Asking Our Lady to Teach Us How to Pray – May 29 – Homily – Fr Dominic

In his homily, Father Dominic Murphy reflects on Jesus cleansing the temple, where merchants and priests corrupted the Gentile court of prayer for financial gain. Quoting Scripture, Jesus declares that His house must be a "house of prayer for all peoples" (Mark 11:17). Because of this corruption, Jesus curses a fruitless fig tree—a traditional symbol of Israel—which miraculously withers to its roots, foreshadowing the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.

Using this sign, Jesus teaches His disciples about the immense power of faith-filled prayer. Father Dominic invites the faithful to be immersed in God's love like "a fish in water," trusting completely in His divine generosity. However, a critical obstacle to effective prayer is the refusal to forgive. As Jesus teaches, we must forgive any grievances when we stand to pray (Mark 11:25), as unforgiveness thwarts our prayers from reaching God.

Drawing from the first reading, Father Dominic highlights Saint Peter’s exhortation to let our love for one another be intense, because "love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). This intense love for God and neighbor as a family is made possible through the Holy Spirit's gift of piety. Ultimately, the homily concludes with an invitation to ask Our Lady to teach us how to pray efficaciously so that we may please God and bear abundant spiritual fruit.

(NRSV-CE) – Jesus curses barren fig tree and expels temple merchants and sellers – https://airmaria.com/go/7r4tR6
(NRSV-CE) – Jesus calls temple house of prayer not den of robbers – https://airmaria.com/go/FSymcR
– Jesus curses fig tree then teaches disciples about faith's power – https://airmaria.com/go/NvULeq
(NRSV-CE) – Jesus affirms praise must continue or stones will shout aloud – https://airmaria.com/go/G2uj57
– Bold faithful prayer receives whatever one asks from God confidently – https://airmaria.com/go/AhFTe3Mark 11:17 – The Temple is a house of prayer – https://airmaria.com/go/eAMdj2
1 Peter 4:8 – Intense love covers a multitude of sins – https://airmaria.com/go/FWpQ74
CCC 584 – Jesus respects the Temple as God's house – https://airmaria.com/go/n6Wyqe
CCC 2631 – Asking forgiveness is prerequisite for prayer – https://airmaria.com/go/cnzAwY
Mark 11:24 – Praying with faith obtains our requests – https://airmaria.com/go/djpFse

00:00 - Cleansing the Temple
01:57 - The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree
02:33 - The Power of Believing Prayer
03:25 - Forgiveness: The Key to Prayer
03:49 - Loving One Another Intensely
04:34 - Asking Our Lady to Teach Us to Pray