Daily Word, 14 Jan 20

2^nd Tuesday of the Year (14 Jan 2020)

1Sm 1. 9-20; Resp 1Sm 2; Mk 1. 21-28

Homily of Fr. Paul Panaretos, S.J., Full Spiritual Exercises
Pray With Authority

The gospel acclamation moved me to encourage you and to register a personal peeve. First, encouragement: Receive the word of God, not as a human word, but as it truly is, the word of God. Although clothed in human language God’s word is always extraordinary: God graces us as we need each moment. You are being privileged to experience that as you entrust yourselves to Ignatian praying. That gives me joy, just as the acceptance of God’s word as extraordinary by the Thessalonians filled St. Paul with joy.

You don’t peeve me; a mistranslation does. Our gospel acclamation brought it to mind. Someone failed to translate correctly the Latin for Weeks of the Year—that green liturgical season outside Advent/ Christmas and Lent/Easter and then after Pentecost. Instead of ordinal—numbered Sundays—ordinary was the translation. Sadly, ordinary season or ordinary time has stuck. My high-school Latin teacher would have failed me for that!

Language shapes us as we use it and misuse it. We sophisticated people, for whom more and more is ordinary, can benefit from St. Paul’s joyful urging: Receive the word of God…as it truly is, the word of God. Not only is the word of God extraordinary. God extraordinarily listens always to us, especially as we pour out our troubles to God. Does not God astonish and amaze us when God works with others as well as with us? with delicate creatures and in daily rhythms?

As you give yourselves to Ignatian praying allow Hannah to be your model: pray honestly; pray without editing yourselves; pray tenaciously as she did. Be alert for the Eternal One’s way of reversing what we humans too quickly deem important and demote as unimportant.

As you give yourselves to Ignatian praying let Capernaum’s synagogue throng crowd your heart, so you may be more amazed at our triune God’s extraordinary care. Let Capernaum’s synagogue throng crowd your heart so you may find yourself praying with fresh authority. To pray with authority is a symptom of Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God; when words fail us the Spirit inter-cedes for us with groanings too deep for words.¹ 

Extraordinary at each season, in each moment. Holy Spirit allows us to be ourselves, ever growing amazingly more divine on our human journey of life.

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1. Romans 8. 16 & 26.

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Wiki-images by: Ori229 Hannah’s Prayer CC BY-SA 4.0; Jesus heals possessed man PD-US