It may be a spouse’s Parkinson’s disease, a parent’s
Alzheimer’s, a sister’s breast cancer, a child’s leukemia. The illness of
a loved one, a catastrophe striking their family, the suffering of someone dear
to them transforms these moms and dads and sons and daughters and friends into
dedicated advocates and determined guardians.
These dedicated men and women are the Gospel widow in our
midst. They face down the “dishonest judges” of arrogance and avarice;
they take on the “fearful judges” of insensitivity and unawareness; they go
toe-to-toe with the “judges who fear neither God nor respect any human being,”
save themselves.
Their love for the sick and suffering enables them to carry
on “day and night;” their faith and conviction in the rightness of their cause
empowers them to carry on despite the frustration and inaction they face.The very compassion of God is their hope and assurance that their prayer will be heard.
The persistent widow of today’s Gospel lives among us:
She is the poor, the struggling, the ignored, the forgotten; she is the mother
and father, the daughter and son, the family and friend of the suffering and
dying who care for them and who work for a cure so that other families may be
spared what they have suffered through; she is the victim of injustice whose
sense of her own dignity enables her to fight on. Christ promises that
the Father hears the worthy prayer of the Gospel widow in her many guises and
that her perseverance in faith will one day be rewarded — and Jesus confronts
us with our own culpability for the widow’s plight when we become, in our
obliviousness and self-absorption, “judges who neither fear God nor respect any
human being.” May the Gospel Jesus be our hope in our own struggles and
an inspiration to us to become the answer to the prayers of the “persistent
widows” among us here and now. (From The Connections)
***********
Thomas O’LoughlinIntroductory Notes
Today we hear how Jesus told his disciples
a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. We are now
gathered to pray for our needs and to thank the Father for his gifts; and the
greatest of his gifts is his Son who is present among us. Now let us ask pardon
for the times we have not prayed and for the times when we have lost our faith
in God.
**************
Michel de Verteuil
General Comments
General Comments
Today’s
passage is in four movements:
- verse 1: introduction to the parable
- verses 2 to 5: the parable
- verses 6 to 8a: Jesus draws a conclusion from the parable
- verse 8b: a saying of Jesus, flowing from the parable.
- verse 1: introduction to the parable
- verses 2 to 5: the parable
- verses 6 to 8a: Jesus draws a conclusion from the parable
- verse 8b: a saying of Jesus, flowing from the parable.
At a first reading it is a teaching on
prayer, “the need to pray continually and never lose heart”. In the Bible,
however, “prayer” is always used in a wide sense to refer to our entire
relationship with God, and indeed our spiritual life in general.
After last week’s story of the grateful
Samaritan, we return to the parable form of the previous weeks. We must once
more remember the ‘laws’ for interpreting a parable, in particular that we must
choose which character in the story we want to focus on. In this parable it is
clearly the widow. The “unjust judge” is the foil who makes her greatness stand
out; he is not important in himself. We must certainly not identify him with
God, as some do. He ends up – like God – giving justice to the widow, but that
is the only resemblance.
The widow is in fact a wonderful person,
one of the great characters of the gospels, indeed of the whole Bible. Like
last week’s grateful Samaritan, and like the humble servant of the week before,
she will become real for us if we allow her to remind us of people we have
known. We can then celebrate her and let her speak a message of repentance to
us, both as individuals and as a church at every level: the universal Church;
our particular Church, our diocese or the Church of our nation; our local
church, parish or small basic community within the parish.
The
widow is poor. She cannot back her claims with money or influential people; her
power lies entirely in her moral qualities, her passion and her perseverance.
We remember people from poor communities (nations, or groups within a nation)
who are extraordinarily courageous in “seeking justice against their enemies.”
For them justice takes many forms:
- getting their children into a good school
- finding jobs for them after they have left school
- finding money for their children’s food or education
- completing their homes
- maintaining their health so that they continue to serve their families.
