Wednesday, October 8, 2003
27th Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Jon 4:1-11
Gospel: Lk 11:1-4

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." And Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say this:
Father, hallowed be your name,
may your kingdom come,
give us each day the kind of bread we need,
and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong,
and do not bring us to the test."

Commentary

"Lord, teach us to pray." George Reindrop in his book No Common Task tells how a nurse once taught a man to pray and in doing so changed his whole life, until a dull, disgruntled and dispirited creature became a man of joy. Inasmuch as the nurse's work was done with her hands, she used her hands as a scheme of prayer. Each finger stood for someone. Her thumb was nearest to her, and it reminded her to pray for those who were closest to her. The second finger was used for pointing and it stood for all her teachers in school and hospital. The third finger was the tallest and it stood for the VIPs and leaders in every sphere of life. The fourth finger was the weakest, as every pianist knows, and it stood for those who were in trouble and in pain. The little finger was the smallest and the least important, and to the nurse it stood for herself. (Quoted by William Barclay).

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