Jesus is the Anointed One of God

 

Friday 25 September 2020

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Following the daily reading from the Gospel prescribed by the Catholic Church, we continue our journey with Jesus in the Gospel of Luke.

As we read and reflect on the Gospel, we should try to discover in prayer what Jesus is telling us through this passage. As the Vatican Council states, ‘Jesus speaks to us through the Gospel’.

To help us proceed through the passage, I have numbered each separate thought.

What is Jesus saying to me in this passage?

Gospel

Luke 9:18-22

'You are the Christ of God'

1.      One day when Jesus was praying alone

2.      in the presence of his disciples

3.      he put this question to them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’

4.      And they answered, ‘John the Baptist; others Elijah; and others say one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’

5.      ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’

6.      It was Peter who spoke up. ‘The Christ of God’ he said.

7.      But he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone anything about this.

 

8.      ‘The Son of Man’ he said ‘is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’

 

Your disciples are there, but you pray alone. Whenever you speak of prayer, you do not say ‘pray to me,’ You always teach us to pray to the Father. He is the Head of the divine family. He is the one who grants requests. All others are intercessors, including yourself. We have it wrong. We always pray to you as if you are the ultimate person to hear our prayer because you are God. Nonetheless, you answer our prayer only if it is in accord with the Father’s will for us. And without our being aware of it, you intercede for us with the Father.

When we pray to you, we should realise that you will intercede with the Father for this request. If it is the very best for us, in every way, the Father will grant it to you. We should always request you to offer our prayer to the Father. If it is the best for us, we can expect the Father to grant it. Only you know the mind of the Father and you pray according to his mind. You will not pray in any other way, however much we beg you in our ignorance or selfishness.

All prayer has a hierarchy. We may pray to saints or your Mother. They do not answer our prayer. They pray to you and you offer their prayer to God the Father. The answer, the grace, comes from the Father to you and you give it to us through the Queen Mother who sits at your side. She distributes all graces that come from the Father through you.

The saints, according to their love and closeness to you have great intercessory power. Most of all and in an entirely different class is your Blessed Mother. Her prayer is most powerful with you. Even when we pray for the wrong thing, through her intercession with you, though the Father cannot give what we ask for, he will bring out the very best for us from the situation. .

“The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God.” (Romans 8:28).