When Hezekiah was mortally ill,the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:“Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,for you are about to die; you shall not recover.”Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord:
“O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedlyI conducted myself in your presence,doing what was pleasing to you!”And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah:Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the Lord’s temple;I will add fifteen years to your life.I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;I will be a shield to this city.”
Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be takenand applied to the boil, that he might recover.Then Hezekiah asked,“What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?”
Isaiah answered:“This will be the sign for you from the LORDthat he will do what he has promised:See, I will make the shadow cast by the sunon the stairway to the terrace of Ahazgo back the ten steps it has advanced.”So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.
REFLECTION
“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.”
When we pray, do we truly believe that God hears us?
What do we pray for? For God to help us, or a loved one? For healing of a disease? In thanksgiving? In praise to God? In adoration to Him?
Regardless of the type of prayer, God always hears us. He might not respond the way we'd like, but He certainly hears us.
As Catholics, we believe in the "communion of saints", this is, we pray for each other in this world, and for the souls in purgatory.
A few weeks ago, one of my children was setup to fail the final school grade. This after many, many opportunities to help her finish school, she simply was refusing to study, so she was going to repeat the whole grade.
In frustration I told this to a friend. She took a little time, and then wrote an extensive letter on how important it will be for my child to pass the grade and be with her friends next year. Not only that it will be a psychological problem, but also because the girls help each other in and out of school. Also because their fathers, (our husbands), have exactly the same health issues, and support each other through this.
After reading this lengthy intercession from my friend, I talked to my husband and we decided to put our daughter through summer school, and hire a tutor to help her through this. So far, it's been hard, but she might actually finish her summer school with a passing grade.
St. Matthew tells us: "If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him." (Mt 7:11)
If a few kind words from a friend to me made me change my mind of punishing my child, imagine our prayers towards God interceding for others?
Please pray with us today and everyday our PAPA Prayer for Priests so they all can be saints.
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