……from your Pastor’s Desk
Learning from him
“Lord, increase our faith,” said the apostles in today’s Gospel. Elsewhere they asked him, “Lord teach us how to pray” (Lk 11:1). In essence the two requests were the same. To pray is to focus our heart on God, to have faith in God’s concern for us. Every prayer renews our trust in God, and whenever we turn to God in faith, we are praying.
It is no more possible to have faith without prayer than to swim without water. But we need to pray in the right spirit. Too often we just want to bring God around to our way of thinking rather than putting ourselves under God’s guidance.
Sometimes prayer is used as a magical formula, a last resort, worth a try when all else fails. “Break glass in case of emergency”.
A teacher of the Law was walking along a street with a scholarly friend. When they came to a ladder leaning against a house which was being painted, the scholar refused to pass under it. The lawyer laughed and said “Surely you don’t believe in that old superstition about never walking under a ladder!” “No, I don’t believe in it,” the scholar answered, “but I never waste a chance of avoiding an accident.”
Maybe that’s how we sometimes approach prayer. We may not, in that moment, strongly believe in it, but we feel that maybe it might work, as a last resort. So, we could join in that request, “Lord, increase our faith; Lord, teach us how to pray.”
Jesus did not just teach his friends how to pray, he showed them by his own example. Often, he would turn to God and address him as Father. Early in the morning he would go up the hillside, seemingly his favorite place for quiet prayer.
When visiting Jerusalem, he spent nights at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, so Judas knew where to find him on the night of his arrest. His prayer in the garden is clearly reported. “Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will, not mine be done” (Lk 22:42f).
Well, the Father did not take away the cup of suffering from Jesus. But by embracing the will of God, something greater was to follow for Jesus, ultimately his Resurrection and Ascension.
“Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain. But if it dies, it yields much fruit.”
THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS WILL BE HERE
The Knights of Columbus Santa Rosa 1324 will be on site after the 8:00 and 10:30 Masses on Sunday, October 16th to share with us how the organization has assisted many parishes and non profit organizations in Sonoma County. They will also host coffee and donuts after each Mass. Please stop by and say hello. Contact Paul Peck at 707.828.9302 for additional information.”
Father Ron
