then saying sorry for my wrongdoings and then asking the Lord for guidance in the things I’m doing.
I prayed without realizing that I was actually talking to someone; I was just praying for the sake of it.
Eventually, I learned more and more about praying as I grew older. I realized that praying brought peace in my life because He is there, listening to every word I prayed. In times of stress, prayer has calmed my mind. Prayer became my comfort zone.
It’s not how you pray but how strong your faith in God is. There is no formula in praying. You can talk to Him in any time and anywhere. The Lord will hear you no matter where you are. It’s just a matter of believing in God’s will.
Prayer
Dearest Lord, Thank you for the gift of prayer. Thank you for making life easier through talking to you each day. When times are tough, you bring me to my happy place. I pray to become closer to you and for everyone to have a much more stronger faith in you.
Author
Click on the bubble to find out more about Josh!
Photo by: Amaury Gutierrez (@amaury_guti at unsplash.com)
Little Whispers 