TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
In the second reading of this Sunday, the Bible enjoins us to owe nothing to anyone except love—the duty of care (Ref Roman 13:8). That is to say, no matter the nature of the relationship we have with people, there are certain things we owe them as a matter of divine obligation. One such debt that we owe is the duty to pray for others.
You see, where we are today in life is not just the product of our efforts and talents but also of the prayers that have been offered on our behalf by our parents, siblings, relatives, co-workers, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, etc.
Whenever we gather together like during Mass, 1st Friday Sacred Heart Devotions, Eucharistic Adoration, Wednesday night Rosary, etc. we have the tremendous opportunity to affect people’s lives; to help others deal with their situations, reach their goals, overcome their tribulations, have breakthroughs in their lives, and, in many ways, reach their God-given destinies. The Bible says “Whatever two or three of you gather and agree in my Name, I will so decree in heaven”. Scripture is full of stories about people who were brought to Jesus for healing, by others and they got healed; people, who otherwise, would never have experienced the mercy of God.
Many people are so dejected, abandoned, drugged, and hopeless that they are not able to pray for themselves and their only hope for grace from the Lord is through someone else’s prayers. Our prayer for others can be very powerful.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we read about how Herold, noticing how pleased the people were, after he killed James, decided to kill Peter too. The Bible says that the community of the faithful went into prayer for Peter, and the consequence was that, at midnight, an angel of the Lord came to Peter, untied him, and led him out of prison, unseen. The angels of God do go to work when we pray for others. In the book of Revelation, we read that heaven became silent for 30 minutes when the angel of God brought forth the petitions of God’s people to the Heavenly throne. Why, because God was listening!
My friends, God is always in need of Christians willing to stand in faith with His people so as to stand in the breach for others. Join us for 1st Sunday and 1st Friday Eucharistic adorations and Wednesday Rosary devotions, as we use these prayer times to stand in the breach for others while at the same time sowing seeds of grace for ourselves; seeds that God uses to prepare people to stand in the gap for us in the time of our own need. May the good Lord grant us the grace to become part of these devotions, Amen!
