Mark 9:7, Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14, Luke 11:1-4, Psalm 117:1-2

Mark 9:7

But a cloud formed, covering them in shadow, and from the cloud came this word, "This is My Son, the Beloved; listen to Him."

Beloved, no man can look at God and live, so for the sake of the Apostles who were present, the Father appeared in a cloud pointing to the world that You were His Beloved Son and that we were to listen to You. Your Mama gave us the same advice, she said, "Do whatever He tells you." In this lies our peace. It is hard to listen with all the noise in the world, so we must withdraw to a quiet place and there spend time alone with You, contemplating You, the Eternal Word.

Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14

1 After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and Titus came with us. 2 Following a revelation, I went to lay before them the Gospel that I am preaching to the pagans. I had a private meeting with the leaders—lest I should be working or have worked in a wrong way.

After fourteen years of preaching successfully to the Gentiles St. Paul through a revelation was asked to meet the Church in Jerusalem. He was to lay open before them his teaching of the Gospel in case of any error.

This is why the Church has a hierachy - in order that the truth in all its pristine beauty and power is preserved. As we read later in verses 11 - 14 we see how easy it is to fall into error and risk division especially when we look for human respect. The Church has learnt her lessons well, and in the 2000 plus years of her history, she is the lone voice that stands on the side of Truth against a secular world. Within the Church and through her long and turbulent past there have been been many voices like St. Paul's who were not afraid to stand up to the leaders within the Church, they were heard and the correction was accepted in a spirit of humility. This has helped keep the Bark of St. Peter on a steady course.

Luke 11:1-4

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this:Father, hallowed be your name, may your kingdom come, 3 give us each day the kind of bread we need, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we also for­give all who do us wrong,

and do not bring us to the test.” 11 When later Cephas came to Antioch, I con­fronted him since he deserved to be blamed. 12 Before some of James’ people arrived, he used to eat with non-Jewish people. But when they arrived, he withdrew and did not mingle anymore with them, for fear of the Jewish group. 13 The rest of the Jews followed him in this pretense, and even Barnabas was part of this insincerity. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas publicly: If you who are Jewish agreed to live like the non-Jews, setting aside the Jewish customs, why do you now compel the non-Jews to live like Jews?

Beloved, everytime You returned from praying to the Father, which is often, Your disciples must have seen You positively glowing from this love enounter. The power emanating from You must have been palpable and they too wanted to have this experience for themselves, so they asked You the question that You were waiting for them to ask, "Lord, teach us to pray." And You did. We continue to say this most complete of prayers at every Mass, once You are present on our Altar, after the Consecration of the bread and wine into Your Body and Blood in order that You may receive our prayer and take it to the Father.

We pray to keep holy God's Name, the Name that is used so lightly and so loosely in the world today. We pray that Your Kingdom of peace will come into every human heart. We pray for our daily bread - first the Eucharistic Bread that nourished our soul in order to withstand the temptations that assail us, as well as for bread to satisfy our physical needs. We ask to be forgiven and we acknowledge that our forgiveness is conditional to our forgiving those who have hurt us. Finally, we ask the Father not to try us beyond our ability to endure lest we fall.

Thank You Beloved for this most beautiful of prayers and one that is truly pleasing to the Father because You know best the Father's heart.

Psalm 117:1-2

Praise the Lord, all you nations;

all you peoples, praise him.

2 How great is his love for us!

His faithfulness lasts forever.

Beloved, this is the shortest of all the Psalms yet it says everything that has to be said. All nations praise You for Your great love and faithfulness that is everlasting.