Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
ORAR SIEMPRE SIN DESANIMARSE
Hermanas y hermanos:
El evangelio de hoy nos da la clave para encontrar nuestra felicidad. Nosotros, que muchas veces nos dejamos llevar por el dulce atractivo de ser más, tener más, valer más, a veces vemos la oración como algo innecesario, ridículo e incluso inútil. ¿Para qué sirve rezar? ¡El hombre moderno cree que lo único importante es la acción, el esfuerzo personal, la programación, las estrategias, los resultados!
1. Pero Cristo nos presenta aquí la oración como algo necesario en esta vida. Nos enseña que el hombre vale por lo que es y es lo que ora; y cuanto más ore, mejor será escuchado por Dios. No es que Cristo quiera hacerse del rogar. Él podría darnos lo que necesitamos sin que se lo pidamos; lo que espera es que le mostremos el amor que le tenemos. ¿Para qué sirve rezar? Sencillamente para vivir. La oración es eficaz sobre todo porque transforma nuestra vida.
2. Hay que orar con toda la persona, la mente, el corazón, la voluntad; pero también, orar siempre, sin desfallecer. El amor nunca se cansa. Un novio ¿se cansa acaso de decirle a su novia cuánto le ama? Si se aman sin interrupción, minuto a minuto, la vida se vuelve llevadera, las "ganas" de orar, las "ganas" de amar, surgen espontáneas porque para el que ama no hay límites, ni barreras.
3. Nuestra vida cristiana está llena de peticiones insistentes. Cuando los hijos quieren un juguete, lo piden al padre. Si no reciben respuesta rápida, comienzan a inquietarse y atacan de nuevo. Si siguen sin conseguirlo, no dejan de intentar y piden y vuelven a pedir. Sólo tienen una meta: que le compren el juguete.
También los padres piden mucho. Cuando el señor quiere un aumento del salario, acude al jefe. No sólo una sino varias veces. Y a base de tozudez logra un dinero extra. Y las señoras también tienen sus gustos. Si les atrae salir de compras, acuden al marido. A base de dulces palabras y de caricias, convencen al esposo y logran su objetivo.
4. Si vivimos orando, podremos enseñar a orar y transmitir nuestra experiencia. Y el primer medio es el recuerdo de Dios. Enseñaba San Pedro de Damasco: "Si ves la luz, recuerda a Aquel que te la ha dado; si contemplas el cielo, el mar, la montaña, alaba al que los ha creado. Si te pones un vestido, piensa en quien te lo ha regalado, así tu alma gozará siempre". Pero no basta hablar de Dios, esto lo puede hacer un ateo. Hay que hablar con Dios. Quien evangeliza sin rezar, termina por no evangelizar.
Para Jesús, orar, quiere decir hablar con nuestro Padre. Hablar con Dios con la confianza con que habla un niño con su madre. Confiemos en Dios con la certeza de que nos dará lo que le pedimos. ¡Ánimo! ¡Sin miedo! ¡Acribillemos a Dios con nuestras plegarias!
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
PRAY ALWAYS WITHOUT DISCOURAGEMENT
Sisters and brothers,
Today's Gospel gives us the key to find our happiness. Many times we allow ourselves to be carried along by the sweet attraction of being more, having more, being more worthwhile; at times we come to see prayer as something unnecessary, ridiculous and even useless. What is the good of praying? Modern man believes that the only thing important is action, personal effort, planning, strategies, results!
1. But here Christ is showing us that prayer is something necessary in life. He teaches us that a man is worth what he is, and he is in the measure that he prays. The more he prays, the better God will hear him. It's not that Christ wants to play hard to get.
He could give us what we need without us even asking him for it; what he wants is for us to show him how much we love him. What is the good of praying? Quite simply, we pray to live. Prayer is efficient particularly because it transforms our life.
2. We need to pray with our whole being, mind, heart, will; and we must also pray always, without ceasing. Love never grows weary. Does a man ever tire of telling his beloved how much he loves her? Where there is uninterrupted love, minute after minute, life becomes easy and there is a spontaneous desire to pray, to love, because for those who love there are no limits, no boundaries.
3. Our life as Christians is full of insistent requests. When children want a toy, they ask their father. If they don't get a quick answer, they get restless and start another attack. If they still don't get what they want, they don't stop trying and keep asking. They only have one goal in mind: for him to buy them the toy.
Parents also ask for a lot. When a man wants a salary increase, he goes to his boss. Not just once, but a few times. And through his persistence he earns more money. And women also have their likes. If they like going shopping, they go to their husband. By kind words and gestures they convince their husband and attain their goal.
4. If we live in prayer, we can teach others to pray and pass on our experience. And the first means is remembering God. Saint Paul of Damascus used to teach: "If you see the light, remember the One who gave it to you; if you behold the heavens, the seas, the mountains, praise Him who made them all. If you put on new clothes, think in the one who gave it to you, and in that way your soul will be always joyful." But it's not enough to speak about God; even an atheist can do that. We need to speak with God. If anyone tries to evangelize without praying, they will end up not evangelizing.
For Jesus, prayer means speaking with our Father, speaking to God with the same trust of a child speaking to his mother. Let us trust in God, knowing that he will give us what we ask of him. Come on! Be not afraid! Let us bombard God with our prayers!
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