OCTOBER 7, 2010
DAILY PRAYER WITH REGNUM CHRISTI
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THE CHRISTIAN WHO DOESN'T PRAY
TREATS GOD LIKE A SERVANT
October 7, 2010
Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary
Father James Swanson, LC
Luke 11:5-13
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he
goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I
have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do
not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I
are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell
you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their
friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of
his persistence. "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone
who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who
knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand
his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when
he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven
give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?"
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the master of the
universe, and yet you wish to listen to me and guide me. You know all
things past, present and future, and yet you respect my freedom to
choose you. Holy Trinity, you are completely happy and fulfilled on
your own, and yet you have generously brought us into existence. You
are our fulfillment. Thank you for the gift of yourself. I offer the
littleness of myself in return, knowing you are pleased with what I
have to give.
Petition: Lord, through this meditation, grant me the grace of a
greater dependence on you.
1. God Wants Us to Ask Sometimes we think that since God knows all
things, we need not ask him for anything. We need only wait until
God will give us what we need. Nothing could be further from the
truth. In this passage, Jesus doesn't say not to worry; instead he
says that our Heavenly Father will gladly and lovingly provide
whatever we need, provided we ask for it. One reason why God has
arranged things this way is because if our needs were automatically
provided for, a great number of us would not even realize there is a
God, or we would easily forget him. There are affluent societies in
which the people's material needs are taken care of easily. Does such
a situation remind the people of God, his power, or his love? When
we ask God to provide for our needs, we implicitly recognize his
existence and authority in our lives. God wants us to do this.
2. Petitions in Prayer Increase My Faith But there are even more
important reasons God wants us to ask. It is in asking that our faith
grows. The more I ask, the more I come into a personal relationship
with God. If I never had to turn to him for my needs, I would never
realize how much he wants to be a part of my life. But when I have
to ask, especially if I have to put some time and effort into it,
then, when my needs are satisfied, it will be very clear that God
did it. It will be clear that it wasn't me, or luck, or anything
else, but God. Don't be afraid to ask. Develop your faith by doing
so.
3. When I Don't Ask for What I Need, I Treat God as My Servant
When we expect God to give us all we need without asking, are we not
placing the whole burden of our salvation on him and nothing on
ourselves? Are we not in a sense being lazy? "You know what I need,
Lord. Just give it to me, take care of it, while I focus on my own
interests." Not only is this laziness, it is pride, treating God like
a servant whose role is to provide whatever I need. We forget he is
God. Certainly God is generous and loving, willing to give us
everything that is good for us; but he is still God, and he deserves
our respect, adoration, and especially our gratitude.
Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, so often I expect you to
take care of me without my having to ask. Help me to live my
dependence on you through the practice of asking you for my needs.
Increase my faith through my prayer so that I see my real dependence
on you and how much you do for me.
Resolution: What do I most need today? I will ask God for it early
and often. meditation.regnumchristi.org

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Spain (including its territories of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia), the Republic of Venice, the Papacy, the Republic of Genoa, the Duchy of Savoy, the Knights Hospitaller and others, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire. The five-hour battle was fought at the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece, where the Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto (Turkish: İnebahtı; Greek: Ναύπακτος, Naupaktos or Έπαχτος, Épahtos) met the Holy League forces, which had come from Messina.[4] Victory gave the Holy League temporary control over the Mediterranean, protected Rome from invasion, and prevented the Ottomans from advancing further into Europe. Lepanto was the last major naval battle fought almost entirely between oar-powered galleys, and has been assigned great symbolic importance since then. Religious significance The Holy League credited the victory to the Virgin Mary, whose intercession with God they had implored for victory through the use of the Rosary. Andrea Doria had kept a copy of the miraculous image of our Our Lady of Guadalupe given to him by King Philip II of Spain in his ship's state room.[20] Pope Pius V instituted a new Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Victory to commemorate the battle, which is now celebrated by the Catholic Church as the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia