Homily for the Thursday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Year B - 10/10/2024)

Good morning. In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer. In today’s Gospel, not only does Christ encourage us to persevere in prayer, he also promises that our prayers will be answered: “. . .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. . .” This should bring us great comfort knowing that God hears our prayers because He loves us. From our joyful ramblings to our cries for help, God hears us and answers us.

I mentioned in my homily yesterday that Pope Francis said that prayer is “first of all dialogue, a relationship with God.” However, we can find it challenging to pray sometimes. In a general audience a few years ago, the Holy Father acknowledged that “praying is not easy; many difficulties present themselves in prayer.” Pope Francis went on to identify the difficulties in prayer as distractions, time of barrenness, and the sin of sloth.

The first obstacle to praying is distraction (CCC 2729). Pope Francis said “that the human mind finds it hard to dwell for long on a single thought. We all experience this constant whirlwind of images and illusions. . .” What do we make of this? A Spiritual Director of mine once told me not to be afraid of the distraction during time of prayer, especially in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. He said that if the same thought comes into my mind over and over again, then perhaps it is something that God wants to reveal to me in prayer and that I should ask God to help me understand it.

The second obstacle to praying is time of barrenness. The Catechism describes it in this way: “The heart is separated from God, when there is dryness, with no taste for thoughts, memories and feelings, even spiritual ones. This is the moment of sheer faith clinging faithfully to Jesus in his agony and in his tomb” (CCC 2731). Pope Francis warned against having a “grey heart” because we “cannot pray. . . [or] feel consolation with a grey heart!. . . The heart must be open and luminous, so that the light of the Lord can enter. And if it does not enter, wait for it, with hope. But do not close it up in greyness.” In other words, we should not be discouraged, or have a “grey heart,” when we pray fervently and it seems like God does not even hear our prayers at all, much less answer them. God always keeps his promises.

The third obstacle to praying is sloth. Quoting the Catechism, Pope Francis explained that sloth is “‘a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart,’ CCC 2733). “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Sloth is one of the seven ‘deadly sins’ because, fuelled by conceit, it can lead to the death of the soul.

So how do we overcome obstacles to praying? Jesus tells us to be persistent. Moreover, Pope Francis said that we “must learn to go forward always. True progress in the spiritual life [is] being able to persevere in difficult times: walk, walk, walk on… and if you are tired, stop a little and then start walking again. But with perseverance. . . Believers never stop praying!” It is as Saint Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (4:6).

. . .

Gospel (LK 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?”