Daily Prayer with Regnum Christi : Jesus Is Stronger
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http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=120536
March 3, 2005
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Father Daniel Polzer, LC
Luke 11:14-23
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute person spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebub that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, as I prepare for the coming of Easter during this Lenten season, I turn to you once again in prayer. Do not let me be blind to who you are. Do not let me despise the salvation you came to give me but to accept it with a humble heart. Now during this time of prayer I want to give everything over to you so that your love and truth may direct my life.
Petition:
1. What Did the Mute Person Say?When Christ works this simple miracle the crowds are amazed. They are amazed at what Christ has done but surely they were also amazed at what the mute person said. We do not know what was said, but it is likely that they were words that glorified God in thanksgiving for his miracle. The freedom that Christ brings by loosening the tongue of the mute person is in order that creation can glorify God its creator. When Jesus frees the mute person from Satan – who does not want God to be glorified and who wants to keep mankind in the chains of sin –, it is so that God will be glorified.
2. Simple Logic. Jesus’ enemies could not deny the miracle he had just worked, but instead of accepting his power to drive out evil spirits, they came up with an accusation that it was Beelzebub who caused the miracle. Their envy gets the best of their common sense. Envy always tries to find a way around the truth. It asks for a sign or proposes a false accusation. Jesus counters envy’s contorted reasoning with simple straightforward logic: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” It cannot be by the Beelzebub’s power that he drives out demons because that would mean Beelzebub is driving out his own demons. Simple logic shows that this is not so.
3. Jesus is Stronger. The strong man that Jesus speaks of is the devil. He has kept mankind under his control since Adam and EveÂ’s fall. He has had nothing to worry about up to now because he has been the strong man able to defend his prize of corrupted human nature from all comers. But Jesus is stronger and he has come to attack the devil and win back from him what he has taken. He takes away his armor of evil, hate, anger, lust and egoism. He redeems mankind from the clutches of the evil one.
Dialogue with Christ: Lord, I know that during this time of Lent you want to free me from the chains of sin. Help me to accept your miracles in my life so that my life will give you glory in my actions, words and thoughts. Do not let me be blind to the force of your love in the world. Do not let me try to contort and reject your actions with illogical reasoning. I know you are stronger than Satan. I want to be in your camp. I want to be rescued from the clutches of sin by the omnipotence of your love.
Resolution: When I am faced with a temptation, I will call to mind that Jesus is stronger than Satan and he can give me the strength to reject the temptation.
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We pray
For all those Christians who have left the Church, so that our Lord will enlighten them and grant them the gift of faith. -
u didn't answer me. are u talking about backsliders or u're talking about christians who became protestants after leaving the roman catholic church?
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Sorry,Originally posted by dumbdumb!:u didn't answer me. are u talking about backsliders or u're talking about christians who became protestants after leaving the roman catholic church?
what was your question?
Hmm... I see that this topic has become sticky. In that case, I will post Daily Prayer with Regnum Christi here instead of starting a new thread.
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http://www.sgforums.com/?action=thread_display&thread_id=120784
Humility in Prayer
March 5, 2005
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Father Daniel Polzer, LC
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the Temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ´O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.´ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ´O God, be merciful to me a sinner.´ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
Introductory Prayer:Lord, I believe in you. I believe that you have created me and redeemed me from sin. I believe that you have given me everything I have that is good: my existence, my faith, my education, what virtues I have. I come to you today in prayer to place my life before you. Help me to see clearly that you are the source of all goodness in me. Grant me a humble, contrite heart capable of true prayer. So often I wonder if I really know how to pray; I wonder how fruitful my prayer is. In the face of my misery I offer you the one thing I know I can offer: my humility before your majesty.
Petition:Lord, help me to be humble when I approach you in prayer
1. The Pharisee’s Prayer. The Pharisee went up to the Temple to pray. We can assume that his intention was to talk with God. As he stood there in the Temple, he thought he was praying: he was in the right place, he was facing the right way, he seemed to be doing the right thing. But his prayer was contorted. In fact it was not prayer at all; it was a self-righteous discourse. If a friend were to ask him the next day if he had said his prayers, he would have said, “Yes.” Is my own prayer sometimes a false prayer like the Pharisee’s? Do I think I am praying, doing all of the right things, but in reality not praying at all and only justifying myself?
2. He Was a Good Pharisee. The poor Pharisee always gets painted as the “bad guy” in this parable. But in reality he is not an outwardly evil person. He does not commit grave sins. He is honest, faithful to his wife, generous in his giving. But his pride blinds him to a much deeper relationship with God. He lives his religion as the bare minimum of not committing grave sins. His prayer is sterile. I must examine myself to make sure I am not doing the same, thinking I am doing all the right things but in reality barely living my faith.
3. Humility Is Essential to Prayer. The tax collector is justified not because he has done all of the right things but because he has the humility to recognize his own sinfulness. Perhaps he even heard what the Pharisee was saying and it moved him all the more to plead for GodÂ’s mercy. One of the most important characteristics of our prayer is that it be humble. When we go to pray we must approach God recognizing our sinfulness and weakness and the fact that we have received everything good we have from him. This is what makes our prayer fruitful. God loves a humble, contrite heart.
Dialogue with Christ: Dear Lord, grant me a humble, contrite heart. You know my misery. You know too well the many times I have offended you and turned my back on you. I do not want to pretend that I have never sinned because I know I have. I offer you the misery of my sinfulness so that you can purify it and do with it as you will. I do not want to live my life merely avoiding the big sins. I want to have a deep and intimate relationship with you founded on substantial humility.
Resolution: I will always make an act of humility at the beginning of my prayer.
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We pray that that our government and the mass media will promote true family values -
We pray for unity, charity and purity within all of our families
He Keeps His Word
March 10, 2005
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Fr. Jon Budke, LC
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