<div dir="ltr">

<table class="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-table gmail-m_5159597752846853412root-table" style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" width="650" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row-margin36168" style="padding:5px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row36168" class="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row gmail-m_5159597752846853412widget gmail-m_5159597752846853412_widget_text gmail-m_5159597752846853412style36168" style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><td id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row-padding36168" style="padding:10px 30px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412text_div35631" class="gmail-m_5159597752846853412td_text gmail-m_5159597752846853412td_block" style="color:inherit;font-size:12px;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.5;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:Arial" valign="top" align="left"><div style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;line-height:1.5"> <div style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><div style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-align:start"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-weight:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-size:18px;font-style:normal;text-align:start"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-weight:normal"><b style="margin:0px;outline:currentcolor none medium;padding:0px;font-size:18px;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";color:rgb(0,0,0);font-weight:normal;font-style:normal"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Friends,

<span style="background-color:rgb(208,224,227)"><b> today’s Gospel asks us

to do three things: pray, fast, and give alms. </b></span>Let’s focus today on 

prayer. Studies show <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>that prayer is a very common, very popular 

activity</b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Even</b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>those who profess no <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">belief in God</span></b></span> <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>pray</b></span>!</span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">What

 is prayer, and <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>how should we pray</b></span>? <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Prayer is intimate communion and 

conversation with God. </b></span>Judging from Jesus’ own life, <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>prayer is something

 that we ought to do often, especially at key moments of our lives.</b></span></span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">Well,

 how should we pray? What does it look like? You have to <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>pray with 

faith, and according to Jesus’ model, you have to <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)">pray with forgiveness.

 The efficacy of prayer seems to depend on the reconciliation of 

differences.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal">You

 also have to <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>pray with persistence</b></span>. <span style="background-color:rgb(217,234,211)"><b>One reason t<span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)">hat</span></b></span><span style="background-color:rgb(234,209,220)"><b> we don’t receive 

what we want through prayer is that we give up too easily</b></span>. Augustine 

said that God sometimes delays in giving us what we want because he 

wants

our hearts to expand.</span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"> </span><br><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:18px;font-weight:400;line-height:inherit;text-decoration:inherit;font-family:georgia,"times new roman";font-style:normal"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>Finally,

 we have to pray in Jesus’ name</b></span>. In doing <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>so we </b><b>are relying on his 

influence with the Father, trusting that the Father will listen to him.</b></span><br><br>Reflect: How is <span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><u><b>the Lord’s Prayer a good model </b></u></span>of what <u><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>our prayer should contain</b></span></u> in terms of <u><span style="background-color:rgb(255,242,204)"><b>praise, forgiveness, and petition</b></span></u>?</span></b></b><br></span></b></div>

</b></b></b></b></b></div>

 </div>

</td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

</td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

</td>

</tr>

<tr style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><td id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row-margin36165" style="padding:0px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:initial" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row36165" class="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row gmail-m_5159597752846853412widget gmail-m_5159597752846853412_widget_break gmail-m_5159597752846853412style36165"><td id="gmail-m_5159597752846853412layout-row-padding36165" style="line-height:0;padding:50px 0px 0px" valign="top"><table style="font-size:13px;min-width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;line-height:0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td style="line-height:0" height="0"><br></td>

</tr>

<tr><td style="line-height:0" width="650" height="10" align="center"> <table style="font-size:13px;min-width:auto;border-collapse:collapse;line-height:0;width:100%;max-width:100%" width="650" height="10" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td class="gmail-m_5159597752846853412break-line" style="line-height:10px;height:10px;width:650px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" width="650" height="10" bgcolor="#ffffff"> <br></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

</div>