Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A July 22/23 2023

 Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle A    July 22/23   2023

     Our second reading today comes from St Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Now St Paul was a prolific letter writer and we have several of his letters in the New Testament.  All of these were written to people he knew, and knew their specific needs and issues, and Paul’s letters are all written to specific situations, except one.  That is the Letter to the Romans, from which our second reading is taken today.  Paul’s letter to the Romans is really an introductory letter, in which Paul lays out, in a more systematic and comprehensive fashion, his preaching. 

He writes this as a sort of introduction of himself and his teaching so that the Romans - whom Paul had yet never visited - will recognize both the depth and the accuracy of Paul’s preaching about Jesus Christ and the Resurrection, SO THAT the Roman Christians will be open to Paul and supportive of his stay in Rome.  Hence, the Letter to the Romans is often called the Gospel according to St Paul.

          And that is where our second reading, short as it is, comes from today.  

          St Paul states:  “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;

for we do not know how to pray as we ought.”  Well, is it true that we do not know how to pray as we ought?   Don’t we know the Our Father and the Hail Mary?  Don’t some of us pray with Scripture, do “lectio divina”, or pray the rosary?    Perhaps some even pray the psalms or the Office of Readings?  Anyone here do Morning prayer, evening prayer, etc???

          Well, that is all well and good, but I think St Paul meant something else, not about how to pray, but about what to pray for and more importantly, the attitude to open ourselves to pray, not for what we want, but to pray for what God wants. 

          You see, because of our limited spirits, and our own selfish desires, and our desire for what is pleasant and easy and painless, we sometimes, maybe most of the time, pray for what we want, and not for what God wants for us. 

          To pray “as we ought” as St. Paul says, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us.    The great example of praying as we ought is of course Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest, when Jesus prayed “not my will, but Thine, be done.” 

          That is a tough prayer.  It goes against our natural human instincts and our sinful inclinations.  But, St. Paul says, “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought..”

          So for example, we want to pray for this horrible heat wave to end.  But maybe the Holy Spirit really wants to lead us to pray for practical compassion for those suffering from the heat, and for greater wisdom and courage to fight for the environment and against climate change. 

          Maybe we want to pray that the annoying person at work will quit or get transferred, or even fired, and so end the problem, when the Holy Sprit really wants to empower us to forgive and to reach out in support. 

          Praying in the Holy Spirit is not for the feint of heart or for sissies.  Paul states: “but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”   Why “groaning”???   Because this is hard.  This is tough.  This is serious.  And “we do not know how to pray as we ought..” 

          So the Holy Spirit comes to our aid.  But we need to be open and receptive to the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is strong, very strong, but doesn’t force Himself on us. 

    The Holy Spirit, as St Paul assures us “intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will.”    And we can be empowered to pray according, not to our will, but to God’s will.  And that makes all the difference.   AMEN.