DAILY HOMILIES #pray

Jesus shows us that even the very life we live is part of our prayer. After praying the words, we must follow our prayers with actions. If we refuse to forgive those who sin against us, then our pleas for God’s forgiveness are not complete.

Pray, do what you can, and leave the let God do the rest. Having committed a problem in God’s hands, you are not permitted to take it back. Worrying about something you have prayed for already is a sign of doubting what God can do.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus did not say “all those who come to gather around me are my sheep.” Instead, He says: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.” These three qualities distinguish the sheep of Christ; First, the sheep must hear the voice of Christ. How often do you read the Bible and meditate on it? Secondly, when Christ says “I know them” it means no one can pretend to be his sheep; you are either with Christ or with another shepherd. Thirdly, Jesus says: “they follow me,” which means, they behave like me. The sheep of Christ incarnate Christ in the world.

The Israelites allowed their hunger to get into them. They said they wished they had died in the hands of the Egyptians. They quickly forgot what God had done for them in the past. When we pray, it is important to remind ourselves of what God has done, Jesus taught us to start our prayer with praise.

Nothing can be more painful than knowing that a time will come when no living person will remember you anymore. Thanks be to God, the church sets aside this day for us to remember the dead.

Always remember the end; always remember that even the air you breathe is borrowed and you will have to relinquish it someday. Thinking of our death often helps us to be less materialistic, it also helps us to forgive easily.