Daily Mass Gospel Reflection- Prayer is the Fuel

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 10-18-21 | Aux. Bishop R. Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist

Luke 10:1-9

Friends, our Gospel shows us what Jesus wants his followers to be doing and how they ought do it. We are a missionary church. We are sent by the Lord to spread his word and do his work. The Gospel is just not something that we are meant to cling to for our own benefit; it is seed that we are meant to give away.

Prayer is not incidental to ministry. It is not decorative. It is the lifeblood of the Church’s efforts. Without it, nothing will succeed; without it, no ministers will come forward. At all times pray, pray, pray.

Poverty and simplicity of life are prerequisites to the effective proclamation of the Gospel. Anthony, Benedict, Chrysostom, Francis and Clare, Dominic, Ignatius, Mother Teresa—across the board, the most effective proclaimers of the Gospel are those who rely on the providence of God and strip themselves of worldliness.

What is the first thing that the minister should do upon entering a city? “Cure the sick there.” Christ is Soter, healer of both body and spirit. The second great task of the Church is to proclaim that “the reign of God is at hand.” The Church is an announcing, proclaiming, evangelizing organism.

[MurphsLaw]

+++The Lord Jesus appointed
seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended
to visit.
He said to them,
“The harvest is abundant but the
laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his
harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs
among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no
sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, ‘Peace to this
household.’
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.

[ebb tide]

At all times pray, pray, pray.

“You cannot pray, repeating words like a parrot. Either you enter into the mystery, aware that God is your father; or you are not praying. If you pray in a different way, you're not praying. Pope Francis

I guess rosaries are out in francischurch.

In an anecdote the “Holy Father” himself related, upon his election as Francis, he got a letter from one of those (his words) “restorationist groups” in Buenos Aires, telling him: “Your Holiness, we offer you this spiritual treasure: 3,525 rosaries.”

For a Catholic, that is wonderful news. How many graces must have been unlocked through so many Rosaries prayed by faithful souls! What a blessing!

That’s how a Catholic reacts. Mr. Bergoglio reacted differently. Instead of being humbled at this kindness, gratefully receiving the bouquet, and perhaps offering some prayers in return, knowing what a wonderful gift it is to receive over 3,500 Rosaries, Francis says that this bouquet is evidence of a “Pelagian current” and it “concerned” him because “one feels as if one goes back 60 years! Before the Council… One feels in 1940…. Why don’t they say, ‘we pray for you, we ask…’, but this thing of counting…” (Address to CLAR on June 6, 2013).

[dsc]

Bet he stinks of fire and brimstone.