13TH SUNDAY B

LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Each time we celebrate Mass, there is a truly special part of the celebration that we somehow find routine and therefore often ignore – the Prayers of the Faithful or the General Intercessions. For many, it is almost instinctive to respond, “Lord hear our prayer” to the lector’s words:  “Let us pray to the Lord.” How many of us really internalize every petition before we mindlessly utter those words?  How many of us truly listen to the petitions so that we can make them our own?

What are we doing in this part of the Mass?  We are doing exactly the same thing that the characters in the gospel today have done in approaching Jesus with their requests.  Jairus, a synagogue leader, rushed to Jesus and even kneeling before Him, asked for the healing of his 12 year old daughter, who died before Jesus could reach their home.  We are repeating the gesture of the sick woman the doctors could not heal for a long time. Jairus and the sick woman are symbols of people in need -people like us - who believe in prayer.

In every Mass, we exercise our faith in the power of prayer.  We pray to the Lord for the leaders of the church and of the nation, for the sick, the poor, those with special needs, for our dear departed and for our own intentions.   We believe and we know that when we sincerely pray, God listens. He responds, He acts in our favor.

What do we need to know about prayers of petition?  The gospel unfurls a very enlightening lesson on prayer.  We can pray for ourselves and we can pray for others. Like the sick woman, we are free to bring before the Lord our personal and pressing needs.  There is no human need that does not merit the Lord’s attention.  He cares!. God is waiting to hear us tell him about our health, our work, our financial situation, our relationships, our pains and fears. God is a God who is involved in the most intimate event of our lives.

We can also pray for the needs of others.  Jairus’ daughter was very ill, she couldn’t leave the house. It was therefore her father Jairus who sought Jesus.  Jesus was not moved by the plight of the girl He has not seen.  Rather, His heart melted at the sight of the father pleading for her daughter’s life.  As a reward to the father’s love, Jesus not only healed but brought the young woman back from the dead.  Recently, Yahoo News recounted the story of a recent miracle.

A young man named Chase suffered in a sports accident and needed brain surgery, half his skull removed in an operation.  While doctors expected the worse, after a few weeks, Chase walked into rehabilitation and is now steadily recovering.  What happened?  His parents and family members asked their parish priest and their co-parishioners to pray for Chase.  Through the intercession of others, Chase is now a “living miracle” and will be investigated by church authorities in connection with a beatification process

In our Mass today, and in all our Masses, pay attention the Prayer of the faithful.  As followers of Jesus, we believe in this God of power who works miracles.  We believe in this God of love who is moved by what happens to us and the people we love.  Let us always say:  Lord hear our prayer.