St. Bruno, husband, religious founder
Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, virgin, religious founder

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:

Jonah 4:1-11
Psalm 86:3-6,9-10
Luke 11:1-4


A reflection on today's Scripture:

Today's selection from Luke's gospel is very important for all of us.
Certainly not just for Catholics, but for every denomination and person on earth. For it is in this passage that we are taught the perfect prayer, the "Our Father".

The Our Father is the center of our structured prayer life, and is so rich in content. Unfortunately I sometimes find myself doing too much reciting and not enough praying from the heart. Prayer from the heart makes our prayers powerful. Simply reciting words is exactly what Jesus warns us about when he was criticizing the Scribes and Pharisees. The next time you pray the Our Father, slow the prayer down to the point where you are thinking, concentrating, and contemplating every word. You can feel the difference!

I remember a story about a great saint, a monk, who was praying with a young man who had just joined the order. They stayed up all night praying the Our Father. When morning came the young man was very proud that he had prayed 150 Our Fathers. The saint smiled at him and said "Unfortunately I did not have time to complete even one."

- Steve Shawl