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Reading from the book of Genesis. In
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those days, the Lord said to Abraham,
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"The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
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grew great, and their sin was very
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grave. I will go down to see whether
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their deeds are in keeping with the
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outcry that has reached me." From there,
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the men went to Sodom, while Abraham
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remained in the presence of the Lord.
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Then Abraham approached and said, "Are
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you really going to destroy the
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righteous with the wicked? If there were
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50 righteous people in the city, would
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you destroy them? Would you not spare
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the place for the sake of the 50
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righteous who live there? Far be it from
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you to do this, to put the righteous to
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death with the wicked, as if the
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righteous were equal to the wicked. Far
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be it from you. Would not the judge of
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all the earth do justice?" The Lord
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replied, "If I find 50 righteous people
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in Sodom, I will spare the whole city
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for their sake." Abraham continued, "I
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am being bold to speak to my Lord, I who
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am dust and ashes. If there were five
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missing from the 50 righteous, will you
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destroy the whole city for the sake of
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five?" The Lord replied, "I will not
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destroy it if I find 45 righteous people
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there." Abraham persisted and said,
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"What if there were 40?" He replied, "I
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will not do it for the sake of 40."
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Abraham again insisted, "Let not my Lord
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be angry if I speak again, what if there
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are only 30 righteous?"
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He replied, "Neither will I do it if I
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find 30." Abraham again insisted, "Since
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I have dared to speak to my Lord, what
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if there are 20 righteous?" He replied,
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"I will not destroy it for the sake of
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20." Abraham said, "May my Lord not be
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angry if I speak just once more. What if
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there are only 10?" He replied, "For the
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sake of the 10, I will not destroy it."
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The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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Reading from the letter of St. Paul to
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the Colossians. Brothers and sisters,
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you were buried with Christ in baptism.
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You were also raised with him through
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faith in the working of God, who raised
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Christ from the dead. You were dead in
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your sins, and your bodies were not
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circumcised until God brought you to
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life with Christ and forgave us all our
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sins. There was a debt against us, but
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he canceled it despite the legal
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obligations and eliminated it by nailing
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it to the cross. The word of the Lord.
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Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
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Christ according to St. Luke. Glory to
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you, Lord. Jesus was praying in a
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certain place. When he finished, one of
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his disciples asked him, "Lord, teach us
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to pray as John taught his disciples."
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Jesus answered, "When you pray, say,
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'Father, hallowed be your name. Your
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kingdom come. Give us each day our daily
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bread, and forgive us our sins, for we
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also forgive everyone who is in debt to
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us. And do not lead us into temptation."
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And Jesus said to him, "If one of you
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has a friend and goes to him at midnight
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and says to him,"Friend,
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lend me three loaves, for a friend of
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mine has come to me on a journey, and I
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have nothing to set before him." And he
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answers from inside, "Don't bother me. I
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have locked the door, and my children
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and I are in bed. I cannot get up to
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give you the loaves." I tell you, even
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if he doesn't get up to give them
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because he is your friend, at least
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because of his impertinence, he will get
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up and give you as much as you need.
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Therefore, I tell you, ask and you will
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receive. Seek and you will find. Knock
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and it will be open to you. For everyone
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who asks receives. Everyone who seeks
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finds. And to everyone who knocks it
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will be opened. Would any of you, a
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father, if his son asks for a fish, give
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him a snake? Or if he asks for an egg,
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give him a scorpion? If you then being
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evil know how to give good gifts to your
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children, how much more will the Father
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in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those
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who ask him? Word of salvation. Glory to
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
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imagine yourself standing before a
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powerful king surrounded by his riches
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and armed guards. You are a simple
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subject dressed in humble clothes with
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hands calloused from work. Normally you
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would never dare approach such majesty.
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But suddenly this king looks at you and
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says, "Come here my son, my daughter.
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Tell me what is in your heart. Ask me
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for whatever you wish." This image
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transports us to the heart of today's
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readings where we discover the
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extraordinary mystery of prayer, our
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ability to dialogue intimately with
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Almighty God. In the first reading, we
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witness one of the most extraordinary
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conversations recorded in scripture.
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Abraham, a mere human being, is
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literally negotiating with God over the
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fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. Perhaps
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there are 50 righteous people in the
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city, Abraham argues. And when God
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agrees to spare the city for 50
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righteous people, Abraham dares to go
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further, what if five of the 50
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righteous are missing? What audacity?
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What intimacy? Here is a man who not
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only speaks to God, but who feels free
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to question, to intercede, to insist.
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Abraham continues his heavenly bargain.
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40, 30, 20, and finally 10 righteous
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people. And at each step of this
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journey, God patiently responds,
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demonstrating a divine willingness to
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hear and consider the pleas of his
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faithful servant. This scene reveals
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something profound to us about the
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nature of prayer. It is not simply a
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monologue where we pour out our worries
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into the air, hoping someone is
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listening. It's a dialogue, a real
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conversation with a God who is genuinely
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interested in our concerns and in the
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others for whom we intercede. But let's
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notice something else in Abraham's
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prayer. He's not praying for himself.
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His concern is for the righteous in
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Sodom, for the innocent who might perish
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along with the guilty. Abraham teaches
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us that true prayer often takes us
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beyond ourselves, expanding our hearts
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to embrace the needs of others. How
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often are our prayers focused
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exclusively on our own needs? God, give
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me this. Help me with that. There's
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nothing wrong with bringing our personal
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needs to God. He wants to hear about
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everything that concerns us. But
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Abraham's prayer challenges us to expand
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our vision, to intercede for others, to
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become participants in God's work in the
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world. Moving on to the second reading,
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Paul offers us a revolutionary
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perspective on our standing before God.