- getting their children into a good school
- finding jobs for them after they have left school
- finding money for their children’s food or education
- completing their homes
- maintaining their health so that they continue to serve their families.
They “persist in coming to”
- government offices
- principals of schools
- hospitals and doctors’ offices
They have little concern for
- what people think about them
- how they appear to the general public
- whether they are being a nuisance.
They show the same qualities in their relationship with God, storming heaven with their prayers, caring little if these are theologically correct.
The “widows” of our experience are often communities:
- poor nations standing up for their rights before the world community
- peace movements in Ireland, the Basque country, within the Israeli-Palestine conflict
- movements representing the oppressed like the landless in Brazil.
Like the widow in the parable, they have no financial or military resources, but they persevere in “seeking justice against their enemies,” confident that their cause will eventually triumph.
- government offices
- principals of schools
- hospitals and doctors’ offices
They have little concern for
- what people think about them
- how they appear to the general public
- whether they are being a nuisance.
They show the same qualities in their relationship with God, storming heaven with their prayers, caring little if these are theologically correct.
The “widows” of our experience are often communities:
- poor nations standing up for their rights before the world community
- peace movements in Ireland, the Basque country, within the Israeli-Palestine conflict
- movements representing the oppressed like the landless in Brazil.
Like the widow in the parable, they have no financial or military resources, but they persevere in “seeking justice against their enemies,” confident that their cause will eventually triumph.
Jesus is not condescending to the poor. He
draws his followers’ attention to their plight, not to feel sorry for them, not
even to help them, but to learn from (be converted, evangelized, by) them. We
who reflect on these gospels today are often not in the situation of the widow.
The gospel invites us to capture her spirit, making the journey from Luke’s
“blessed are the poor” to Matthew’s “blessed are the poor in spirit.” We do
this most effectively by entering into solidarity with the “widows” of our
society, joining one of their organizations or taking up their cause publicly.
The
widow has two important lessons to teach us. First, she had no recourse to
force because as a poor person force was not available to her. We must choose
to be like her by renouncing violence in any form in our “seeking for justice”.
So too we are often lacking in passion in our search for justice. This is
because injustice does not crowd us as it does poor people. We can survive
without any dramatic change in our circumstances so we can afford to say, “This
is how life is,” and leave things like that. The poor are like the widow, they
do not have that luxury; they seek justice with passion because for them it is
a matter of life or death. By entering into solidarity with them we too learn
to seek justice with passion.
We think of NGOs demonstrating against the world’s economic system, against wrong development projects, as they have done in recent years in Seattle, in Quebec, in Genoa. Most of the demonstrators are not poor themselves, but they have identified with the poor and in the process taken on the qualities of the widow in the parable:
- seeking justice with passion,
- refusing to be put off by lack of success,
- renouncing violence.
We think of NGOs demonstrating against the world’s economic system, against wrong development projects, as they have done in recent years in Seattle, in Quebec, in Genoa. Most of the demonstrators are not poor themselves, but they have identified with the poor and in the process taken on the qualities of the widow in the parable:
- seeking justice with passion,
- refusing to be put off by lack of success,
- renouncing violence.
There
are times when destiny arranges for us to share the experience of the poor:
- we loose our wealth
- we become ill and must fall back on the facilities (or lack of them) of the poor
- we are victims of violent crime – a common occurrence for poor people.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 are an obvious example. We turn these situations into moments of grace when we imitate the widow in the parable (and those we meet in real life).
- we loose our wealth
- we become ill and must fall back on the facilities (or lack of them) of the poor
- we are victims of violent crime – a common occurrence for poor people.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 are an obvious example. We turn these situations into moments of grace when we imitate the widow in the parable (and those we meet in real life).
