Homily in Chinese

Luke's gospel is often called "the gospel of prayer" for different reasons. Luke, in fact,  frequently portrays Jesus at prayer. Jesus prays during His Baptism, prays before choosing the apostles. Prays during the Transfiguration: prays during His agony in the garden of Olives and on the Cross

Luke devotes more space than the other evangelists to Jesus' teaching about prayer and its importance. This week He teaches about "the necessity...to pray always without becoming weary."

As a woman without a man to protect or speak for her, the widow had no power. The persistent widow teaches us that we have to have a truthful image of God. If a godless and dishonest judge can be worn down by a widow to render justice, with how much more confidence can we approach the One whom Jesus invites us to address as "Father," who seeks to give his children what they most need.

On this World Mission Sunday we pray that the joy we feel in our hearts, in spite of life’s many hardships, may be shared by our fellow human beings.

The Baptisms of little Dimitri Gerald Gunawan and of Elizabeth Claire Andriacchi offer us the possibility of renewing our Baptismal Vows. On the day we were baptized, we were branded with the fire of the Holy Spirit. We belong to God for ever. In the depths of our hearts we feel His gentle presence and we cry with Him as we say to god: “Father!” We know, from experience that  “Christian prayer” is not the prayer offered by Christians, but the prayer that the Holy Spirit utters from the hearts of Christians who love Him.