GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Luke 11:5-13

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”

The word of the Lord

 

Ask with faith and perseverance

How clearly the Lord speaks to us again in the Gospel, and how clumsily we receive it. He tells us, “Ask and you shall receive,” but we could rephrase it as “Pray and persevere.” Prayer is so important for establishing a relationship with the Lord. Pray every day so you can ask God for what you truly need, and persevere so you may receive it. It’s that simple—but we often expect to receive without asking. And when we do receive, we think it’s because of how good we are or the good we believe we’ve done, forgetting that God gives us what we need because He loves us madly.

Marriage is the same way: ask your spouse, and because they love you, they will always give you the best. Let’s not forget—God unites us through the sacrament, and we have the grace to always give the best of ourselves.

Applied to Married Life

Ana: Andrew, how grateful we must be to God for our marriage and for everything He’s doing in us through the grace we’ve received since we began asking for what we truly need

Andrew: Yes, and in such a special way He’s granted it. Just look at the job I finally got after going through so much need and even thinking He wasn’t listening, despite how much I prayed.

Ana: And how well it suited you, and how much you’ve changed through that difficult trial. You went from despair and anger—thinking the Lord wasn’t hearing you—to gentleness and trust, realising that what you truly needed was a pause to reorder your life and redirect your way of thinking.

Andrew: The only thing I regret is how badly I made you feel, and I ask your forgiveness. I’m a new person now. I’ve understood that the Lord only wants the best for me and for us. It took me a long time to see it, but now I can only give thanks at all times.

Ana: How much the Lord loves us, and sometimes it’s hard for us to see it. It’s difficult to understand, but feeling so loved is amazing.

Andrew: We have to celebrate this every day, and today it’s my turn to give it all. Go rest for a while—I’m going to prepare a dinner that’ll make your mouth water.

Ana: I’m so grateful to the Lord for giving you to me, so I can be the happiest wife in the world. I love you.

Mother,

Thank you, Mother, for teaching us to ask for what we need, to seek with perseverance, and to knock always with the certainty of receiving an answer. Praise be to God.