Seventeeth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Here are the readings for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 25, 2010:
Genesis 18: 20-32
Psalm 138: 1-3, 6-8

Colossians 2: 12-14

Luke 11: 1-13 

... We don't have to try to convince God to be generous toward us- that is the very thing God wants to do
....

     The sayings that follow the parable reinforce its meaning, elaborating that God stands ready and eager to open the door to whoever knocks and to give whatever we ask, just as parents desire to give good gifts to their children.
     The Gospel challenges the idea that God sends suffering to test or challenge or strengthen us and insists that God desires only good for us. We do not have to badger God or bargain with God to give us good things.

- Barbara E. Reid, O.P. in "America" magazine July 19-26, 2010.

• Take at least ten minutes soon to spend some time in prayer with God, thanking God for all of the good things in your life and our world.
• How and when do you pray? What helps you stay persistent? What makes it difficult to pray?
  
  The topic for the Catechumenate session this Sunday is prayer.
  The next Inquiry session will be July 27.