RELATIONSHIP AND PERSISTENCE - THE TWO ASPECTS OF PRAYER

Personal NOTES taken during mass

Homily by Deacon Clement Chen, Church of the Holy Family
27 July 2025 Sunday

Deacon touched on the importance of prayer at mass, in line with today's first reading Gen 18:20-32 (Abraham negotiates with the Lord) and Gospel Luke 11:1-13 (Jesus teaches us how to pray).

Noting down some gems from his homily:


TWO ASPECTS OF PRAYER

• Relationship

• When we pray, we need to take on the disposition of a child relating to our Father.  

• And we relate to God our Father, we do so with love, trust, humility and total dependence.

• Persistence
• God is consistently by our side. Persistence in prayer reminds us of God's presence in our lives. 

• God is forever wanting us to come to him, it is up to us to show up and to show up consistently. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

• Prayer opens ourselves to eternal change and transformation.

• Pope Francis said, in his first homily delivered in the Sistine Chapel on March 14, 2013, often referred to as Missa pro Ecclesia:

He who does not pray to the Lord prays to the devil.

When we do not proclaim Jesus Christ,

we proclaim the worldliness of devil.

Pope Francis