Verses 6 to 8a. If we are starting from
experience – as we must – we will have to interpret Jesus’ promise that “he
will see justice done to them and speedily”. It certainly does not happen
literally. I suggest two possible interpretations (you will probably find
others):
a) We take “justice” as the objective righting of wrongs. This is often a long time coming, but when it does come, we are so relieved (and surprised) that we forget the long wait; it appears to come “speedily”.
b) We can apply the saying to spiritual growth. Once we develop the right attitude then we “speedily” know that our prayers are answered, according to Jesus’ teaching that once we knock the door is already opened. We celebrate the times when we (or others) have experienced this.
a) We take “justice” as the objective righting of wrongs. This is often a long time coming, but when it does come, we are so relieved (and surprised) that we forget the long wait; it appears to come “speedily”.
b) We can apply the saying to spiritual growth. Once we develop the right attitude then we “speedily” know that our prayers are answered, according to Jesus’ teaching that once we knock the door is already opened. We celebrate the times when we (or others) have experienced this.
Verse 8b. We are invited to identify with
Jesus as he utters the anguished cry, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find
any faith on earth?” It is a “feeling” statement, and we must read it as such,
not rationalize it.
We can interpret it in two ways:
a) How few people have faith like that widow! Since we have total confidence that the Son of Man will in fact come, it is an expression of regret. What a pity that so few people are willing to wait!
b) How long it takes before the Son of Man comes! I wonder if anyone will wait that long. When we feel those reactions within ourselves, it means that Jesus is at work in us.
******************************************
Gospel Notes
Today’s reading forms a distinct section
of Luke’s gospel and is found nowhere else in the gospels. It is a difficult
passage because it brings together the theme of prayer with that of the
sufferings of the Christian community who must persevere in hope during the
long wait to see God’s justice, and also brings in, once again, the theme of
the appearing of the Son of Man. This final theme has its most enigmatic
exposure in Luke in 17:20-37 — a passage so difficult that it has been skipped
in the Lectionary — where the moment of the appearing of the Son of Man is
presented as sudden and wholly unexpected, but also as the day of the
vindication of those who have remained faithful to God.
In preaching today we have to approach
this text at two levels. The first is to concentrate on the core story: prayer
and perseverance. On this we have a well-formed parable where the poorest of
the poor, a widow (the very symbol of powerlessness in an agrarian patriarchal
society) is shown as the contrast to the disciple who can stand before the
righteous God. If you can accept that a mere widow can succeed before an unjust
human power, then how can you doubt that God, who is goodness and
righteousness, will not hear your prayers? This core, with its combination of
teaching on prayer and concern for the poor, forms a more than adequate basis
for catechesis today. However, there is also a second level of meaning within
which Luke wraps the parable: not only have the Christians to wait for
vindication, not only must they persevere in hope, but they must recall the
coming of the Son of Man. So the final verse puts before the listeners this
question: Yes, indeed, God is faithful and will in the end vindicate his chosen
ones; but what of the disciples? Will they wait and persevere until that moment
of vindication (which Luke describes here, and in 17:20-37, as the moment of
‘the coming of the Son of Man’)? This is a theme which is probably too complex
to present in a homily at a Eucharist especially since the theme of the Son of
Man is not part of our preaching tradition. However, it does add another
dimension to how Luke sees discipleship.
Sean Goan
Gospel Notes
Gospel Notes
In this gospel we return to themes of
faith and prayer. The parable told by Jesus here is similar to the one told in
11:1-13 about the friend who comes at midnight looking for bread. This time,
however, the character is even more contrary because he is an unjust or corrupt
judge. In the face of such a person a poor widow would have had little chance
of having her case dealt with fairly. Yet she is put before us as an example of
perseverance — she simply won’t be put off and finally he gives in. Clearly
Jesus is not saying God is like the unjust judge, a point he makes in the
conclusion, but he is asking how many people would be willing to persevere as
the woman did.
Reflection
The Gospel of Luke as we have seen returns often to the theme of prayer. Not only does Jesus teach about prayer but he is depicted as a man of prayer. When he speaks about it he does so in terms that may surprise us. His focus is on the attitude of the one praying rather than on God. For Jesus, it goes without saying that he trusts deeply that God hears our prayer. Jesus’ concern is that we might not believe this and so give up. Therefore in Luke we see people praising and thanking God, giving out to God, turning to him in their need. The message is simple: keep on praying and remember that its purpose is not to change God but to change us.
