ASK, AND ALL GOOD THINGS WILL BE GIVEN YOU

Thursday of the First Week of Lent, March 09, 2017,

1st 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.” The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Ps:138(137):1-2ab.2cde-3.7c-8
R/. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

Holy Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12.
Jesus said to his disciples: “Ask and it will be given to you; 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. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.” The gospel of the Lord.

THURSDAY REFLECTIONS:
Jesus is very clear that when we ask, we will receive, when we seek, we will find, and when we knock, the door will be opened to us. But is that our experience? Sometimes we can ask, and ask, and beg, and it appears that our prayer goes unanswered, at least in the way we want it to be answered. So what does Jesus mean when He says to “ask…seek…knock” and you will receive?The key to understanding this exhortation from our Lord is that, as the Scripture above states, through our prayer, God will give “good things to those who ask.” He doesn’t promise us whatever we ask for; rather, He promises that which is truly good and good, in particular, for our eternal salvation.

This begs the question, “Then how do I pray and what do I pray for?” Ideally, every prayer of intercession we utter should be for the Lord’s will to be done, nothing more, and nothing less. Only His perfect will. That can be harder to pray for than one might first expect. Too often we tend to pray that “my will be done” rather than that “Thy will be done.” But if we can trust, and trust on a profound level, that God’s will is perfect and provides us with all “good things,” then seeking His will, asking for it and knocking at the door of His heart will produce an abundance of grace as God desires to bestow it.

Pray with me: Lord, I do pray that Your will be done in all things. I desire to surrender to You above all, and to trust in Your perfect plan. Help me, dear Lord, to abandon my own ideas and desires, and to seek Your will always. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.

Sourced by Wiezman Eleanya

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *