Opening Prayer Series: 3rd Sunday of Year A

OPENING PRAYER SERIES:

OPENING PRAYER SERIES: 

The Opening Prayer for the Third Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

Let us pray

(for unity and peace)

All powerful and ever-living God,

direct Your love that is within us,

that our efforts in the name of Your Son,

may bring mankind to unity and peace. 

OPENING PRAYER

In making this prayer tangible for my life this week, the following reflection questions emerged.

1.            Why should I pray for unity and peace?

2.            What parts of my life this week need unity and peace?

3.            How might I bring God's unity and peace to my family, workplace, parish this week?

4.            How might I get in touch with and rekindle Your love within me this week?

5.            How can I ensure that my effort is in the name of Your Son and not in my name?

6.            How did I progress in my spiritual growth during the week?

7.            What is my goal to grow spiritually this week?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Today's Gospel has two aspects to consider:

1.            The fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah.

2.            The calling of the apostles.

Jesus came on earth with a mission- to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, curing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses and to preach 'Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand'. Scripture also tells us

  "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets;
I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. 
For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, 
not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. (Mat 5:17-18)

This is also important for our lives too since we are made up of our past as well as the present and future. We need our past to teach us so that we can move forward, even when our past may not be pretty. The past provides a continuity and like Jesus we need to build on it rather than dismantle it. Our darkness needs the great light of Jesus so that a light will dawn.

It is interesting to note that in the New Testament alone that the word 'fulfils' in relation to fulfilling the scriptures and/or the prophets occurred eighteen times. We may ask ourselves how many times do we fulfil God's law and will for our lives.  We may wish to think about this aspect this week and see how many times we can fulfil God's plan for us during the week.

The second aspect of today's Gospel refers to the calling of Peter, Andrew, James and John- 2 pairs of brothers who were fishermen. Once they heard the call of Jesus, they left their nets at once and followed Him.

We too must follow the call of Jesus, even when it means leaving our safe haven of what we know and living outside our comfort zone. We must hear the call in our hearts and follow Him. Then we can continue the work of Jesus of proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom.

May you bring God's kingdom to your world this coming week.