Abraham’s audacity is a sort of climb to God’s mercy that takes place in six stages. Apparently the final solution seems to be that of destruction, in reality the mere fact that Abraham works so hard in favor of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah is the sign of a mercy that precedes, accompanies and follows all justice. The apostle Paul reminds us that we ourselves are not in too different a situation by forgiving us “all the faults and annulling the document written against us”. The request of one of the disciples to be made sharers in the mystery in which the Lord Jesus lives his relationship to the Father springs from that amazement that prayer is always capable of achieving: man can meet God and can speak to him with simplicity and trust. The Lord Jesus summarizes all this in simple invocations to the “Father” whose truth of relationship is revealed and authenticated by a growing willingness to listen to the prayers and needs of the brothers in particular in the capacity – exquisitely divine – to forgive. Every time we pray to the Father we are called not to expect something from him, but to become like him capable of giving everything. We are the father, mother, brother and friend to our brothers and sisters in humanity. So prayer, far from being a gentle way to get out of the fray, is, in reality, a bomb that can radically change history, but not without first profoundly changing our hearts. Therefore, the difficult conclusion becomes clear: “… the Holy Spirit…”!

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Community of the Koinonia de la Visitation

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey