In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds. – Sirach 48:14

       One day, Alfred Nobel, a chemist, inventor and armaments manufacturer, read the newspaper and got the surprise of his life. Printed in bold letters in the obituary section was his name: Alfred Nobel, Inventor of Dynamite. They had mistaken him for his brother who recently died. Alfred took to heart the horror of being known and remembered for something as destructive as dynamite. So he employed his acquired wealth to establish what now is known as one of the most prized awards in the world: the Nobel Prize. Now, Alfred is remembered for his noble Nobel. I bet if he read his actual obituary again, he would have smiled.

       Friend, maybe you haven’t been living life “nobly.” All of us have done things we are not proud of. The good news is, we can right what’s wrong. Just as Alfred didn’t settle for leaving a less-than-noble legacy to the world, we can make the powerful choice to change. Elisha, in the reading above, was a true disciple of his mentor, Elijah. He, too, is remembered with the greatness of his predecessor.

       Recognize that God has purposed your life to be a blessing to others… not only now on earth, but even after. Fulfill your call and, by God’s grace, create the life a child of God should live. Jonathan Yogawin (jyogawin@gmail.com)

Reflection: What would you like to read in your obituary? Live today to make that happen.

Lord, may I be remembered as Your true disciple.

St. Romuald, abbot, pray for us.

There is nothing like watching the power of God at work in a person’s life. Miracles are spectacular and I wish we saw many more of them. However, the greatest work of God for our salvation is the work of personal conversion. This is the ongoing work in each of our lives and something that commands our daily attention.

1 Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace. 2 Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits; 3 by the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire. 4 How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours? 5 You brought a dead man back to life from the nether world, by the will of the Lord. 6 You sent kings down to destruction, and easily broke their power into pieces. You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness. 7 You heard threats at Sinai, at Horeb avenging judgments. 8 You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance, and a prophet as your successor. 9 You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses. 10 You were destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the Lord, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. 11 Blessed is he who shall have seen you and who falls asleep in your friendship. For we live only in our life, but after death our name will not be such. 12 O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind! Then Elisha, filled with a twofold portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will. 13 Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into life. 14 In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds.

R:Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

1 The Lord is king; let the earth rejoice; let the many isles be glad. 2 Clouds and darkness are round about him, justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne. (R) 3 Fire goes before him and consumes his foes round about. 4 His lightnings illumine the world; the earth sees and trembles. (R) 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his justice, and all peoples see his glory. (R) 7 All who worship graven things are put to shame, who glory in the things of nought; all gods are prostrate before him. (R)

What matters is not the number of words we pray but their meaning and the desire with which we pray them. Too often our prayer is an empty ritual full of words that have lost their meaning. Too often we rush through our prayers to get them over and done with and we have not really prayed at all. Let us pray that our relationship with Jesus never becomes so ritualistic that it loses its meaning.

You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!

7 Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, 10 thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 13 and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ 14 “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

think:  The greatest work of God for our salvation is the work of personal conversion.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 2 Kings 13-15

A HEAVENLY FATHER

Today, we have the form of the Lord’s Prayer according to Matthew. One might notice in the Gospel of Mathew the number of times God is mentioned as “heavenly Father.” According to Jewish custom, a common characteristic was to have a long list of words in addressing prayer to God so as to be heard. On the contrary, Jesus teaches that prayer should be a matter of simplicity and trust, because the Father knows all things.

       Prayer is always addressed to the Father. One might notice in the opening prayers of the Mass the various ways God is invoked as Father: Almighty, merciful, loving, compassionate. The descriptions are endless. God is holy and His name is kept holy for all ages. By addressing God as Father and as the Holy One, we remind ourselves of the kind of Presence we find ourselves in when we pray to God. He is our awesome, mighty and omnipotent Creator. After addressing God for who He is, we make our needs known. Jesus teaches us that it is enough to ask God to give us our daily bread — all that we need for sustenance, provision in meeting our concerns for the day. After asking God for assistance, we seek forgiveness for our wrongdoing — to God, others and ourselves.

       Matthew emphasizes the importance of forgiveness in the praying community. God will not listen to our prayer if we do not forgive others. God expects nothing less. He has forgiven us; we should do the same to others. The stakes are high — if we fail to forgive, God will not forgive us. It is a terrible thing to be found unforgiving in the eyes of God.

       Let the Gospel today increase our trust in the heavenly Father. Perhaps our earthly father has helped us to appreciate the heavenly Father. For many, a bad relationship with their earthly fathers can affect their relationship with God as heavenly Father. The prayer of Our Lord redeems all this and reminds us of a Father who loves, knows and provides for all His children. And that is what we are called to be — children of God. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTION: Pray the Our Father, one phrase at a time, and pause for a moment whenever you feel led to reflect on the phrase you have prayed.

Heavenly Father, thank You for calling me Your son/daughter. Amen.