God, our Father

THE STORY is told about a young priest who kept pounding on his parishioners the value of unity and family. He often stressed that it is our church, our choir, our outreach, our parish hall, etc. etc. Imagine his embarrassment when one morning, while having coffee with his visiting bishop, the cook came out from nowhere and exclaimed, "Father, I saw a big mouse in our room, and it hid under our bed!"

* * *

In today's Gospel (Lk. 11, 1-13), Jesus teaches us to call God as our Father. By telling us to call God "Father," Jesus is telling us who we are -- brothers and sisters! We are sons and daughters of the Father in the Son. Wow! What a privilege! If only we realized the meaning of God as our Father, then a lot of problems and sufferings in this world would be eliminated. Unless and until we accept that we are brothers and sisters, we cannot have true and lasting peace.

* * *

God is our Father. We are brothers and sisters. Easier said than done. When it comes to real life, it is not easy to be loving and generous. Reminds me of a priest who was asking a parishioner: "If you had two houses, would you give one of them to the poor?" "Yes Father," the latter answered with conviction. The priest was so pleased when the parishioner kept saying "yes" to his questions: "If you had two cars... two beach houses... two subdivision lots... etc." Finally the priest asked him: "If you had two TV sets, would you give one of them away?" The parishioner was quiet for a while and then said "no." When asked why, he said "because I have two TV sets"! So much for theoretical love and generosity!

* * *

My confrere Father Rudy Horst, SVD just shared with me this beautiful reflection on the prayer "Our Father": "Do not say 'Father' if every day you do not behave like a Son; do not say 'our' if you live isolated in your egoism; do not say 'who are in heaven' if you think only of earthly things; do not say 'hallowed be your name' if you do not honor Him; do not say 'your kingdom come' if you confuse Him with material success; do not say 'your will be done' if you do not accept it when it is painful; do not say 'give us this day our daily bread' if you are not worried about people who are hungry, who are without culture and means to live; do not say 'forgive us our trespasses' if you bear your brother a grudge; do not say 'and lead us not into temptation' if you intend to keep on sinning; do not say 'deliver us from evil' if you do not take position against evil; do not say 'Amen' if you do not take the words of 'Our Father' seriously!"

* * *

Jesus teaches us to ask. He underlines our dependence on the Father. Things foul up in our lives when we begin to believe and live as if we had no need for God anymore. The danger of having too much of this world is that it gives us that false security and, consequently, pride. You know who you are and who God is if you can sincerely say "Lord, I need you. All that I am and all that I have come from you. Lord, I Love You." When was the last time you said in earnest this prayer?

* * *

Many of us pray, but we do not pray from the heart. Prayer is talking to God. I am reminded of the story of a family gathered together for a meal. As was his habit, the father asked everyone to bow their heads in prayer when the youngest said, "Dad, could I be the one to talk to the plate this time?" When we pray, we talk to God, our Father, and not to some being out there or to some impersonal man up there. When you pray, do you "talk to the plate"? Talk to your Father. Listen to your Father. That is the essence of prayer.

* * *

A lot has been said already about Angelo de la Cruz. I was just reflecting on his name which literally means angel or "messenger" of the cross. He reminds us that many Filipinos are still carrying the heavy cross, made heavier in the first place by the very people who are riding on his popularity right now. Angelo is one lucky, one very lucky Filipino, but there are 80 million more like him who are not as lucky. As we rejoice with Angelo, let us not forget his message of the reality of the cross in our people's lives, the reality of evil, and, of course, the power of prayer and the triumph of good over evil.

* * *

Let me end with yet another story about trusting God in prayer. The story is told about a shipwreck survivor in an uninhabited island. Every day he prayed that a ship would pass by to save him. One day his hut and all his supplies got burned down, and in desperation, he cursed God for making his life so unfortunate and difficult. But soon after, a ship arrived, and the captain told him "Hey, we saw your smoke signal!" Let us continue sending our "smoke signals" and believe that God answers literally all our prayers!

* * *

Inviting you to join a traveling retreat to Australia and New Zealand on October 13 to 22. For inquiries, please call +63 2 721 7457 and +63 2 523 8581 to 88.

* * *

A moment with the Lord:

Lord, you are our Father. Help us to live as sisters and brothers. Amen.