**********The Gospel of Luke as we have seen returns often to the theme of prayer. Not only does Jesus teach about prayer but he is depicted as a man of prayer. When he speaks about it he does so in terms that may surprise us. His focus is on the attitude of the one praying rather than on God. For Jesus, it goes without saying that he trusts deeply that God hears our prayer. Jesus’ concern is that we might not believe this and so give up. Therefore in Luke we see people praising and thanking God, giving out to God, turning to him in their need. The message is simple: keep on praying and remember that its purpose is not to change God but to change us.
1. ‘Now will God not see justice done to
his chosen who cry to him day and night even when he delays to help them?’ When
most Christians hear these words they immediately think of their own needs and
wants, and their prayers, and their desire to have their prayers answered.
This is an interesting move. We know that love is incompatible with selfishness
or self-centredness, yet when we hear about prayer and the answer to prayer,
we think first of our prayers, we think selfishly.
2. But if we are to be able to think about
this gospel, then the first step is to move the focus out from our selfishness
– only then will we have that purity of mind and heart that will allow us to
glimpse the meaning of what the Christ is saying to us. The first question is
not ‘Why does God not answer my prayers?’ but ‘Who are the chosen ones of God
for whom the Father will see justice done?’ From the times of the prophets who
spoke about God’s defence of the anawim, to the Christ, and down through the
life of the church, there has been but one answer: the poor. The Lord will
vindicate the poor as the Lord vindicated Lazarus who sat, full of sores, at
the door of the rich man’s house (Lk 16).
3. The great Dominican theologian, Gustavo
Gutierrez, once said: ‘Poverty is a multi-faceted, inhuman, and unjust reality;
poverty is complex. Important though the economic dimension is, poverty is not
simply an economic reality … This point is reinforced when we see how complex
the idea of ‘the poor’ is in the Old and New Testaments: it may refer to those
who beg to survive; to the sheep without a shepherd; to those
ignorant of the Law; to those called in John’s gospel’the accursed’ (In 7:49); to women, children, foreigners and notorious sinners; to those afflicted with serious diseases … Poverty is not a matter of fate; but a condition brought about; it is not a misfortune, but a matter of injustice … It is the work of human hands: of economic structures; of social greed; of racial, cultural and religious prejudices that have accumulated over history; of ever more overweening economic aspirations. It follows that its abolition lies within our poweL’
ignorant of the Law; to those called in John’s gospel’the accursed’ (In 7:49); to women, children, foreigners and notorious sinners; to those afflicted with serious diseases … Poverty is not a matter of fate; but a condition brought about; it is not a misfortune, but a matter of injustice … It is the work of human hands: of economic structures; of social greed; of racial, cultural and religious prejudices that have accumulated over history; of ever more overweening economic aspirations. It follows that its abolition lies within our poweL’
4. Of course, there will be many –
included in the assembly gathered to receive the gifts of the Lord’s bounty at
the Eucharistic table – who will find such ideas subversive and who would
prefer an abstract homily on the ‘problem of unanswered prayers’. So is this
something that should be addressed at the Eucharist? The answer lies in the
fact that the Eucharist is the celebration of love: God’s love for us in
Christ, our attempt to pattern that love in our relationships, and to return it
as our sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise. To quote Gutierrez again:
‘Christianity sees in the refusal to love other people nothing less than sin:
the ultimate root of poverty and dehumanisation.’
