Today Jesus teaches us HOW TO PRAY: " FATHER, Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. GIVE US EACH DAY OUR DAILY BREAD AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the test." (Luke 11:1-13). This is a continuation of last week's Gospel when Jesus visited Mary and Martha. Jesus had left Bethany and had gone PRAYING, and when he had finished one of his disciples asked him: " LORD! TEACH US HOW TO PRAY". We are so familiar with the "OUR FATHER PRAYER" that at times we pray it without thinking about the meaning of the beautiful words that Jesus has given us. Luke gives us words somewhat different from...

What is God's promise to us individually? What do we expect from God? Is our HOPE in God or in the world? We were invited last week to reflect on the amazing encounter between Abraham and God (first reading, Genesis 18: 1-10) "The LORD appears to Abraham as he sat under a tree at the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up Abraham saw THREE MEN standing nearby ". Abraham bows to the ground in AWE of GOD! He then provides great hospitality to the three men representing GOD: "he waits on them under the tree while they ate." Then God gives a promise: one of the three men says...

Many of you were touched by the POWERFUL PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN last week. We hear this Gospel only once every three years in the YEAR OF LUKE (YEAR C, Luke 10:25-37). It is one of Jesus' most famous parables. It is Jesus' answer to the Jewish scholar's question: "WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?" (see my column of last week). It teaches us how to live a Christian Life and to be saved! It is all about CHRISTIAN LOVE! GOD IS LOVE! LOVE IS GOD! Our secular world uses the expression...

Reminding us of the two greatest commandments of LOVE: "LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART ...AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF", Jesus invites us today to reflect on a key question: WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? Jesus is teaching us a major lesson through the powerful PARABLE of the GOOD SAMARITAN. A scholar of the law is testing Jesus: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" This encounter leads Jesus to tell the story of a man falling victim to robbers as he was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho: they stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest, then a Levite when seeing him passed on the opposite side of the road. A third person, a Samaritan traveler was moved with compassion and took care of the victim pouring" oil and wine" over his wounds. He then took him to an inn and cared for him... Jesus gives the major lesson of this parable by asking...