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You were buried with Christ in baptism
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and raised with him through faith in the
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What a radical transformation. We are no
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longer strangers or distant subjects.
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Through baptism, we have been united
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with the very life of Christ. Paul
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continues with a powerful image. God
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cancelled the document of debt that
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stood against us by nailing it to the
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cross. Imagine an ancient registry
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office filled with documents of unpaid
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debts. Each of us would have a
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considerable stack of papers listing our
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failures, our sins, our inadequacies.
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But Paul tells us that God took all
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these documents and nailed them to the
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cross with Christ. This truth completely
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transforms our understanding of prayer.
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We do not approach God as desperate
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debtors begging for mercy. We approach
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as beloved children whose debt has
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already been paid, whose position in the
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family is already secure. This changes
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everything about how we pray. It is this
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truth that Jesus teaches in the gospel
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when his disciples ask Lord teach us to
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pray. Jesus answer the Lord's prayer is
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revolutionary in its simplicity and
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intimacy. It begins with father not oh
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almighty and awesome God but father a
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word of intimacy trust and family. Our
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father in heaven hallowed be your name.
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This first petition sets the tone for
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the entire prayer. We begin not with our
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needs, but with the recognition of God's
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holiness. It's as if we were saying,
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"Father, first and foremost, we want to
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honor who you are. Your kingdom come,
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your will be done on earth as it is in
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heaven." Here lies the essence of
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Christian prayer, alignment with God's
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purposes. We are not trying to convince
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God to do our will, but asking that his
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perfect and loving will be manifested in
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our earthly reality. Only then does
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Jesus teach us to bring our needs. Give
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us this day our daily bread. Note the
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simplicity of this petition. We don't
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ask for riches or luxuries, but for
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enough for today. There is a humility
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here, a recognition of our daily
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dependence on God. Forgive us our sins
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as we also forgive everyone who is
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indebted to us. What a profound
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connection Jesus establishes here. Our
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vertical relationship with God is
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intrinsically connected to our
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horizontal relationships with others. We
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cannot expect to receive forgiveness if
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we are not willing to offer it and lead
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us not into temptation. This is a prayer
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of humility acknowledging our weakness
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and need for divine protection. We pray
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this not because God would tempt us to
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evil, but because we recognize that
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without his grace, we are vulnerable to
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the seductions of the world. But Jesus
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does not stop with the Lord's prayer. He
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continues with a parable that reveals
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even more about the nature of persistent
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prayer. A man goes to a friend's house
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at midnight, asking for bread for an
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unexpected visitor. The friend initially
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resists, but finally grants the request
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because of his persistence.
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Ask and it will be given to you. Seek
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and you will find. Knock and the door
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will be open to you. Jesus promises.
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These are not magic formulas but
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invitations to a persistent and trusting
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relationship with God. Prayer is not a
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heavenly slot machine where we insert
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our petitions and wait for the desired
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results. It is a growing relationship of
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trust and intimacy. And then Jesus
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offers the most touching analogy. Which
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of you fathers will give a stone to
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their son who asks for bread? Or if he
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asks for a fish, will give him a
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serpent? The image is clear. If we being
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imperfect know how to give good gifts to
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our children, how much more will our
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heavenly father give good things to
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those who ask him? My dear brothers and
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sisters, these readings invite us to a
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revolution in our prayer life. Like
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Abraham, we are called to a bold
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intimacy with God, not hesitating to
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bring our deepest concerns, especially
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our intercessions for others. As Paul
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reminds us, our standing before God has
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been radically transformed. We are not
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spiritual beggars, but adopted children
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into the divine family. This truth
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should imbue our prayers with confidence
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and expectation. And as Jesus teaches
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us, prayer is simultaneously simple and
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profound. Simple enough for a child to
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pray our father, yet profound enough to
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sustain a lifetime of spiritual growth.
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Imagine what it would be like if each of
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us fully embraced this truth. If we
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prayed not with fear or formality, but
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with the confidence of beloved children.
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If we interceded for others with the
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persistence of Abraham. If we aligned
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our wills with God's will, trusting in
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his goodness and wisdom, what a
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transformation this would bring to our
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personal lives, what an impact it would
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have on our families, our workplaces,
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our communities. Prayer is not an escape
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from reality, but the means by which
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God's reality invades and transforms our
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daily existence. So today, I invite you
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to rediscover the power and privilege of
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prayer. Begin each day by talking to
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your heavenly father. Intercede for
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others with the boldness of Abraham.
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Pray with the simplicity and confidence
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that Jesus taught. Remember that your
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debts were canceled on the cross and
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that you approach God as beloved
13:12
children. And as you pray, remember
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Jesus promise. Everyone who asks
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receives. He who seeks finds. And to him
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who knocks the door is opened. Not
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always in the way we expect or at the
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time we desire, but always according to
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the perfect love and infinite wisdom of
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our heavenly father. May the Holy Spirit
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teach us to pray as Jesus prayed. May
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our hearts be enlarged to embrace the
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needs of the world. And may we
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experience daily the joy of an intimate
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relationship with the one who loved us
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first. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
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Christ, the love of God the Father, and
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the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be
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with you all today and always. Amen.
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in
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battle. Be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil. May
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God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do
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thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by
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the power of God, cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
