Lk 11:5-13: ...Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.

-------------------->>photo owned by katsushiro of Flickr

...Jesus said to his disciples, "Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says: ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is traveling has just arrived and I have nothing to offer him’. Maybe your friend will answer from inside: ‘Don't bother me now; the door is locked and my children and I are in bed, so I can't get up and give you anything’. But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. "

"And so I say to you, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. If your child asks for a fish, will you give a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give a scorpion? Even you evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those who ask him!"...


Pondering on the Gospel, i shall strongly say, that it is a catechesis on prayer Jesus is giving us. He solemnly asserts that the Father always listens to him as He listens to us.

But at times, we seem to see that reality indicates that it is not always like this, that it does not actually “works” in such this way.

Life is fleeting, and as we watch the years pass by ever faster and faster, we can grow impatient and can even fall victim to despair.

Most of us may think and ask ourselves, "Why is life so hard? I try to pray so hard, do good and do the right things, but why is it that my prayers are still unanswered?" "What kind of friend is God? After all this time, what reason do I have for believing such phrase: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you"?....

And sometimes in great despair, we blurt out in our minds:"It is vain to serve God; and what do we profit by keeping his command?"

Surely these statements may be very disturbing. They may even shake the faith of the Brethren who have been faithful to God and to His Precepts and Commands.

But if we analyze things deeply, we may say that this is because we must pray with an attitude adequate to an effective prayer! The first premise is dedication and perseverance. We must pray never ever feeling disheartened, even if we think our prayer is being ignored, or is not given heed to, right away.

This is the attitude of that inappropriate man calling on his friend's home, in the middle of the night, to request a favor. With his doggedness he will get the loaves he needs.

God is the friend who listens from within to whom is persistent enough. We must believe that He will end up by giving us what we are asking, because in addition to being a friend, He is also our Father. In our own vernacular language: 'Ang magulang ay hindi nakakatiis para sa anak! Ang magulang ay hindi pwedeng matiis na nakikita nyang ang anak nya ay naghihirap.' So, we never should give up on our father. We never should give up praying to God! We should never give up on God!

The second concept Jesus teaches us is confidence and filial love. God's paternity goes far beyond man's paternity, which is limited and imperfect: "Even you evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will the Father in Heaven?"…

The third one Jesus is trying to tell us in today's Gospel is that: more than anything else in this world, we have to call for the Holy Spirit and not only for material things. Jesus encourages us to invoke the Holy Spirit, assuring us we shall receive It: ..."much more then will Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Lk 11:13). This petition is always listened to. It is very much like asking the grace of the prayer, as the Holy Spirit is its source and its origin.

Lastly, let me summarize the essence of today's Gospel , that we must pray faithfully and devotedly, because one grace God has not granted us once, He may grant to us some other time. And on our hands, we must humbly place our whole mind in God, and God will place his grace upon us, as He pleases......In His time. In God's time!

Happy Thursday to you all....