DAILY- HOMILY

October 9, 2014

Thursday 27th Week in Ordinary Time

[Sts. Denis and companions; St. John Leonardi]

Gal 3: 1-5 / Lk 1: 69-70, 71-72, 73-75 / Lk 11: 5-13 

Reading: Gal 3: 1-5

How foolish you are, Galatians! How could they bewitch you after Jesus Christ has been presented to you as crucified? I shall ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by the practice of the Law, or by believing the message? How can you be such fools: you begin with the Spirit and end up with the flesh! So you have experienced all this in vain! Would that it were not so! Did God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you, because of your observance of the Law or because you believed in his message?        

Gospel: Luke 11: 5-13

Jesus said to them, "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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Reflection:

     "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you."  This is a very often-quoted verse, and its appeal is not so surprising.  Imagine, a God who gives you anything you want as long as you keep asking. Or so we, with our often misguided desires, would like to believe. But going back to the verse, Jesus did not initially say what it was. Did he really mean that God will grant us anything we ask of Him? Knowing Christ in His wisdom, it's highly unlikely that he meant it that way. As we read on, it becomes a little more evident what He did suggest. 

     At the end of the gospel passage, Jesus said, "Even you evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  Here, He sets the parameters to what God will willingly and lovingly grant us: the Holy Spirit. We might ask for things that we believe we want or need, but these might not reflect our deepest desires, and will probably do us more harm than good. Sometimes, what we seek becomes muddled by the superficial priorities of the world, that we forget about what it is we truly seek. When we stop for a while to step back and get a glimpse of the deepest recesses of our hearts, there lies our true desire to know and love God with our whole being. But it is only in asking Him and seeking His infinite wisdom that we may receive this blessing.

Prayer Requests:

We pray ...

... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn

... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary

... for families who are in need of healing

... for world peace and reconciliation

... for wisdom, perseverance and clarity of mind for those who prepare and take their exams:

     * Karen Tuala who takes the bar exams on the four (4) consecutive weekends of October

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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