In the first reading God sends Angels to confirm that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, located in the plain of Jordon were as bad as the reports say. Abraham knows that because of sins against nature, that is, homosexual sins, God would destroy these cities. The word sodomy originated from the sins of Sodom. Abraham’s cousin Lot lived there with his wife and family, and they were greatly distressed by the behaviour of the inhabitants who had demanded access to Lot’s male guests.  Abraham interceded with God to save the cities because of the just and he bargained with God. If there are just ten just people living there, God promises Abraham not to destroy the cities. Eventually an Angel would lead Lot and his family out of the city of Sodom to safety before raining fire and brimstone on the cities, which were completely destroyed. The cities were located near where the Dead Sea is now located. This is the lowest place on earth.

In the second reading St Paul reminds us that Jesus took all the sin of the world upon Himself as the innocent Lamb of sacrifice, so that through His blood our sins could be forgiven. We just need to repent.

In the Gospel Jesus explains and gives examples of God’s friendship and paternal love.

Jesus had the habit of praying very early in the morning, in out of the way places. One of His disciples asks Him: Lord teach us to pray… Jesus answered the request with the perfect prayer; the Our Father and He taught them to put all their trust in prayer. The Lord promises to be attentive to our requests, and He said:

 So, we would be deluding ourselves if we thought that we didn’t need to pray. Humility is a prerequisite for confident conversation with God. We need to recognize our limitations and depend totally on God.  Sometimes God seems slow to answer our prayers, this is because He wants us to persevere, like the person who came to his friend in the middle of the night seeking a loaf of bread. He also wants to stretch our hearts, so we can receive more grace.

The Our Father prayer is prayed in every Mass and Rosary. The first petitions are in praise of God, then we ask for our daily needs. We also ask God to forgive us our sins as we forgive others who sin against us. If people refuse to forgive, God won’t forgive that person their sins either. We heard St Luke’s version of the Our Father today, but St Mathew’s version is the one we pray each day. His version is slightly longer and includes…..Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. In this petition we are praying for the coming of the Divine Will upon the earth. Jesus revealed to Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta the deeper meaning of The Lord’s Prayer and all about the Kingdom of the Divine Will, which was lost by Adam and Eve at their Fall and which will be restored upon the earth and is in fact being restored even now to those who desire the divine will to reign in them and who are familiar with the Book of Heaven. https://www.littlechildreninthedivinewill.com/book-of-heaven

Just as God is the primary agent of a seed’s growth, which is planted in the earth. He provides sunshine and water for the seed to sprout. In the same way He has planted seeds of grace in us through Baptism and these grow through Prayer and the Sacraments. Like Our Lady, we need to let go and let God. The quality of our prayer is very important. It should be affective prayer, that is, prayer of the heart.  St Elizabeth took a whole hour to say one Our Father, weighing each single word in her heart. Prayer is not wasting time, instead we waste a whole day if we don’t pray during the day. We have been created by God to spend eternity with Him, so it is only natural to get to know him in prayer. The famous psychologist Carl Jung wrote: Repression of God is the core of all neuroses. Prayer is good not only for the soul, but also for the mind and body. It is powerful. Our Lady of Fatima taught that wars can be averted and stopped through prayer. So, we can never underestimate the power of prayer. When we pray, in sense we leave this world and touch God. In 1999 Demography Magazine published findings of studies about the effects of prayer on the lives of 22,000 people who participated in the study. Those who attended Church weekly lived 10% longer than those who did not attend. Regular Church goers were also healthier than those who didn’t practice. Those over 65 who prayed regularly had lower blood pressure and their immune systems were healthier. Elderly people who didn’t go to Church had a stroke rate twice that of those who did go to Church. Studies were also done in Israel, and they showed that religious people had a 40% lower death rate from heart disease and cancer than those who were not religious. So, the message of the readings today is: Pray, Pray, Pray! 

Praise be Jesus Christ and His holy Mother now and forever!