Last we spoke of the importance of prayer; especially contemplative prayer—sitting, like Mary, at the feet of Jesus, looking lovingly at His face and silently listening attentively to every word He speaks. The readings today continue with the importance of prayer in our lives. Prayer is literally the breath of our soul. In our first reading we hear Abraham, praying and interceding to God about the fate of Sodom, whose people were guilty of accepting the grave sin of sodomy. And in the Gospel, we read Jesus teaching the apostles (and us) how to pray…for we know not how to pray as we ought. And so Jesus gives them (and us) the “Our Father.”

All these readings remind us that we must approach God as our Father, better yet, as our daddy. We are to speak to Him humbly, as a child speaks to its daddy whom the child loves with his whole heart; we are to speak to Him with the simplicity of a child that trusts that the Father always hears him and will answer him in a way and time that is best for the child; and finally, speak to Him with the purity of a child that respects the father so much that the child would never do anything to intentionally to offend the father but only strive to please the father. …”

Purity and childlikeness helps us to make sure that we never say the “Our Father,” or any other prayer to God, without the realization that it is God the Almighty that we are speaking to, the Creator of heaven and earth. Intimacy and reverence must always go together in addressing our prayer to God. He is the source and Creator of everything we are and have, even our existence—(God for Himself, does not just exist He is existence Itself. And it is He who willed us into existence, and it is His love that keeps us in existence (if you ever wonder if God loves you, grab you arm and see if you still exist…if you do He loves you!!!). And so our prayer must be reverent and said from the heart to a all holy Father who Loves us so much.

Because God love us so much, Jesus instructs us that our prayer to the Father should also be a trusting prayer, one that realizes that the Father already knows what we need even before we ask, and so will only give us the good things we need; however, not necessarily the things we want. Along with the Father giving us only the good things that we need, He will also give it in a way, and at a time which is best for us. He answers all prayers, but according to His Holy Will, not to our own, for He alone knows what is best for us.

For our prayer to be heard we must then humble, “for every one that exalted himself will be humbled and he that humble himself shall be exalted.” So we must also never approach God with the heart of the Pharisee but always with the humble heart of the publican…saying, “O God a humble heart of Lord you will not despise”…so be merciful to me a miserable sinner, have mercy on all mankind for all are sinners in equal need of Your mercy.” In this we recognize that any good in us is not of ourselves; nor is it given to us because of what we done…it is from the Mercy and goodness of God.

This brings up another point Jesus that teaches about prayer, and that is, for God to listen to our prayer we must, must first be reconciled with Him, with His Church and with our neighbor. We do this primarily by regularly receiving forgiveness for our sins in the Sacrament of Confession, honestly admitting those areas in our lives that are not lived in righteousness; in other words, that are not lived according to God’s teachings, which come to us through the Church. Always remembering we will only be forgiven to the extent we forgive others. As the Our Father says, to receive forgiveness, we must forgive others who have sinned against us—we must show mercy to receive mercy.

Along with the grace of confession, we can’t live lives of righteousness—being right with God and neighbor, without the grace that comes from prayer before the Holy Eucharist—the Holy Eucharist is our Strength and our Salvation. We just can’t go to the Father in prayer except through the Son and the Son is the Holy Eucharist. If we are going to be counted among the ten righteous needed to spare our modern age from God’s promised chastisements then we must spend more time humbly, trustfully and with childlike purity in adoration of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist begging God’s pardon and mercy on us and on our sinful world. This grace and mercy can transform us into other Christ so that everything we do, everything no matter how small becomes a prayer, a sacrifice, and act of penance, in order to merit grace for the conversion and salvation of souls.

Thankfully there are many people throughout the world today, both religious and lay faithful alike, who make weekly, even daily Holy Hours before the Blessed Sacrament. "Thank God, there are those who pray each and every day with the faith of Abraham from the heart. It could be their persevering prayer before for the tabernacle that as so far saved our sinful world from God's divine justice. They are the modern day Abraham's dialoging with God, imploring His mercy and forgiveness for the sins of the modern cities of our world.

But are there enough souls praying before the Eucharist? Remember Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, there just weren't enough people--ten--reaching out to God. (If we compare the population of Sodom and Gomorrah with the United States, in ratio, we would need 300,000 righteous people). And so, will you and I also be one of them that will on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, reaching out to the Father through the Son on behalf of others, so that our world may be converted and so souls be saved?

In prayer, speak to the Father today from your heart. Beg his mercy for our fallen cities and country while the Father is still preserving in his mercy, beg His mercy for yourself and others. Persistence prayer to Our Father God will begin to end the persistent sin and un-forgiveness in our world and in our own life, it will bring us and other to an intimate union with Our Father who art in Heaven.

Let us at this Mass and every Mass, as we offer ourselves along with Jesus in loving sacrifice to the Father, ask our Blessed Mother to help us make this offering fully and completely, better yet let us make this offering through her Immaculate Heart so that she herself can place it in the Sacred Heart of her Son…Surely He will accept it from her hands! Let us ask her to obtain for us the grace to live this offering so that every thing we do in our daily lives can become a sacrifice, an act of penance, for love of God Our Father and for love of neighbor.