5. Let us note the sad fact that poverty
is becoming more widespread, not less, in the world. We live at a time when
the planet’s population is clustering at the extremes of the economic
spectrum: the gap between those with use of the resources, with scientific and
technical know-how, and those without, is widening. More and more the people of
the planet are falling into one or other group: the exploiting and the
exploited. And it happens variously in each society so, for example, even in
poor societies women are more exploited than men. Indeed, some economists talk
of the ‘ feminisation of poverty’ because women are always more affected by
poverty in its various forms (economic, medical, educational) and, then, in
addition, women experience discrimination from men, and may also suffer more if
they belong to disadvantaged cultures or races. If one wants to know the facts
one can just look them up in reports by the World Bank – all there on the
internet.
6. This poverty in all its shapes insults
human dignity and is contrary to the will of God. When we as Christians work to
create a poverty-free world, we are not engaging in some sort of social crusade
– although that is all it will appear to be to those who do not embrace of
mystery of the Christ – but actualising the presence of the love of God for
every human being that is seen in the coming of the Christ. It is because the
Father has sent Jesus to all who are in need, that we can actualise this love
in combating the inequalities and prejudices of our present situation.
7. But there is a sting in the tail of
today’s gospel: shall we be willing to take on this task of being the conveyors
of God’s love to those who cry for justice? It is the willingness to take on
this task, the work of the Christ, that is faith. Faith is working with Jesus
in his work, not an exercise in ‘ticking boxes’ about whether we accept some
random religious ideas. So will the Son of Man find any faith on the earth? Or
put another way, will we simply let injustice run rampant so that no one undoes
the effects of that sin which enslaves so many of God’s beloved?
*******************************************
Prayer Reflection
“Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for justice, they shall have their fill.” …Matthew 5:6
Lord, we thank you for the widows of the modern world
who persist in looking for justice:
- ethnic minorities throughout the world
- women looking for equal opportunities in society
- those who work for land reform in Brazil
- Caribbean parents giving up everything to secure a good education for their children.
We thank you that they continue to cry out night and day,
even when you delay to help them,
trusting in your promise to see justice done to them, and done speedily.
They assure us that when the Son of Man comes he will find faith on earth.
Lord, we thank you for the widows of the modern world
who persist in looking for justice:
- ethnic minorities throughout the world
- women looking for equal opportunities in society
- those who work for land reform in Brazil
- Caribbean parents giving up everything to secure a good education for their children.
We thank you that they continue to cry out night and day,
even when you delay to help them,
trusting in your promise to see justice done to them, and done speedily.
They assure us that when the Son of Man comes he will find faith on earth.
“No one possesses the truth, everyone seeks it.” …Bishop
Pierre Claverie of Algeria, martyred in 1996
Lord, help us to seek the truth humbly and perseveringly,
like the widow in the gospel, crying out day and night
even when it delays in revealing itself to us.
Lord, help us to seek the truth humbly and perseveringly,
like the widow in the gospel, crying out day and night
even when it delays in revealing itself to us.
“In this Holy City of three mighty religions, no
one seems to have the faith to make the peaceful decision.” …David Rudder, calypsonian in Trinidad,
commenting on the situation in Jerusalem
Lord, we thank you for those who are working for peace
- between Israelis and Palestinians
- in the Basque country, in the Congo
- between Muslims and Christians worldwide
- in the campaign against terrorism.
We thank you that they keep on coming and saying, “We do not want war,”
continue crying to you day and night even when you delay to help them.
Lord, we thank you for those who are working for peace
- between Israelis and Palestinians
- in the Basque country, in the Congo
- between Muslims and Christians worldwide
- in the campaign against terrorism.
We thank you that they keep on coming and saying, “We do not want war,”
continue crying to you day and night even when you delay to help them.
Lord,
we have created a civilization in which self-interest is the highest value,
and competition the main incentive to progress.
The ideal is to have neither fear of you nor respect for man.
Forgive us that as a Church we have given up hope that things could be different,
and even say that you want them to be as they are.
We pray that your Church may be like the widow,
always coming back in search of new solutions,
with the confidence that if we do not meet with success,
it is merely that you are delaying to help us,
for the poor are your chosen ones
and your will is to see justice done to them and done speedily.
and competition the main incentive to progress.
