Here is my homily from yesterday morning’s Mass. Sorry it took me so long to post it. May God bless each of you!
May I suggest something? If you have not yet decided on what to do for Lent, or if you are reconsidering your Lenten practice this year, I would ask you to pray morning and evening each day our responsorial psalm for today’s Mass. It is Psalm 138. Commit it to memory, if you would so you may pray it from your heart. Remember what we just now prayed?
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me.
Your right hand saves me.
The Lord will complete what he has done for me;
Your kindness O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands.
Yes, we all need to pray this psalm frequently in our lives. Just like Queen Esther, we too are faced with fears and challenges. Life sometimes is really scary and we feel alone and we need to call out to God to give us what we need to do what we must. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus tells us that we are to ask and we will receive, knock and the door will be opened to us.
We must ask and knock. This psalm does just that with a healthy dose of praise in the mix.
God is our Father. He knows what we need even before we ask. God is so close to us, right here, right now, that we really cannot comprehend his intimacy and his benevolence. God has in his hands everything we will ever need in our lives and he so very much wants to lavish us with it all, but we are to ask and knock. God doesn’t want to force his gifts on us, even in our necessity.
God does not give snakes when we ask for fish. He doesn’t give stones when we need bread. He readily gives us exactly what we need each and every time we ask.
Abba! Father! We come to you in our need. We come and ask to bear us up in our Lenten journy. We come and knock on the door of your heart and seek the outpouring of your love and grace that flow from your Sacred Heart. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands!
