Wednesday, March 08, 2017
THURSDAY, 1st Week of Lent
March 9, 2017 – THURSDAY, 1st Week of Lent
St. Frances of Rome, Widow and Religious Founder
Violet
Est C: 12, 14 -16, 23 - 25 / Mt 7:7 – 12
St. Frances of Rome (1384 - 1440), a widow, founded an order of oblates committed to serving the poorest of the poor.
FROM THE 1ST READING: Est C: 23 - 25
Remember us, Lord; reveal yourself in time of our calamity. Give me courage, King of gods and master of all power. Make my words persuasive when I face the lion; turn his heart against our enemy, that the latter and his like may be brought to their end. Save us by your hand; help me who am alone and have none but you, 0 Lord.
GOSPEL READING: Mt 7: 7- 12
Jesus said, "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
In the first reading we see the desperate prayer of Esther to be delivered from those plotting against the Jewish people: her prayer was answered, the Jewish people in the kingdom saved and the evil plotters against them exposed and executed.
In the Gospel reading, part of the Sermon on the Mount where the Evangelist Matthew put together many of Jesus' teachings, Jesus assures us of the efficacy of all prayers: "For everyone who asks, receives; whosoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks." Why? Because "your Father in heaven [will] give good things to those who ask him!"
Jesus repeatedly stressed the importance and efficacy of our prayers of petition: we have many needs and are assured that our heavenly Father knows our needs even before we ask him. We should not hesitate to ask: every prayer of ours will be answered, perhaps not in the way we had asked, but in the way helpful to us. We should ask and pray with faith and perseverance, that God will hear our prayer. We should note that the Lord's Prayer, given by Jesus to his disciples at their request, is a series of petitions for our daily needs.
The short Gospel reading ends with the so-called Golden Rule, "Do to others whatever you would that others do to you." In a way, this is a reiteration of the key commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.
WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:
BIRTHDAY
CATHERINE A. VILLANUEVA
TIMOTHY JAMESON CHAN
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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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 11:18 AM 
