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Arch Bishop Micheal Ralph Vendegna S.O.S.M.A.

Gospel/Homily

  • Thursday 1st of Lent

     

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    Gospel text (Mt 7,7-12): Jesus said to his disciples; “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? 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. “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.”

    «For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds»

    Fr. Joaquim MESEGUER García (Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)

    Today, Jesus reminds us of the need and power of prayer. We cannot understand our Christian life without being related to God, and in this relation, prayer takes a central place. While we live in this world, we Christians find ourselves on a pilgrimage road, but our prayer gets us closer to God, opens up the door of his immense love and brings forward the Heaven delights. This is why, our Christian life is a constant request and search: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Mt 7:7), says Jesus to his disciples.

    At the same time, the prayer gradually turns a stone heart into a flesh heart: “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). The best summary we can ask God can be found in Our Lord's Prayer: “Your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as in heaven” (cf. Mt 6:10). We, therefore, cannot ask just anything in our prayers, but something, which is really for our own good. If nobody wants to hurt himself, we should not want any damage for others, either.

    Sometimes we fail to see God's concern for us, for we find our prayers seemingly unanswered or may even feel God does not love us. In such moments, it will do us good to remember this advice from Saint Jerome: “It is certain God gives to everyone that asks, that he that seeks finds, and that he that knocks it shall be opened: It is clearly seen that who has not received, who has not found, who has not been opened, is just because he didn’t know how to ask, how to seek or how to knock at the door”. Let us therefore ask God, in the first place, to make our heart kind like that of Jesus Christ.

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