Shalom

5 Nov Mon	31st Week in Ordinary Time
	Rom. 11:29-36 Ps. 69:30-31, 33-34, 36-37 Lk. 14:12-14

How To Pray With Shalom

Home Page of Shalom

Index of This Month

God's riches and wisdom, knowledge and judgement, God's mind and ways: these elements of the mystery of God's dealing with humanity are the subject of Paul's prayer of exultation. Looking at the behaviour of Jesus and listening to His words allows us to see the mystery of God's wisdom incarnate in our own history. In today's passage from St Luke, we hear Jesus issuing a challenge which goes quite contrary to the wisdom of this world. His words reflect a different wisdom, a divine wisdom. Essentially Jesus is calling upon us to give without hope of recompense, to love and serve unconditionally.

Frequently in the bible we are confronted by two kinds of wisdom. There is a human wisdom which considers matters from a human perspective. There is a divine wisdom which sees all our human affairs from the depths of the mystery of God's infinite love.

Divine wisdom may be revealed to us through the medium of human wisdom. As God entered our human history in Jesus, so our human history is a vehicle for God's revelation. The challenge comes when our human wisdom is not consonant with the divine wisdom.

Lord, grant us a deeper appreciation of our human wisdom, that it may help us to be more open to the fullness of Your divine wisdom.

DAILY OFFERING

Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH

INTENTION
That holy and exemplary men and women may be our companions in proclaiming boldly the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Elaboration

- END -

P R A Y I N G W I T H T H E C H U R C H

INTENTION :	That holy and exemplary men and women may be our companions in proclaiming boldly the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
"They began to proclaim the word of God boldly" (Acts 4:31). The word "boldly" can also be translated as "audaciously" or with "forthrightness" in announcing the Christian message. The ideal agents of evangelisation should be "holy and exemplary persons". Though God could have spread His Kingdom without human collaboration, He has always sought human partners, who as suitable and free instruments, work for the salvation of humankind. The laity can evangelise chiefly through prayer, the testimony of life and the establishment of a temporal order inspired by the Gospel. Though preaching the Gospel is the competence and principal duty of those who have been ordained, lay people, who have the necessary theological training, can preach. Vatican II stresses the need for priests to be holy preachers. God ordinarily prefers to show his wonders through those men who are more submissive to the impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because of their intimate union with Christ and their holiness of life, they are able to say with St Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Let us therefore pray that all those who devote themselves directly to evangelisation may live a holy life that emphasises the credibility of the Christian message.
- END -