Daily Prayer for Mission Month October, Year of St Francis and upcoming Local Elections in SA.  Heavenly Father, during this Mission month, we praise and thank you for the gift of your love and the riches of your creation. As missionary disciples we answer your call to walk in the way of peace.  We lift up to you all leaders of nations. Grant them an open heart and a listening ear to hear the cries of the poor and the needy. Bless all missionaries, protect them from harm, strengthen their hearts in times of trial, and fill them with the joy of your Spirit. As we prepare for the elections and a renewal of society for the common good we acknowledge our shortcomings and faults. We hear the needs that call for help to build a united country under God, as a family of all the families of creation.  Mary, Mother of the Church and of the Rosary pray for us. St Francis, our model and patron saint of all of creation pray for us. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen

October 8.  SEE. A Father’s Care. Paul said, “Pope Francis continually challenged us to help others and share with the poor. Pope Leo has continued that concern.   We as ordinary citizens are inclined to get sceptical about the beggars at traffic lights, is it for work, for food or for drugs?  But I suppose one should say that all the protests and demonstrations about land, service delivery and jobs are what Luke would have been talking about.”  Shona added, “Sharing bread among friends is already a sacred thing; when we are in need our real friends will make God present for us in this way. Knocking on doors and asking eventually does get results!  Snakes and stones and scorpions will not be the gift of the Father, but certainly God will give the Holy Spirit who will then call us to our mission of discipleship”

JUDGE. Reflect, share, Scripture. What father among you if his son asks for a fish will give him a serpent?  If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. Luke 11:5-13. Pope Francis:  Water pollution particularly affects the poor who cannot  buy bottled water and rises in the sea level mainly affect impoverished coastal populations who have nowhere else to go. Imbalances end in the premature death of many of the poor and conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources.  LS 48  Pope Leo: The construction of a world in a state of perpetual conflict is an evil and must be named for what it is. This way of portraying our current situation may seem bleak or pessimistic, yet I consider it necessary to do so. The Christian perspective, however, is not limited to denouncing evil. We view history in the light of the crucified and risen Lord, to whom the Father has given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). We do not consider the present as a predetermined fate, but an opportunity for personal and collective conversion.  MH 210