17th Sunday - ACTS Prayer & Rosary

 

The scripture readings for this Sunday teach us about prayer. In the first reading, Abraham asks God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah from His wrath due to the wickedness of the people of the cities. They had given themselves over to sodomy, which was abhorrent to God. Abraham bargains with God asking the Lord to spare the city if there 50 innocent people to 45 to 40 to 20 and finally to 10 asking that God will not destroy the cities.

In the Gospel, Our Lord gave the disciples the Our Father, so as to teach His disciples how to pray and then Jesus taught them to persistent in prayer, by giving the parable of the friend who comes at midnight for some food, until the food is finally given to the one who needs it. Jesus tells them they must ask in order to receive what they want in prayer. He said, “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open.”

St. Alphonsus Ligouri give us a method of prayer with the acronym A C T S. A is to begin prayer by Adoring God. C is to Confess our sins to God. T is to give Thanks to God and S is means Supplication, where our prayer, will supply for the needs of others.

If we would use that method, we would pray something like this. O God, I adore You. I worship You. In my mind’s eye, I believe You are standing before me. I place myself in your presence.

We would then Confess our sins to God in prayer and specifically mention them and then ask God for help in overcoming our sins. Then we make an Act of Contrition. Lord, I am sorry for my sins.

We then thank God especially for our faith, our family, our home, food, job, life, freedom, receiving Holy Communion. We thank God for our good health, for His creation and all He does for us in our life.

We then pray in supplication for the needs of others and our own needs. We pray for our family members, the people we work with, we pray for the pope, cardinals, bishops and priests, our president, the leaders of our government, for the unborn, for the sick, the dying, those who have fallen away from the Church, for those who suffer from addictions, for our family members and friends who have died.

Then when we are finished praying the ACTS method of prayer, we pray with the heart. By praying with the heart we tell God how we feel and what is on our mind. We tell Him if we are happy, or sad or angry and we talk to Him about the circumstances of our life and then after we have done this, we listen.

This is how St. Catherine Laboure describes praying with the heart: "Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to him, Lord I am here. Tell me what you would have me to do. If he gives me some task, I am content and I thank him. If he gives me nothing, I still thank him since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that. And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart. I tell him about my pains and joys, and then I listen. If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you approach him plainly and simply. "

God is less likely to answer our prayer if we are in the state of mortal sin, which separates us from God. It is most important for our soul to be right with God. Though we may ask for many good things, what God asks of us is to keep our soul in the state of grace. He loves us and wants us to be forgiven of our sins. It’s like a child who grievously hurt his parent, and without apologizing asks the parent for candy. Will the parent give candy, if the child is not sorry?

Here are several true stories about answered prayers. Peter was born in Superior, Wisconsin in 1916. He grew up in a family of thirteen. At the age of eight he was blinded by a firework. The doctor said he would never see again. The family began to daily pray the Rosary to restore his eyesight. Little Peter made a promise to God, that if God would give him his sight back, he would become a priest. His sight gradually began to improve, which he credited the family, Rosary. He joined the Servites dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary and was ordained to the priesthood in 1941 and was since known as Fr. Peter Rookey, who was known for his healing Masses and many reported being healed. The family persevered in daily praying the Rosary together and how wonderful for the child could see again later become a priest.

A family with 3 children wanted to move from their country home. The father was a hired hand for a cattle feedlot. They wanted to return to be closer to their family and raise their children in the town they grew up. While looking for a home, the parents were trying to find a house they could afford, but also large enough for their growing family. After visiting a house on 7th street, the 8 year old girl decided she wanted their family to move into that particular house, but they couldn’t afford it. The child daily prayed the Rosary asking the Virgin Mary for the family to buy the house. The owner suddenly decided to lower the price, resulting in the family purchasing the house, thanks to a young girl who persevered praying the Rosary, until her prayer was answered.

God loves when we come to Him as a child with confidence. He will answer our prayer whenever we pray for faith, hope and love. He is more likely to answer our prayer, if we ask with a humble heart, not demanding that He do something for us. We should always pray, that His will be done, and in the time and manner He wills it. God knows better than us, what is best for us.

If we persevere in prayer, our heart will be filled with joy because even at times we may not have our prayer immediately answered or the way we would like, we will then echo the response to the psalm said, “Lord on the day I called for help, you answered me. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels, I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name.”