Thursday of the First Week of Lent
I HAVE NO HELPER BUT YOU
Prayer discloses all the riches of God’s goodness to us. God cannot resist us when we turn to him in our misery, in our needs, in our joy, even in our silence when we don’t know what to say. But the reason for his generosity is not so much that we ask him, but that he is good. Others, even a father or a mother, may give because the person who asks insists. God gives because he is good. He is glad to give. He gives with joy. And he gives always more than is asked.
Reading 1: Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish,
had recourse to the LORD.
She lay prostrate upon the ground, together with her handmaids,
from morning until evening, and said:
“God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you.
Help me, who am alone and have no help but you,
for I am taking my life in my hand.
As a child I used to hear from the books of my forefathers
that you, O LORD, always free those who are pleasing to you.
Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you,
O LORD, my God.
“And now, come to help me, an orphan.
Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the lion
and turn his heart to hatred for our enemy,
so that he and those who are in league with him may perish.
Save us from the hand of our enemies;
turn our mourning into gladness
and our sorrows into wholeness.”
Gospel: Mt 7:7-12
“Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
12 “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.
Prayer
Lord, our God,
you are a generous Father,
who give us what is good for us
simply because you love us.
Give us grateful hearts, Lord,
that we may learn from you
to give and share without calculation
but simply with love and joy,
as Jesus did among us, your Son,
who lives with you and with us for ever.
Reflection:
2 March 2023
Matthew 7: 7-12
Ask, Seek and Knock – God will never fail us!
In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises results, provided we ask, seek and knock. “Ask, and it will be given to you. Is that a little too much to believe? Because it is also our experience that some of our prayers go unanswered.
Jesus’ examples are carefully chosen. He takes two examples. The little, round limestone stones on the seashore were exactly the shape and the colour of little loaves. If a son asks for bread, will his father mock him by offering him a stone that looks like bread but is impossible to eat? If a son asks for a fish, will his father give him a serpent? Eel is a fish but has the shape of a snake. According to the Jewish law, “Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination to you” ( Leviticus 11:12). Therefore, the eel could not be eaten. Now the question of Jesus is, would any father mock his children when they ask him for something?
The mistake we make in our prayers is that our prayers are attempts to persuade God to change his plan. We would like him to comply with our ideas! But prayer does not change God; instead, it opens our minds and changes our hearts. The ways of God are not always easy and pleasant; they require conversions, efforts, renouncement and sacrifices.
During this Lenten season, we are invited to return to what is essential for life and make vital choices. Lent reminds us that our Father cares for us and wants us to return to him in prayer. He loves us without limits; is always at our side. Jesus invites us to pray – with the confidence and insistence of children before their dads.
We probably do not always experience this love, or by habit we have lost the meaning of the expression: “God is love.” The challenge is to become aware of this experience that heals our infirmities. Pope Francis reminds us: “We all have spiritual illnesses, we cannot cure them alone; We all have in-built vices, we cannot eradicate them alone; We all have fears that paralyse us, we cannot overcome them alone. Return to him, asking, seeking and knocking for God’s will in our lives.
The disease will continue, the grievance will remain, and the wounds of betrayal will be painful, but when we pray, our loving Lord will accompany us in dealing with them. God will always answer our prayers in his way, wisdom and love, and we must bring God an undiscouraged life of prayer, which tests the rightness of the things we pray for and tests our sincerity in asking for them.