Luke 11:1-4

Jonah 4:1-11

Psalm 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10

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.”

Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are all holy, and call me to share in your holiness. Establish your reign in my heart and in my family. Nourish your divine life in me, forgive my sins, strengthen my resolve to forgive others, and guide me safely to my heavenly home with you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Teach Us to Pray: “When Jesus prays he is already teaching us how to pray. His prayer to his Father is the theological path (the path of faith, hope, and charity) of our prayer to God. But the Gospel also gives us Jesus’ explicit teaching on prayer. Like a wise teacher he takes hold of us where we are and leads us progressively toward the Father. Addressing the crowds following him, Jesus builds on what they already know of prayer from the Old Covenant and opens to them the newness of the coming Kingdom. Then he reveals this newness to them in parables. Finally, he will speak openly of the Father and the Holy Spirit to his disciples who will be the teachers of prayer in his Church” (CCC, 2607). In his teaching on prayer, Jesus insists on conversion of heart. We need to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters, we need to love our enemies, and pray for our persecutors. We need to pray to the Father in secret, not heap up empty phrases, seek forgiveness from the depths of our hearts, and seek the Kingdom before all else (CCC, 2608). “Once committed to conversion, the heart learns to pray in faith. Faith is a filial adherence to God beyond what we feel and understand. It is possible because the beloved Son gives us access to the Father. He can ask us to ‘seek’ and to ‘knock,’ since he himself is the door and the way” (CCC, 2609).

2. Five Petitions: The Lord’s Prayer in the Gospel of Luke contains five petitions. The first two petitions “carry us toward God” (CCC, 2804) and ask that God’s name be hallowed and that God’s kingdom be made present. The last three petitions draw down upon us the eyes of the Father of mercies (CCC, 2805) and request good things from our Father: we ask for our daily bread, the forgiveness of our sins, and to be spared from the final tribulation. The third and fourth petitions concern our life as such – to be fed and to be healed of sin. The fifth and last petition concerns our battle of prayer for the victory of life (CCC, 2805). The Lord’s Prayer is a perfect prayer and a model for our every prayer. By the first two petitions, “we are strengthened in faith, filled with hope, and set aflame by charity” (CCC, 2806). We recognize in this prayer that we are creatures who need bodily and spiritual sustenance from our Father and Creator, that we are sinners who need to be forgiven by God and who need to forgive others, and that we are participants in the unfolding of God’s plan of salvation that he accomplishes for us and for the whole world (CCC, 2806).

3. Jonah Cares More about Himself than Others: The conclusion to the Book of Jonah is somewhat humorous. On the one hand, Jonah is angry that his preaching was effective and that God did not destroy Nineveh. The Ninevites repented of their evil ways, and yet Jonah feels like this was an evil done to him. On the other hand, Jonah is glad that a plant has miraculously grown to give him shade from the sun. There is humor in the contrast between the Lord and Jonah: “The Lord shows himself generous and merciful, while Jonah comes across as callous, selfish, and foolish – as someone out of touch with God’s desire to save the nations beyond Israel. This unflattering picture of the prophet centers on a key contrast: Jonah’s personal discomfort (4:7-9) concerns him more than 120,00 people being rescued from destruction (4:11). Even God jokes with Jonah at the very end, telling Jonah, “I know that the Ninevites are morally confused, that can’t tell their right hand from their left, but if you can’t be happy that 120,000 people repented, at least be happy that the cattle were spared!”

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, thank you for teaching me how to pray and for teaching me what to pray for. Your Father is so good, and I only want to ask for the good things I need to attain eternal life. Guide my prayer always and make sure that I always ask for things according to your Father’s will.

Living the Word of God: Do I model my daily prayer on the Lord’s Prayer? Do I desire holiness? Do I desire God to reign? Do I desire supernatural nourishment? Do I desire mercy? Do I desire to persevere to the end? What lessons have I learned from the story of Jonah that we read during the past three days: 1) That God is in charge of history and my life? 2) That I am called like Jonah to evangelize those around me? 3) That I need to overcome any selfishness that keeps me from rejoicing when those around me turn to God?