Homiletics of the Fathers of The Island of Patmos

PRAYER FROM THE TERRIBLE QUESTION: "WHEN THE SON OF MAN WILL RETURN, HE WILL FIND FAITH ON EARTH?»

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In life everyone has or has had deep friendships, and depending on how much time we spent with our friend, of what we shared with him, our love for him or her increases. He wrote the philosopher Aristotle: "Friendship is a soul dwelling in two bodies, a heart that lives in two souls ".

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Author:
Gabriele Giordano M. Scardocci, o.p.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

Salvador Dali: Girl at the window

in this XXIX Sunday of ordinary time, the liturgy offers us considerable food for thought [see Liturgy of the Word, WHO]. In life everyone has had, of hectares, deep friendships and, depending on how much time we spent with our friend, of what we shared with him, our love for him or her increases. He wrote the philosopher Aristotle:

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"Friendship is a soul dwelling in two bodies, a heart that lives in two souls ".

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This being as one It is therefore made possible by an open and sincere dialogue that believers becomes possible for us making us one with the Lord through the most lively and fruitful dialogue: prayer. Just this tell us about the songs today. Let's start from the first reading Old Testament:

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"Moses said to Joshua,: "Choose us some men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill, with the rod of God "in hand" [Is 17,1]

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The Jewish People It is supported by Moses while fighting the Amalekites, one of the armies of the most aggressive and therefore quite hard to defeat. Moses joined army Jewish, for which invokes God to support them.

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For us prayer thus indicates a union with those in spiritual warfare, but also it is wanting in a test phase. Praying can mean continually invoke the strength and support of God towards those who suffer and can be a moral fatigue, physics, spiritual. Prayer is therefore first call upon God as support for those we love. It's intercession as almost get in the middle between God and his people. This is why Jesus himself asks his disciples never to stop praying, as explained the Gospel passage:

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"During that time, Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray, tirelessly " [LC 18, 1].

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In the parable of the Lord ago so see how the widow turns continually to the judge gets tired of hearing it kick, and eventually fulfills. With this provocation of Jesus to the disciples becomes evident: the judge who has no relationship with the widow, can not resist the constant complaints. The Lord instead has an intimate relationship with us, if we ask the right thing by prayer, We will hear us. The unceasing prayer, at the same time he teaches us to ask the Lord, but at the same time to learn to ask what is needed for us.

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That final question of Jesus: "When the son of man returns, find faith on the earth " [LC 18,1] also shows a connection between faith and prayer. Faith feeds the prayer and at the same time the prayer is nourished by faith. Even a dying faith or underactive through prayer rediscovers life, because all our life of faith finds nourishment in prayer and in the sacraments.

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At this point then we see how they pray unceasingly. He says St. Paul speaking to Timothy: please ceaselessly if we pray with the word of God:

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"But you keep balance in what you have learned and are convinced, knowing from whom you learned it and that from childhood you know the Holy Scriptures: They are able to instruct for salvation, which is obtained through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, to convince, correcting and training in righteousness, That the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work " [2 TM 3, 14-16]

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The word of God is God and it helps to do good works, especially works of charity that help us become saints. If we pray with the Word of God, It becomes a continuous way of praying. There are many ways to pray, therefore, with the word of God, such as read a short passage from the Gospel day, before going to work. Or to make a longer prayer there is lectio divina, as reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation of God's word.

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The German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: "To pray is to catch your breath before God; pray is to rely on God ".

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We ask the Lord to help to ensure the vital oxygen our prayer becomes day by day, and united to the sacraments, both the lungs with which to breathe a life of joyful faith, satisfaction and fullness of himself.

Amen.

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Rome, 19 October 2019

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