Gospel Reading
Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, "There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.'
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'"
The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
Lk 18:1-8
Gospel Reflection
Praised be Jesus Christ!
One lament that is often uttered is that God doesn't hear our prayers. This fact causes us to lose faith or leave the faith all together. However, like a loving Father, He always listens to His children.
In the Gospel, Christ exhorts us to be persistent in our prayer, even if we think God doesn't hear us. We can easily ask ourselves, why isn't God answering our prayers? We are faithful to Him. We go to Mass and say our prayers. Why isn't He listening to us?
St. Augustine reminds us that sometimes God delays in giving us what we want because He wants our hearts to expand. In other words, God isn't giving us what we want but either wants us to wait or is giving us a gift that we couldn't even imagine.
It's really a great test of faith. We need to have faith that Christ is hearing us and possibly even preparing us for something greater.
May this be our prayer this week, that we will have the faith to know God hears our prayers, and that we receive even greater than we are expecting.
As always, know of my prayers before Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+Bishop Schlert