Sunday in the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time

We pray through the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time and sit with Saint Cyprian’s blunt, freeing reminder that God hears the heart more than the voice. We reflect on Scripture’s insistence that nothing is hidden from God and learn how humble, quiet prayer reshapes both personal devotion and liturgical worship. 
• offering the day to Jesus through Mary in union with the Mass 
• praying with calm, modest, disciplined words and posture 
• praying in secret because God is present everywhere 
• God searching hearts and desires rather than responding to noise 
• Anna’s silent prayer as a model of faithful trust 
• the tax collector’s humility contrasted with the Pharisee’s self-satisfaction 
• harmony of mind and voice in psalms and worship 
• valuing purity of heart and sorrow for sin over many words 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publication, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org. 

Transcript

Opening Prayers And Offering

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Sunday, in the eleventh week of ordinary time. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O my Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

Saint Cyprian On Prayerful Modesty

SPEAKER_00 0:44

From a treatise on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr. When we pray, our words should be calm, modest, and disciplined. Let us reflect that we are standing before God. We should please him both by our bodily posture and the manner of our speech. It is characteristic of the vulgar to shout and make a noise, not those who are modest. On the contrary, they should employ a quiet tone in their prayer. Moreover, in the course of this teaching, the Lord instructed us to pray in secret. Hidden and secluded places, even our own rooms, give witness to our belief that God is present everywhere, and that he sees and hears all, that in the fullness of his majesty he penetrates hidden and secret places.

God Sees The Hidden Heart

SPEAKER_00 1:34

This is the teaching of Jeremiah. Am I God when I am near, and not God when I am far away? Can anyone hide in a dark corner without my seeing him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? Another passage of Scripture says, The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing both good and wicked men. The same modesty and discipline should characterize our liturgical prayer as well. When we gather to celebrate the divine mysteries with God's priest, we should not express our prayer in unruly

Anna And The Power Of Silence

SPEAKER_00 2:07

words. The petition that should be made to God with moderation is not to be shouted out noisily and verbosely. For God hears our heart, not our voice. He sees our thoughts, he is not to be shouted at. The Lord shows us this when he asked, Why do you think evil in your hearts? The Book of Revelation testifies to this also, and all the churches shall know that I am the one who searches the heart and the desires. Anna maintained this rule. In her observance of it, she is an image of the church. In the first book of Kings we are told that she prayed quietly and modestly to God in the recesses of her heart. Her prayer was secret, but her faith was evident. She did not pray with her voice, but with her heart, for she knew that in this way the Lord would hear her. She prayed with faith and obtained what she sought. Scripture makes this clear in the words, She was speaking in her heart. Her lips were moving, but her voice could not be heard, and the Lord heard her prayer. The psalmist also reminds us, Commune within your own hearts, and in the privacy of your room express your remorse. This is the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Through Jeremiah he suggests this. Say in your hearts, Lord, it is you that we have to worship.

The Tax Collector’s Humble Prayer

SPEAKER_00 3:31

My friends, anyone who worships should remember the way in which the tax collector prayed in the temple alongside the Pharisee. He did not raise his eyes immodestly to heaven or lift up his hands arrogantly. Instead he struck his breast and, confessing the sins hidden within his heart, he implored the assistance of God's mercy. While the Pharisee was pleased with himself, the tax collector deserved to be cleansed more because of the manner in which he prayed, for he did not place his hope of salvation in the certainty of his own innocence. Indeed, no one is innocent. Rather, he prayed humbly, confessing his sins, and the Lord, who forgives the lowly, heard his prayer. Let us consider how we should live in the presence of God and his angels. And so let us stand singing psalms in such a way that mind and voice are in harmony. Let us recall that God does not delight in how much we pray, but in our purity of heart and sorrow for sin. And so let us stand singing psalms in such a way that mind and voice are in harmony.

Purity Of Heart Over Many Words

SPEAKER_00 4:46

O God, strength of those who have hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. All that I have and all that I am I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Invitation To Join The Cristeros

SPEAKER_00 5:29

If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publication, now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.