Praying with Scripture: Part 1 | Homily for 21st Sunday

My name is Fr. Richard Conlin, though you can call me Fr. Richard or Fr. Rich. It’s a great joy to be here with you today. I was born and raised right here in Vancouver. Currently, I’m studying in Rome, but I’m home for a couple of months on summer vacation.

I’d like to mention that Fr. Justin, who was my spiritual director during seminary, has been a tremendous role model and mentor in my first three years as a priest. I feel truly blessed to spend the next three weeks with you.

This past week, I was in Whistler with my family for a holiday. Here’s a picture of myself playing a round of golf at the beautiful Big Sky golf course in Pemberton with my dad and brother. It was my best round of golf in over 2 years.

Believe it or not, that was not my favourite moment of the week, though that was certainly fun.

Nor was it meeting Fr. Justin in Whistler, although it’s always wonderful to be with him.

So, what was it?

It was a special moment with my niece, Olivia. Here’s a picture of Olivia beside me and Clare on the far right.

On Wednesday morning at 6 a.m., as I was about to leave my family home to go to Our Lady of the Mountain Church, Olivia walked into the living room. I felt Jesus prompting me to pray with her. I offered a simple morning prayer, intending to leave soon after, but I heard that voice again: “No, really pray with her. Teach her how to pray.”

Okay, Olivia. Let’s sit down. I sat down with Olivia, and we opened a daily Mass readings booklet. I taught her how to pray with Scripture. I was deeply moved by “one thing” Olivia shared from our prayer time, that when I arrived at the church for my own prayer time, I felt Jesus say to me, “I want Olivia’s experience for everyone at St. Anthony of Padua. I want you to teach them how to pray.”

This is so important because what so often happens. Some of us can go to Mass and say, “I wonder what the priest will say to me. I wonder if it’s going to connect.” But what’s on my heart is, “I wonder what Jesus is going to say to YOU. Because what He says to you is always going to connect.”

So for the next three weeks, I am going to teaching you how to pray with Scripture.

This is my way of praying with Scripture, RAP method.

Yes, today, we’re going to learn how to RAP with Scripture. Bet you never thought you’d hear that!

And the song we’re going to learn is called “The One Thing.” Sounds like a #1 hit, right?

RAP is actually an acronym for three words: Read, Ask, Pray. 

R stands for Read. You can read any passage of Scripture, like today’s Gospel, for example.

A stands for Ask. You can either ask yourself one question: “What’s your ‘one thing’?” or have someone else ask you you’re praying with.

I put the phrase “one thing” in quotes because it comes from the words of Jesus. Martha, Martha. You are anxious and troubled about so many things. One thing is needed. You know what that one thing was? Mary listening to Jesus speak to her heart.

This phrase “one thing” comes from Jesus’ words to Martha that only “one thing” is necessary: to listen to Him speak to us.

Your “one thing” can be a sentence, phrase, or even just a word from the Scripture passage—something that resonates with you personally.

P stands for Pray. Simply talk with Jesus about your “one thing.” I like to use the symbol of two hearts because prayer is essentially a heart-to-Heart conversation with Jesus.

These are my three simple steps for praying with any passage of Scripture—the RAP method: Read, Ask, Pray. Now you know how to RAP with Scripture, and the song is called “The One Thing.”

To bring this to life, I’ll give you four examples based on today’s readings, to show you how helpful it can be to pray with Scripture every day.

1st Example: 1st Reading

When I was praying with the first reading this week, and I asked, “What’s your ‘one thing’?” the verse “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord,” really stood out. I felt Jesus say to me,

“There are men at St. Anthony of Padua Parish who need this to be their ‘one thing.'”

Last week, you heard Fr. Justin speak about moving from the head to the heart and making a decision to trust Jesus. Well, Jesus wants this week to be the time for you to make a decision from your heart and say with confidence at this Mass, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Men, Jesus wants you to lead your families in the Catholic faith this week. There’s a real spiritual battle going on between Heaven and Hell for you and your families. Jesus wants you to serve in His army and declare, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Next Example: Responsorial Psalm

When I read the responsorial psalm and heard Jesus ask me, “What’s your ‘one thing’?” the phrase “The Lord is near the broken-hearted” stood out.

I felt Jesus say, “There are some women at St. Anthony of Padua Parish who are in deep pain right now. They feel like they have a broken heart. Some of them think that the Lord is far away from them in their pain and brokenness, but I want them to know that I am near. I want this to be their ‘one thing.'”

See, if I just gave a whole homily about how men need to stand up and lead their families, and serve the Lord, but there is a whole group of women who come here with a broken-heart… What I say as a homily to men won’t connect with you as women.

But if you prayed with Scripture before, He would have already spoken to your heart. And then you come to Mass with the freedom not to need the priest’s homily to connect because Jesus has already connected with you and now you desire Holy Communion so that the words – The Lord is near the broken-hearted – becomes real. That’s why we have to pray with the daily Mass readings before Mass.

Next Example: 2nd Reading

In the second reading, when I asked, “What’s your ‘one thing’?” the word “forgiven” jumped off the page. I felt Jesus say, “There are people here who need the word ‘forgiven’ to be their ‘one thing.'”

Some of you need to go to Confession. This is your sign—go be forgiven! Only place in the world where you’re truly forgiven – that Confessional box.

Others need to realize how powerful and life-changing it is to be forgiven by God. When you go to Confession, your sins are like a drop of water in an ocean of God’s mercy. When you are absolved, that drop of water disappears into the ocean. Don’t go looking for it—it’s gone. Rejoice in His amazing mercy. You are forgiven!

Finally, the Gospel.

Finally, when I read today’s Gospel and felt Jesus ask, “What’s your ‘one thing’?” the question “Do you also wish to go away?” pierced my heart.

I felt Jesus say, “There are people here who need to answer this question.”

Some of you may feel like the apostles in today’s Gospel—many of your friends and family have left the Church or stopped coming to Mass. You’ve heard Peter’s response to Jesus’ question, “Do you also wish to go away?”

But what is YOUR response? Today, Jesus wants you to answer this question. He’s waiting…

To conclude, during the announcements at the end of Mass, I’ll present my “one thing” challenge for the week.

For now, here is the list of 4 examples of “one things” that I chose from this week’s reading.

I want to give everyone an opportunity to choose one thing from the list of four below.

This is the “one thing” Jesus wants to speak to your heart right now at this Mass.

Throughout the rest of this Mass, keep this “one thing” in mind. Talk to Jesus about it.

Amen? Amen.

During the announcements.

I’d like to introduce the “one thing” challenge for this week. The “one thing” challenge is simple: RAP once a day, even if it’s just for one minute on one passage of Scripture. And if anyone asks you your “one thing” and you forget, you owe them $1. When I asked Fr. Justin about this challenge, he said, Great! But make it $5!

So, anyone can ask me this week, “Fr. Rich, what’s your ‘one thing’?” and if I don’t have an answer, I owe you $1.

I’m always willing to put money on the line because money passes away but your relationship with Jesus is everlasting. And if you haven’t had these experiences of Jesus speaking to your heart, challenging you, consoling you, loving you.