Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Thursday First Week of Lent
March 13, 2014
Thursday First Week of Lent
Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25 / Ps 138: 1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8 / Mt 7: 7-12
Reading: Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, fled to the Lord for refuge. She prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: "My Lord, you alone are our King. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. From birth, I have heard among my people that you, Lord, chose Israel from among all nations, and our ancestors from among all their forebears, as a lasting inheritance, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them. Be mindful of us, Lord. Make yourself known in the time of our distress and give me courage, King of gods and Ruler of every power. 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 his co-conspirators may perish. Save us by your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but you, Lord.
Gospel: Mt 7: 7-12
Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Would any of you give a stone to your son when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you: there you have the Law and the Prophets.
Reflection:
Jesus shows us that we have to be open to a conversation with God when we are in need. However, we have to listen attentively while God does the talking. The Father knows everything, but initially, He allows us to pour out our heart to Him in prayer. Jesus taught his disciples and his listeners to ask directly from the Father and the promise of Jesus is that we shall receive what we ask from God. To ask is not enough, however. Jesus tells us to go further and be more concrete in our prayer. Jesus specifically tells us to seek, which means to go out, to look for, to search. We are to do our share. We have to seek. And Jesus promised that we shall find what we are searching for. Then he mentions a door and that is the third and final portion of the whole prayer. There is no key to open the door with. We must initiate another action that Jesus taught us which is to knock. God must be waiting behind the locked room. He is ready to open the door. That moment will be when God presents us the gift we are asking for, and we receive the gift from His hands. God always listens. He does not come empty handed. The wholeness in the three part petition prayers ends with God fulfilling His promise to answer our prayers. However, the answer of the Lord may not be our expected prayer.
Jesus makes a comparison of how earthly fathers do not cheat their children when they ask for something. Fathers do provide for their children. How much more with God? God loves His earthly children and gives unconditionally. We must not think that God short changes us if we do not receive a gift that is not to our liking. We might not accept God's answer or gift but God, the Father knows best. All the gifts from the Father are part of God's plan for us.
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 personal intentions
... for world peace and reconciliation.
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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
-- Thursday First Week of Lent
Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25 / Ps 138: 1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8 / Mt 7: 7-12
Reading: Est C: 12, 14-16, 23-25
Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, fled to the Lord for refuge. She prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, saying: "My Lord, you alone are our King. Help me, who am alone and have no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. From birth, I have heard among my people that you, Lord, chose Israel from among all nations, and our ancestors from among all their forebears, as a lasting inheritance, and that you fulfilled all your promises to them. Be mindful of us, Lord. Make yourself known in the time of our distress and give me courage, King of gods and Ruler of every power. 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 his co-conspirators may perish. Save us by your power, and help me, who am alone and have no one but you, Lord.
Gospel: Mt 7: 7-12
Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. Would any of you give a stone to your son when he asks for bread? Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you: there you have the Law and the Prophets.
Reflection:
Jesus shows us that we have to be open to a conversation with God when we are in need. However, we have to listen attentively while God does the talking. The Father knows everything, but initially, He allows us to pour out our heart to Him in prayer. Jesus taught his disciples and his listeners to ask directly from the Father and the promise of Jesus is that we shall receive what we ask from God. To ask is not enough, however. Jesus tells us to go further and be more concrete in our prayer. Jesus specifically tells us to seek, which means to go out, to look for, to search. We are to do our share. We have to seek. And Jesus promised that we shall find what we are searching for. Then he mentions a door and that is the third and final portion of the whole prayer. There is no key to open the door with. We must initiate another action that Jesus taught us which is to knock. God must be waiting behind the locked room. He is ready to open the door. That moment will be when God presents us the gift we are asking for, and we receive the gift from His hands. God always listens. He does not come empty handed. The wholeness in the three part petition prayers ends with God fulfilling His promise to answer our prayers. However, the answer of the Lord may not be our expected prayer.
Jesus makes a comparison of how earthly fathers do not cheat their children when they ask for something. Fathers do provide for their children. How much more with God? God loves His earthly children and gives unconditionally. We must not think that God short changes us if we do not receive a gift that is not to our liking. We might not accept God's answer or gift but God, the Father knows best. All the gifts from the Father are part of God's plan for us.
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 personal intentions
... for world peace and reconciliation.
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!
**************************************************
These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:
+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+
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