A Message from Fr. Jay
Dear Friends,
This Sunday, we celebrate World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. All the readings speak about the love of the ‘Abba Father’. One of the elements of the love of Abba Father is to listen intently to the cry of a person in need. In the gospel, Jesus teaches His apostles how to pray and shares the story of a person who knocks on the door of his friend asking for food, not for himself, but to feed a friend. The beauty of friendship is to anticipate the need of the person and bring them comfort and joy. This can only be possible when we engage in real friendship. The world needs friendship and good friends. Our spirituality revolves around such genuine friendship. Let us remember Jesus’ words:’ I no longer call you slaves …I have called you friends because I have told you everything I have heard from My Father.
My older brother and me were taught how to pray by our grandfather. He was a simple, humble, illiterate man but a person filled with amazing love and faith. I remember him walking with his rosary before dinner time, often encouraging us to join him in praying the rosary. In fact, he was the one who taught us to pray the Our Father and Hail Mary prayers for the first time in an innovative way.
When he was working in the kitchen garden in the backyard of the house, planting okra seeds, my brother and I were chatting with him with curious questions such as when the seeds would grow into plants. He said if we learned to pray one Our Father and three Hail Marys continuously for three days, the seeds would turn into plants. Without realizing his ‘wisdom’, we wanted to experiment with his advice and recited both prayers for three days. On the fourth day, the seed sprouted! We were amazed at the power of prayer!
Let us remember our Grandparents who instill faith as their greatest legacy. Also, let us pass this legacy to future generations through our grandchildren. This week, please remember your grandparents and grandchildren and pray for them.
God Bless,
Fr. Jay Raju
Reading 1: Genesis 18:20-32
Reading 2: Colossians 2:12-14
Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