The ideal is to have neither fear of you nor respect for man.
Forgive us that as a Church we have given up hope that things could be different,
and even say that you want them to be as they are.
We pray that your Church may be like the widow,
always coming back in search of new solutions,
with the confidence that if we do not meet with success,
it is merely that you are delaying to help us,
for the poor are your chosen ones
and your will is to see justice done to them and done speedily.
“All holy
desires grow by delays.” …St
Gregory
Lord, many religion teachers offer people a naive teaching on prayer,
making it seem easy, as if we merely have to ask for things and we get them.
Help us to share with others the teaching of Jesus
on the need to pray continually and never lose heart.
Remind us that when you delay to help us
you ensure that there will always be faith on earth.
Lord, many religion teachers offer people a naive teaching on prayer,
making it seem easy, as if we merely have to ask for things and we get them.
Help us to share with others the teaching of Jesus
on the need to pray continually and never lose heart.
Remind us that when you delay to help us
you ensure that there will always be faith on earth.
“God said, ‘If it is I who allow you to be
wounded so badly do you not believe that I will heal you most lovingly in the
very same hour?’” .…Mechtild of Magdeburg
Lord, there are times when we experience you as a hard judge
and we are poor widows who must keep coming to you,
demanding justice against those who oppress us.
Lead us deeper into ourselves
where we can experience that we are your chosen ones
and you will see justice done to us and done speedily.
Lord, there are times when we experience you as a hard judge
and we are poor widows who must keep coming to you,
demanding justice against those who oppress us.
Lead us deeper into ourselves
where we can experience that we are your chosen ones
and you will see justice done to us and done speedily.
Lord,
at this time in human history many are seeking vengeance for terrorist attacks.
We pray that your Church may be in word and in deed the prophetic voice of Jesus
telling his disciples the parable of the widow seeking justice against her enemies
We pray that your Church may be in word and in deed the prophetic voice of Jesus
telling his disciples the parable of the widow seeking justice against her enemies
*********
HOMILIES
Perseverance in Prayer
Purpose: In this Sunday’s Gospel, Our Lord reminds of us
the necessity to pray continually without becoming weary and never losing
heart. To do this, we must be transformed in how we define prayer and how we
allow the Lord into each and every aspect of our daily lives.
To bring his point home with his listeners, Jesus tells a
parable about a dishonest judge who neither fears God nor respects man, to whom
a widow comes to request a just decision against her adversary. The judge has
no time for this bothersome woman’s petition and repeatedly ignores her
request, but the woman perseveres. Finally, to get her off his back, he renders
to her a just decision. Jesus then asks a rhetorical question: “Will not God
then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night,
and see that justice is done for them speedily?” We must answer, of course, he
will. We know he is an all-good and all-loving Father, and if we persevere in
our prayers, like the widow in the parable, and continue to knock at the door
of God’s heart, he will open his heart to us and grant our petitions.
But after asking this question, Jesus then asks another:
“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Why does Jesus
follow up with this question? Because perseverance in prayer requires great
faith, and a corresponding confidence that God always hears our prayers and
answers them – though maybe not in the way we want. For God knows what is
good for us, and what will, or will not, redound to our salvation. Great faith
and unwavering confidence in God’s infinite goodness and loving providence is
absolutely necessary in order to persevere in prayer.
The skeptic will object, of course, saying that if God knows
everything, then he knows what we need, even before we ask for it. So, there is
no need to pray; that prayer is, in this sense, “useless.” But the person with
faith responds: It is true that God knows what we need before we ask him; but the
fact is that we do not always know what we need, and the very
act of praying helps us to clarify our thoughts and intentions, and
to better know for what we should be asking. In the very act of praying,
we may come to know God’s will for us when we did not know it – or, at least,
know it clearly – beforehand.
