Ask and Receive
the promise of prayer
Announcements for July 23, 2022:
If you need anything at all, please be in touch with me.
Our Women's Group will meet this Tuesday evening. Please join us!
The reduced rate for CCD registration is in effect now until July 31st. Please return forms to the parish office this week.
This is the last week to submit requests for 2023 Mass intentions. Please stop by the parish office or submit requests online before the end of July.
Our beyond-the-tithe opportunity for July is a combination of three appeals. For more on the Catholic Communications Campaign, Black and Indian Missions, and the Catholic University of America, please check out our giving page online.
Visit the OLMC Parishioner Portal for all of our recent announcements.
Dear Saints,
Our readings this weekend offer us a masterclass in prayer. The lessons build to a crescendo at which point, in our Gospel passage, Jesus says:
And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Is this your experience of Christian life? It could be. Check out olmc.church/grow to see how we, both individually and as a parish community, can make it happen.
It's no mistake that Jesus describes the promise and power of prayer after he teaches his disciples how to pray. Jesus calls a people to himself and instructs them in his way of prayer so that they can share in his own life of mission. Let's look at Saint Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer to get the point:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.
These pithy petitions give voice to Jesus' mission as he sets his sights on its climax in Jerusalem. In the face of the idolatry and injustice of God's chosen people, Jesus is revealing the holiness of God's name; in his every action, Jesus is bringing to life the long-awaited kingdom of God; Jesus has fed his people in a remarkable way, and will soon give himself to his disciples in the breaking of the bread; embodying God's forgiving love, Jesus demands that his followers truly reflect God's generosity to the point of forgiving even their enemies; and his whole life was given fighting back against the dark forces that had long held human beings captive, the power of the enemy that would be defeated decisively on Calvary.
As we pray this prayer with sincerity and intentionality, Jesus' own life of love takes root in our hearts, and our lives take the shape of his.
In a typical daily holy hour I spend between 30 and 45 minutes with the Lord's Prayer. As I make my way through its petitions, pouring my heart out to God gives me deep alignment with him, especially in the life of mission he has called me to, and my asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer is frequently met with receiving, finding, and the door being opened to me.
Persevere in prayer, my friends. I love you, and I look forward to seeing you soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS Thank you to all who helped make our parish feast a huge success. Enjoy a few pictures from last Sunday. We're counting the rainbow around the sun as a sign of God's favor. Whether or not that favor extended to the dunk tank is a matter of perspective!
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Lord's Prayer
Darren Gygi, contemporary