Thursday March 10, 2022

Thursday of 1st Week in 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.

 

First Reading: Esther 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: Matthew 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?

 “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. Amen.

 

Reflection:

 

Ask, Seek and Knock – God will never fail us!

In the Gospel today, Jesus promises a result, 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. How earnestly have we been praying these days that let this pandemic be over; let there be no war in the world, let the war in  be stopped… The universal Church has together been praying for these intentions. And we begin to have doubts – Is the Lord still listening to our prayers? If the Lord does not listen, why should I pray? If God does not answer, why should I believe in such a God?”

The mistake we make in our prayer is, our prayers appear to be 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. It is hard to give up our way of reading the events. We find it hard to accept the light of God. We are blind and we are unable to see or rather we prefer to remain blind and refuse to change. Should God be blamed for man-made atrocities and calamities in the world? “The Abels” of the world will continue to be killed until “the Cains” decide to repent and amend their ways to care for their brethren.

During this Lenten season we are invited to return to what is essential for life and make vital choices. Lent reminds us that we have a Father who cares for us and to return to the Father 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 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, 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 theme of the insistence in prayer is presented through three images: to ask, to seek, to knock. But always remember: The disease will continue, the grievance will remain, the wounds of betrayal will be painful, but when we pray, our Lord who loves us will accompany us in dealing with them.

 

Video available on Youtube: Ask, Seek and Knock – God will never fail us!