Meditation for the 32nd Sunday

Brothers and sisters: May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through his grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word . . . . But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thess. 2:16

As we enter these final weeks of this liturgical year, it is a good time to look back and assess the impact this year has had on our spiritual lives. The gospel of Luke has been the featured gospel for our instruction. Luke’s combination of his gospel account together with his Acts of the Apostles, focused on the Holy Spirit, the very source of the Christian Life. Jesus reminded his apostles that apart from him their efforts to live a truly holy life would be fruitless. But Jesus revealed, that it was in the Father’s plan that Jesus would sent the Holy Spirit to them, to empower them to bear the fruits of a truly holy life – empowerment because at every level they would be opposed by the vicious attacks of the Evil One. In the second reading for todays liturgy of the word, St. Paul is reminding us that in our struggle to live a holy life, “that the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” In his letter to the Ephesians St. Paul gives this instruction, "Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. • So stand fast with your loins girded in TRUTH, • clothed with RIGHTEOUSNESS as a breastplate, • and your feet shod in readiness for the GOSPEL OF PEACE. • In all circumstances, hold FAITH as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. • And take the helmet of SALVATION • and the sword of the Spirit, which is the WORD of GOD. Ephesians 6:10 Once again, it is in prayer that we acquire this necessary armor. It is important that we have a clear understanding of nature and purpose of prayer. Prayer is not an isolated, personal thing that we like to take up when convenient, not unlike a hobby. Rather, prayer is an essential, component part of the wider Christian spiritual life. Prayer is a school, where we study under the Master's instruction, how to live a full and rich and productive Christian Life.  It is in prayer that: we meet Christ through a personal encounter. We forsake all other possible directions for our lives, choosing to make Jesus' way, our way, and the direction our life will take. we hear his voice speaking to us, we learn directly and personally from the Master, what our unique calling will be. the scriptures are opened up to us, and we see the bigger picture, understanding that we are part of the master plan of salvation for all the world. we learn that there is a highly intelligent agent opposing God's plans. We learn how evil works, using lies to deceive good people of good intention; twisting them into actual opponents against God's purposes. we are healed of our "wounds of sin", and give fresh hearts to engage in the struggle of good over evil.