“If you can!” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” – Mark 9:23

I have a weird tendency to ask God for something big, but at that pivotal moment that He answers my prayer, I’d become fearful. Thoughts that I didn’t deserve the blessing would fill my mind or I’d doubt whether I had what it takes to accomplish what was set before me.

       One recent incident was when I declared to God that I wanted to proclaim His Word and become a lay preacher. Then one day, our Feast builder, who heads our prayer meeting, told me that he wanted me to start preaching at our gathering. I was excited, but at the same time I panicked and became fearful.

       I offered to God my concerns and He assured me that He would equip me. Since then, constant prayer and communion with Him have fueled my preaching and my whole life.

       No matter what you’re facing right now, bring your apprehensions before the Lord. Prayer can restore your joy and even propel you to reach greater success. JPaul Hernandez (jpaulmh@yahoo.com)

Reflection: When did you last pray desperately to God?

Jesus, I open myself to Your Spirit so that I may truly understand the full power of prayer.

Blessed Luke Belludi, pray for us.

One of the signs of true righteousness is peace. This makes a lot of sense because love, the basis of righteousness, will always work for enduring peace in the world. If we examine all the fruits of the Spirit, we will see that they contribute to peace in one way or another. This means that if we work for true peace in our relationships and within our communities, we will automatically grow in love and righteousness as well.

13 Beloved: Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 Wisdom of this kind does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.

7 [8] The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. (R) 8 [9] The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye. (R) 9 [10] The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just. (R) 14 [15] Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart find favor before you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (R)

Prayer is an important part of our faith. It is essential to harnessing fully the graces God has given us. The grace of God is rarely something that benefits the individual alone — it is to be shared with others in some way or another. Even if a particular grace is personal, one’s growth in embracing the grace will benefit those around him as it will change him for the better.

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.

14 As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. 15 Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. 18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” 19 He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” 20 They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. 21 Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. 22 It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” 24 Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” 25 Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” 26 Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. 28 When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” 29 He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”

think: If we work for true peace in our relationships and within our communities, we will automatically grow in love and righteousness.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 1 Timothy 4-6

INVESTING IN PRAYER

More and more today, we are exposed to the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) culture. This is a good thing because it allows us to move beyond our perceived abilities, and to strive to come up with something unique through our own efforts. In a sense, we can say that we are involved in what we do because we are part of it not only in the planning but more so in the execution.

       Take for example the painting of a house. Today, we are more inclined to do the painting or repainting job ourselves. Not only is it practical, it is also fun to do! But, as in anything, one needs to know what to prepare beforehand. Before doing any painting job, we need to make sure we have scraped, filed, sanded and cleaned the wall. After that, and probably the most important, we have to apply a primer. We cannot skip these prerequisites. If we do, we will have a finished product that is either seriously flawed or may not work at all. Imagine your wall paint peeling off in front of your eyes, or seeing bubbles or rough surfaces after you have finished the job.

       We can create something we can be truly proud of if we take the time to prepare. The same applies to what we read in the Gospel today. At the end of the passage, a disciple of Jesus asks, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” And Jesus mentioned a prerequisite: prayer. We cannot expect to heal, do miracles, drive out bad spirits, or anything, if we are not men of prayer like Jesus.

       We need to invest time for prayer if we want to see fruits in our ministry. While it is easy to put together projects for the poor, for the underprivileged and the needy, as in painting a house, we need to have these integrated with prayer, a necessary prerequisite, and to ultimately lead them to prayer, as an act of thanksgiving and praise to God. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, OFS

Lord Jesus, make me a person of prayer.