October 16 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

+ We have insightful and useful readings at Mass today. So many times we ask ourselves: “Is it really worth it, the struggle and the sacrifices that we feel called to make, but knowing that our human frailty can get in the way of fighting the good fight?

The answer that the Lord provides today is: “Yes” “Yes, it is worth the struggle” because the entire outcome of a contest of faith could literally depend on our willingness to “keep our hands raised (in prayer) to God.”

Now just as Moses became weak, in his humanness, and thought he could not hold up his arms and hands any longer: it was Aaron, his brother and Hur, who sensed the urgency of the matter and action and placed Moses where they could support his arms and hands.

Thus, demonstrating how God provides just the right people, (our brothers) in the right place at the right time – so that the drama of salvation can be carried out according to God will and plan and not our own.

In the same vain of persistency: we see St. Paul telling Timothy to proclaim the word: keep your hands raised in blessing, and teaching, in correction, in encouraging for righteousness: whether it is convenient or inconvenient. Timothy – the ordained bishop – was to convince, reprimand, encourage his flock through all patience and teaching.

We are called upon to have the same persistence in our prayer and in our actions for others. We are all our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. If not us, then who?

In the gospel passage from St. Luke – we see Jesus saying the exact same thing: be persistent: PRAY ALWAYS! ALWAYS, WITHOUT BECOMING WEARY! Pray in your mind, pray in your words, pray in your songs, pray in your worship, prayer in your works and deeds of charity and loving service to the sheep! PRAY IN YOUR HEART! and untold graces will flow forth from you to others! It will flow into and cleanse this world in which we live, which is currently in dire, dire straits. Our persistent, hands up raised prayer, is its only salvation!

It is FAITH that he Lord wants to find when he comes again: FAITH in ACTION, FAITH IN PRAYER, FAITH IN DEEDS!

Then he will say to us: Come, good and faithful servant, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world: for you loved God, you loved me, and you proved it by persistently, consistently and unconditionally loving your brothers and sisters – with the same love that I have for them.

Well done, good and faithful servant!