We are in the world of ‘fast things, fast foods, fast internet, and fast transport system!’ We are bothered by anything that is slow. Everything needs to be very fast. If it is not fast, it hurts us and mostly, we will give up on that cashier, hotel, or transport system.
Hope and Consistency
With God we need hope and consistency in seeking what we need. When we come to God in prayers, He assures us of hope that we shall receive what we are praying for. The difficult part is that God may not give us the feedback as soon as we need it. Sometimes he sounds far away from us or maybe not responding. One thing that remains with us is that we need not stop knocking, seeking and asking. Look at the story of the one who goes to the neighbor to ask for help. If she called once or twice, she would not have received the help.
Traps and Pitfalls
This does not mean that God is not listening to us since He assures us already if we knock the door will be opened, in our seeking we shall find and when we ask, we shall receive. Sometimes the doors of life seem hard to open because we are tempted to give up very first in prayer. Saint Theresa Avila tells us the soul that seeks God is more tempted. The moment I start desiring to be closer to God the more the devil shows me no need for that, the laziness of prayer increases, I become skeptical whether God will really help me.
Trusting Our God
There is a story of a young boy in a certain village. There was serious drought in that village and so the people decided to go the shrine to seek help from their gods for rain. This boy was the only one that carried an umbrella and so on the way the people asked him. Why are you carrying an umbrella and the sun is too hot? The boy answered, after the prayer and sacrifice at the shrine we shall receive rain, so I need an umbrella to come back. Many times, we may not realize or give God room to work in seeking, asking and knocking at his door because the problem at hand seems heavy and it can blind our spiritual eye. Persistent prayer gives us hope and patience.
The neighbor who had slept or whose door was locked could be the destruction I receive in prayer or in my spiritual journey. And many times, we are tempted to give in to them instead of turning them to prayer without ceasing.
Jesus tells us “Come to me, all of you who labor and have been burdened, and I will refresh you/I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).”
- Today’s Readings
- Father Joachim's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
