LET OUR PRAYER COME FROM A HUMBLE HEART

SCRUTATIO SCRIPTURAE

A Scrutatio for the 3rd Sunday of the CHRISTIAN SEASON OF ORDINARY TIME/TIME OF THE CHURCH

 

Readings from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer

Ezekiel 31:1-6 and 10-14 / Psalm 92 / II Corinthians 5:1-10 / Mark 4:26-34

Readings for the Pauline/Vatican II Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Ezekiel 17:22-24 / Psalm 92:2-3, 13-14 and 15-16 / II Corinthians 5:6-10 / Mark 4:26-34 

Readings for the Tridentine Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Introit: Psalm 25:16, 18 and 1-2 

Epistle: I Peter 5:6-11

Gradual and Alleluia: Psalm 55:23, 17, 19 and 7:11

Gospel 

Luke 15:1-10

Offertory: 

Psalm 9:10-12

Communion Antiphon: Luke 5:10

From an excerpt taken from a Treatise on the Lord's Prayer, written by the Bishop of Carthage sometime between July 248 and April 249 to his death as a Martyr, giving up his life as a witness to CHRIST, on September 14, 258, with his last words: "DEO GRATIAS (THANKS BE TO GOD)!" a fitting way to end one's life in the embrace of HIM WHO HAS GIVEN HIS VERY LIFE FOR OUR SALVATION! This excerpt is entitled:          

 

LET OUR PRAYER COME FROM A HUMBLE HEART

When we pray, our words should be calm, modest and disciplined. Let us reflect that we are standing before God. We should please him both by our bodily posture and the manner of our speech. It is characteristic of the vulgar to shout and make a noise, not those who are modest. On the contrary, they should employ a quiet tone in their prayer.

Moreover, in the course of his teaching, the Lord instructed us to pray in secret. Hidden and secluded places, even our own rooms, give witness to our belief that God is present everywhere; that he sees and hears all; that in the fullness of his majesty, he penetrates hidden and secret places. This is the teaching of Jeremiah: Am I God when I am near, and not God when I am far away? Can anyone hide in a dark corner without my seeing him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? Another passage of Scripture says: The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing both good and wicked men.

The same modesty and discipline should characterize our liturgical prayer as well. When we gather to celebrate the divine mysteries with 'God's priest, we should not express our prayer in unruly words; the petition that should be made to God with moderation is not to be shouted out noisily and verbosely. For God hears our heart not our voice. He sees our thoughts; he is not to be shouted at. The Lord showed us this when he asked: Why do you think evil in your hearts? The book of Revelation testifies to this also: And all the churches shall know that I am the one who searches the heart and the desires.

Anna maintained this rule; in her observance of it she is an image of the Church. In the First Book of Kings we are told that she prayed quietly and modestly to God in the recesses of her heart. Her prayer was secret but her faith was evident. She did not pray with her voice, but with her heart, for she knew that in this way the Lord would hear her. She prayed with faith and obtained what she sought. Scripture makes this clear in the words: She was speaking in her heart; her lips were moving but her voice could not be heard; and the Lord heard her prayer. The psalmist also reminds us: Commune within your own hearts, and in the privacy of your room express your remorse. This is the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Through Jeremiah he suggests this: Say in your hearts: Lord, it is you that we have to worship.

My friends, anyone who worships should remember the way in which the tax-collector prayed in the temple alongside the Pharisee. He did not raise his eyes immodestly to heaven or lift up his hands arrogantly. Instead he struck his breast and confessing the sins hidden within his heart he implored the assistance of God's mercy. While the Pharisee was pleased with himself, the tax-collector deserved to be cleansed much more because of the manner in which he prayed. For he did not place his hope of salvation in the certainty of his own innocence; indeed, no one is innocent. Rather he prayed humbly, confessing his sins. And the Lord who forgives the lowly heard his prayer.