The Missionary Decade. Day Seven — “Community of prayer and mercy”

Thursday, June 5

A reading of the Holy Gospel according to John 16:23–33

“Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”

Reflections on the seventh day of the Decade

Let us be kind to one another, as befits the beloved of the Father. When we come to the Divine Liturgy, let’s remember what a big family we belong to. This sense of community-family must be constantly nurtured. Let’s not forget to greet each other when we gather in church. We know some people well, others only a little, and still others we don’t know at all. But we are one family of God’s children! Let’s make an effort not only to get to know other members of the parish, but also to be interested in their life challenges, joys and pains, to know what to ask God for, what to thank for. God’s third commandment — “Remember to celebrate the holy day” (Exod. 20, 8) — obliges us to visit the church at least on Sundays and on major holidays. However, we know that many of our neighbors, relatives and friends go to church only on the biggest holidays. In order to go more often, they must feel part of a large Christian parish family. Our task, therefore, is to show them that we are glad to see them praying with us in the community of Christ’s beloved disciples. And when someone does not respond to all our invitations or encouragements, let’s not judge them, but pray for them to the Holy Spirit. He is the One who moves hearts, reveals Christ to everyone, leads to the Father.

Reflections in time of war

In this Missionary Decade, we reflect on the words of Christ at a time when a brutal war is going on and innocent people are dying. It seems impossible to find solace and comfort when the enemy is doing so much evil and wrong. Nevertheless, the words of Christ resonate with us in a special way: “For the Father himself loves you, because you have love for me and faith” (Jn. 16, 27). How important it is to be open to the love of God the Father himself for us, how important it is to feel and cherish it in the heart. And in order to survive it and draw strength from this divine love, it is important for us to believe in Christ and love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our thoughts and all our strength (cf. Mt. 22, 37). When we experience this mutual love, then the courage to ask God for everything we need grows in our hearts: “ask, and you will receive, so that your joys may be abundant” (Jn. 16, 24), and the strength to give this love to others when they need it. And to give it in concrete acts of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to welcome the traveler into the home, to visit the sick and the imprisoned, etc. (cf. Mt. 25, 35–36; Is. 58, 6–7). In practice, this means directing your attention and help to specific people whose requests for help do not reach the ears of state social services or international aid organizations. It is we, in our parishes and in our communities, who know best who is the neighbor who needs our support: mothers, women and children of fallen soldiers, displaced persons, people who have lost work or health, etc. We may not be able to provide for them materially, but we can surround them with our love and prayer care.

Prayer

Sticheron at Vespers: You, Christ, ascended to your Father without beginning, though you did not separate yourself from his indescribable divinity. The heavenly powers, adding nothing to the thrice-holy praise, recognised you, Lord, even after the Incarnation, as the only Son of the Father. Therefore, by the richness of your mercy, have mercy on us.

Mission tasks:

1. Personal/family level: Let us look at the bulletin board or Facebook page of our parish for parish events and find an interesting event for ourselves or our family and attend it.
2. Parish level: Visit our parish website or Facebook page and share parish events on the social networks we use. Write a motivational post on our social networks about God’s action in our lives.
3. Missionary level: Together with the parish priest, let’s organise a visit to another parish community (Greek Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant) to talk about the life of our parish, share our experiences with others, and perhaps help establish Bible study groups, parish communities, etc. there.

See also

June 8 The Missionary Decade. Day Ten — Sunday of Pentecost — “Our mission: to carry the Holy Spirit to others” June 7 The Missionary Decade. Day Nine — “Tend my sheep” June 6 The Missionary Decade. Day Eight — “Christian family is a domestic Church”