Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]
CCC 2574-2577: Moses and prayer of intercession
CCC 2629-2633: Prayer of petition
CCC 2653-2654: The Word of God, a source of prayer
CCC 2816-2821: “Thy kingdom come”
CCC 875: Urgency of the preaching task
 

"Portrait of a Widow at her Devotions"
by Leandro Bassano, 1590’s

Readings for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Exodus 17:8-13
 
In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said to Joshua,
"Pick out certain men,
and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.
I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand."
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses’ hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.
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Commentary on Ex 17:8-13
 
The Israelites had just finished arguing (at the legendary Massah and Meribah) about whether the Lord was in their midst or not as they continue their trek out of Egypt. In this passage, God’s presence is made clearly known as Moses, raising the staff of God during battle, gives them a sign of his continued support (against Amalek, leader of the indigenous people of southern Palestine). This incident is also mentioned in Deuteronomy 25:17-19. It introduces Joshua as military commander and from this point forward his role is frequently mentioned.  It is another example of Moses' intercessory prayer for the Hebrew people. (see also Exodus 32:11ff, Exodus 34:6-9; Numbers 12:11-14)
 
CCC: Ex 17:8-13 2577
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
 
R. (cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 
The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
 
The Lord will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The Lord will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
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Commentary on Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
 
Psalm 121 is a hymn of blessing given prior to a long and difficult journey. These strophes explain that God is faithful, and will protect the traveler from harm – God is always with us (“he is beside you at your right hand. The sun shall not harm you by day, nor the moon by night”). The imagery in the opening strophes reminds us of Moses in Exodus 17:8-13 as he stood upon a high place so that the Israelites could see that God was with them. In this song of blessing we are reminded of God’s continuing guidance and the salvation he provides us through his Son.
 
CCC: Ps 121:2 1605
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Reading II: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
 
Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed,
because you know from whom you learned it,
and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.
 
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.
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Commentary on 2 Tm 3:14-4:2
 
St. Paul, in his instructions to St. Timothy, tells him that Scripture provides wisdom because it is inspired by God. (Here he is speaking of the Hebrew canon, since the first Christian canon had not yet been codified. However, Dei Verbum, from Dogmatic Constitution On Divine Revelation, quotes this passage as the Church’s view on that body of  Scripture as well.)
 
It is important in this passage to understand what St. Paul is not saying as well. “Paul extols Scripture as a preeminent guide for the moral life. He does not claim, however, that Scripture supplies us with comprehensive instruction in all matters of Christian doctrine, worship, and ecclesial government. Besides the divine authority of the biblical books, he also acknowledges the authority of apostolic tradition (1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:15) and sees the Church built on the foundation of Christ and the apostles (1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 2:20) as the bearer of God’s truth to the world (1 Timothy 3:15).” [5]
 
He goes on to tell his disciple that his work needs to be persistent, alluding to the idea that the work of spreading the Gospel will be difficult, and a life-long task. Timothy is charged to admonish and teach in all manner of situations (see also Ephesians 5:16).
 
CCC: 2 Tm 4 2015; 2 Tm 4:1 679
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Gospel: Luke 18:1-8
 
Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
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Commentary on Lk 18:1-8
 
This is the first of two parables on the need for prayer found in St. Luke’s Gospel. In this selection, the Lord tells the disciples of the need for persistent prayer so they do not fall victim to apostasy.  He assures them that God, the just judge, will listen to their prayers, and come speedily to their aid in times of need.
 
“As the widow pleaded for justice, so we should persevere in faith and tirelessly petition God for our needs (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:17)” In v.6, “His [the unrighteous judge’s] indifference to the widow’s distress was a violation of justice (Deuteronomy 27:19).  The parable’s outcome is thus a mere shadow of God’s concern for us.  If an unjust and callous judge will vindicate a persevering widow, the Father will much more come to the aid of his prayerful children (Sirach 35:12-17).” [6]
 
The question at the end of the parable (“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”) completes a thought in Luke 17:37, which relates the relationship of the faithful to God at the final judgment.
 
CCC: Lk 18:1-8 2573, 2613; Lk 18:1 2098; Lk 18:8 675
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Reflection:
 
"It must be humbly and realistically recognized that we are poor creatures, confused in ideas, tempted by evil, frail and weak, in continual need of inner strength and consolation.
 

• Prayer gives the strength for great ideas, to maintain faith, charity, purity and generosity.

• Prayer gives the courage to emerge from indifference and guilt, if unfortunately, one has yielded to temptation and weakness.

• Prayer gives light to see and consider the events of one's own life and of history in the salvific perspective of God and eternity.

 
“Therefore, do not stop praying! Let not a day pass without your having prayed a little! Prayer is a duty, but it is also a great joy, because it is a dialogue with God through Jesus Christ! Every Sunday, Holy Mass: if it is possible for you, sometimes during the week; every day, morning and evening prayers, and at the most suitable moments!” (Saint John Paul II, "Audience with Young People", 14 March 1979).
 
So much is written on prayer, and so many great leaders of our faith have exhorted us to pray and spoken about how we must do so, it is difficult to find new words that would improve upon those given to us by St. Luke’s Gospel, or the words quoted above from Saint John Paul II.  We resort then to asking one question, since we all know how important it is to pray, and thereby come into God’s presence spiritually: why is it that so few of us achieve the blessed status of the saints who have gone before us?  It is not rocket science. For over two thousand years we have been told to pray, pray constantly, yet we often find prayer either difficult or empty.
 
We will not embark upon a treatise on prayer, on the hows or whys of it.  Rather we will simply point to the idea that one reason our prayer is so often difficult or empty is because we do not believe God will listen, and listening to our insignificant needs, answer.  The parable of the widow and the unjust judge assures us that, in spite of our inner feelings, our Heavenly Father loves us so intensely that he does listen and will answer, even the most insignificant of prayers.  Our challenge, knowing this, is to listen for the answer, and not become disheartened because the answer, more often than not, is no.
 
Recall a story I have used before about the great drought in northern India. People were suffering and finally, a great multitude of Christians decided to all get together and pray that God would send rain to end the drought.  Five thousand gathered on a plain in that region and prayed.  Lo and behold it started to rain and in all that huge crowd, only a five-year-old girl had brought an umbrella!
 
Today we rededicate ourselves to walking with God in prayer.  His Son came to us so that we might know how intensely he listens and left us the Holy Spirit as a “heavenly hearing aid.” It only requires the batteries of faith and the will to plug it in.
 
Pax
 
In other years on October 16^th:
Optional Memorial for Saint Hedwig, Religious
Or
Optional Memorial for Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is ”Portrait of a Widow at her Devotions” by Leandro Bassano, 1590’s.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 400.
[6] Ibid p.140.