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Dear Friend,
In the Gospel for this Sunday (Luke 18: 9-14), Jesus continued to teach His disciples to pray. You may want to review His previous teachings on prayer in Luke 11:1-13 & 18:1-8.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, He cited the way a Pharisee and a tax collector prayed. Please read to your family and discuss how each one of them prayed. Jesus said that as a result of their prayer, the tax collector had reconciled with God but not the other. Discuss why.
Note that the Pharisee did not consider the will of the Father but just to "fast twice a week and give the tenth of all my income to the Temple." He proudly presumed that what he was doing was already pleasing to the Lord. On the other hand, the tax collector placed himself at the mercy of the Lord by saying "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
Prayer and Reflection ~
Request the members of the family to sit comfortably and quietly. Try some breathing exercises to relax them.
Then, request the family to say to the Lord: "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner," and keep repeating this petition silently several times as long as possible.
Then follow this prayer with period of silence, just listening to any prodding of the Holy Spirit.
The family is requested to follow this prayer for the week and be formed by it.
Joe & Charito
THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA'S
ONLINE RESOURCE FOR FAMILY MINISTRIES
www.simbahayan.org
servants@simbahayan.org
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