Moreover, the person of faith knows that God’s will, and its
operations in the world and in our lives, is a mystery. Sometimes, the answer
to our prayers will be “no,” because God, as a loving Father, knows that what
we are asking for would not benefit us or others. At other times, God may want
us to pray harder and longer and more intensely before answering our prayers,
because by persevering in prayer, our faith deepens and grows stronger. The
mystery of God’s will in response to our prayers is brought home in
Tertullian’s famous dictum: “Prayer is the one thing that can conquer God.” Our
fervent prayer can change the very will of God!
In prayer of petition to God, we must also keep in mind the
order that God has established in his Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, in
which there exists a Communion of the Saints; i.e., an exchange of prayer and
spiritual goods among the members of the Body through Christ, the Head. What
this means is that we can call upon the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints,
to intercede for us before the throne of God. God is never upset, but most
pleased, when we follow his divine order.
Listen to the words of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, in
a talk during his apostolic visit to Germany: “When Christians of all times and
places turn to Mary, they are acting on the spontaneous conviction that Jesus
cannot refuse his Mother what she asks; and they are relying on the unshakable
trust that Mary is also our Mother – a Mother who has experienced the
greatest of all sorrows, who feels all our griefs with us, and ponders, in a
maternal way, how to overcome them.” Jesus “cannot refuse his Mother what she
asks.” How beautiful! What confidence this should give us in going to Jesus
through Mary!
Here is the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching on
the Communion of the Saints:
Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in
heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . . . They do not
cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which
they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ
Jesus (CCC §956).
Of course, the saints themselves offer us striking examples
of perseverance in prayer, even during the darkest moments. At the foot of the
Cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary “stood, . . . enduring with her only
begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice
in her mother’s heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim,
born of her” (CCC §964). Our Lady’s steadfast perseverance was rewarded with
nothing less than our redemption!
We have all learned, after her death through her
letters, that Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta underwent nearly 50 years of
profound spiritual darkness, devoid of all consolations from God. But observing
her, one would never have known this; for she heroically persevered in her
prayer, relying confidently on God through it all.
The Catechism teaches that, in the end, perseverance in
prayer comes down to perseverance in love:
{W}e are to pray without ceasing. This tireless fervor can
come only from love. Against our dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is
that of humble, trusting, and persevering love (CCC §2742).
Let us persevere, with unbounded confidence, in our prayer
by imitating Mary and the saints who persevered in their love for God and
neighbor. And let us pray always, never becoming weary, never losing heart!
*********
2. ACP
A Persevering People
Rome was not built in a day: No great work can ever be
achieved without long and patients effort. Look at the art of Michelangelo, the
Beethoven concertos, the cathedral of Notre Dame (How many chisel-strokes to
release the Pieta from its marble shroud? How many brush-strokes to transfer
the Last Judgment from Michelangelo’s teeming imagination to the sanctuary wall
of the Sistine?.) Not just the world’s teeming artists and leaders, but
everyman, are/is involved in a work of great significance, needing persevering
courage to see it through to a successful conclusion; and that work is our
salvation. To achieve it, we must co-operate vigorously with God, and in a
sense struggle with Him. Today’s liturgy invites us to consider two picturesque
examples of perseverance in prayer, and the final success that this achieves.
Moses with upraised arms:
Moses, the man of God, stands on the hilltop interceding for
his people who are struggling for their survival in the valley below, attacked
by the violent tribe of Amalek. His arms are raised in the classic gesture of
intercession (later immortalized in the Cross of Christ, and still used by the
celebrant at Mass.) When, out of sheer weariness, his arms begin to droop,
Israel fares badly in the battle. With the help of friends he manages to
persevere in his mediating prayer, until victory is won. A beautiful prophetic
image for Christ, whose prayer continued even when his soul was sorrowful, even
unto death. It supports the ideal of intercessory prayer on behalf of
others-not, however, in a superficial way or for petty requests; but for
matters of life and death, for salvation, release from sin, recovery from
depression, strength to cope with problems, perseverance. And when we pray
these things for others, we must do so seriously, with a love that is ready for
practical service too.
