Monday in the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

We pray through the Monday liturgy and a reading from Saint Cyprian that insists the Lord’s Prayer is meant to be prayed in unity, not as an individual project. We reflect on what “Our Father” says about who we are and how grace forms a single people who intercede for one another. 
• opening prayers and the Morning Offering through the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
• Saint Cyprian’s teaching on peace, harmony, and praying as a community 
• why the Lord’s Prayer uses “our” and “us” rather than “my” and “me” 
• Scripture examples of united prayer, from the fiery furnace to the apostles with Mary 
• Christian identity as children of God and the confidence to call God “Father” 
• closing collect for grace to follow God’s commands in resolve and deeds 

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 publications 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 Prayer And Morning Offering

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Monday, 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 Praying Together

SPEAKER_00 0:45

From a treatise on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr. Above all, he who preaches peace and unity did not want us to pray by ourselves in private or for ourselves alone. We do not say, My Father who art in heaven, nor give me this day my daily bread. It is not for himself alone that each person asks to be forgiven, not to be led into temptation or to be delivered from evil. Rather, we pray in public as a community, and not for one individual but for all, for the people of God are all one. God is then the teacher of harmony, peace, and unity, and desires each of us to pray for all men, even as he bore all men in himself alone. The three young men shut up in the furnace of fire observed this rule of prayer. United in the bond of the Spirit, they uttered together the same prayer. The witness of Holy Scripture describes this incident for us, so that we might imitate them in our prayer. Then all three began to sing in unison, blessing God, even though Christ had not yet taught them to pray. Nevertheless, they spoke as with one voice. It is for this reason that their prayer was persuasive and efficacious, for their simple and spiritual prayer of peace merited the presence of the Lord. So too, after the ascension, we find the apostles and the disciples praying together in this way. Scripture relates, they all join together in continuous prayer, with the women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. They all join together in continuous prayer. The urgency and the unity of their prayer declares that God, who fashions a bond of unity among those who live in his home, will admit into his divine home for all eternity only those who pray in unity.

Our Father And Becoming God’s Children

SPEAKER_00 2:43

My dear friends, the Lord's prayer contains many great mysteries of our faith. In these few words, there is great spiritual strength, for this summary of divine teaching contains all of our prayers and petitions. And so the Lord commands us, pray then like this, our Father who art in heaven. We are new men, we have been reborn and restored to God by his grace. We have already begun to be his sons, and we can say, Father. John reminds us of this. But to all who received him, who believe in his name, he gave the power to become children of God. Profess your belief that you are sons of God by giving thanks. Call upon God who is your Father in heaven. I will proclaim your name to my brothers, and praise you in the midst of the assembly. I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples, and sing psalms to you among the nations, and praise you in the midst of the assembly.

Closing Collect And Devotions

SPEAKER_00 3:57

O God, strength of those who 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 4:43

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 publications 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 easyCristeros.org.