Opening Prayer Series: Fifth Sunday of Year A

OPENING PRAYER SERIES

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

Let us pray

(that God will watch over us and protect us)

Father,

watch over your family 

and keep us safe in Your care 

for all our hope is in You.

 

In making this prayer tangible, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.  How have you experienced God's protection in the past? (write down these incidents so that you can refer to them on a 'dark and grey' day)
2. In what areas of your life do you need God's protection this coming week?
3. What is your image of Father God as being kept safe in His care?
4. Why is our hope in God?
5. What is hope?
6. Why does Father God watch over and protect His family even when cyclones, floods and other natural disasters occur?

 

In today's Gospel Jesus tells his disciples (and us) ' You are the salt of the earth.' and ' You are the light of the world'.  However, the salt and the light have to be up to the mark otherwise it is worthless. Salt in those days was so important since it gave food not only its flavour but its 'shelf life'. We too must give our world its shelf life- its reason for being as well its flavour. For whom will you be the salt of the earth this week?

 

Being a light for the world means just as Jesus said

' your light must shine in the sight of men, 

so that seeing your good works,

they may give the praise to your Father in Heaven'.  

 

Being the light for the world does not bring with it praise from ourselves, rather it is so that others may rightly praise God for our good works. Jesus is giving us our focus for being a light for the world- God not us, since it is only through Him that we live and move and breathe and have our being. We cannot do any good in the world whether as salt or light without Him.

 

So, as we move into another week, let us discover opportunities to be salt and light to our family, friends, parishioners, work colleagues and to all we meet.  Let us remember in doing good, that we allow others to give God the praise He deserves.