17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

July 24, 2022 

Luke 11: 1 – 13 

Jewish prayers were long and formulaic. Prayer was often a public event so that the person was  seen. Jesus didn’t like either style. He argued against long, babbling, prayers, referring to the pagan’s approach to prayer. He counsels praying in private referring to the Pharisees being seen on street corners. Prayer should be focused on the needs of others. In this way, our hearts are enlarged. We focus on others rather than ourselves. We develop the ability to go beyond what is humanly possible. All we need to do is keeping trying.