The widow who would not quit:
This quality of dogged perseverance in order to gain an
important target is by no means limited to men. History-and our own
experience-shows many examples of obstinate struggle by women to achieve particular
aims (Joan of Arc; suffragettes; mothers overcoming all bureaucratic barriers
on behalf of family.) The style of campaign may be different; but the
perseverance and the courage are just as valuable. Today we have the story of
the widow, who kept up her petition until finally she forced the judge to try
her case and give her justice. Her situation was that of a poor person under
threat, but with the law firmly on her side. There was no doubt about the
justice of her case, but the problem was to have it taken into court at all.
She stands for the need to pray constantly on our own behalf, as well as on
behalf of others. We must recognize the depth of our need (especially for
peace, love, grace and salvation), and turn to God in a continual petition to answer
our needs. Of course, God is not unheeding-like the slothful judge of the
parable-but often seems to leave our prayers unanswered for a long while. His
will, according to Our Blessed Lord, is that we persevere in prayer and never
abandon hope. Persevering In Catholic Practice: More than most other societies,
our Catholic Church has urged, and continues to urge, the value of remaining
faithful to Certain practices: in our case, personal prayer and the community
sacrifice of Sunday Mass. Styles of prayer may change, and there may be
improvements in the form of our liturgy; but the basic call of the Church
remains the same: to keep up the practice of prayer, both public and private;
not to let laziness hold us back, or discouragement cause us to lose confidence
in the value of speaking with God. Then with persevering prayer as a
fountainhead will flow the strength of faith, and continual renewal of charity
that we need for conducting daily life in the proper spirit. So, over a long
period, and after many failures followed by sincere renewals, we will make a
success of the one great project God has set for our lives. Into his presence
we will come, a people who have kept faith with Him across the years in the
wilderness, and who finally come to rest in the Kingdom which Christ has
promised.
Pray from the heart
There is a way to pray with the heart, which God cannot but
hear, and he cannot but answer. To speak from the heart is to speak to the
heart. God can read the human heart, and that is more important than any words
I might say.
It is early October, and the family were sitting around
eating their dinner. For whatever reason, Christmas came into the conversation.
In the course of the conversation, the mother asked young John what he wanted
for Christmas, and, after a long pause, he said “A bicycle.” The months went
by, and the word “bicycle” was never mentioned again. Not even when the mother
bought roller blades for John at Christmas, with which he was delighted. She
had decided that, if he really wanted a bicycle, she would have heard about
nothing else for all the weeks coming up to Christmas…
There was something that the widow wanted, and, despite all
his toughness, the judge just had to give in to her eventually, because she had
no intention of letting go, or giving up. If I met an alcoholic who wants to
get sober, my initial question is “How badly do you want it? Do you want it bad
enough that you are prepared to do what it takes to achieve sobriety?” I knew a
young lad who wanted to work for a particular firm, and they had no vacancies.
So we went back there eleven times in one month, until the personnel officer
threw his hands in the air, and gave him a job!
After speaking about the evil judge Jesus speaks about his
Father. If even the judge gave in, how much more certainly will our heavenly
Father respond to our prayers? As I said earlier, God can read the heart, and
he knows whether I really want what I ask. I don’t pretend to understand this,
because I know parents who, at this moment, are begging for the life of their
daughter, and it is not likely that their prayers will be answered. I like to
think that God gives us what we ask for, unless he has something better to give
us. For these parents, they cannot possibly see how God could have something better
to give them than a daughter whom they dearly love.
The prayer in today’s gospel is the prayer of petition. It
is an important form of prayer, of course, but not the most important.
Prayer of praise is the highest form of prayer; but, of course, that is greatly
augmented, when my prayers of petition are granted. There can be some confusion
around the whole area of prayer. If my prayers are always prayers of petition,
I run the risk of being selfish and self-centred; except, of course, when the
prayers of petition are for others. Like one of the ten lepers, I can ask, and,
when my prayer is answered, I can return to give thanks.
************
3. From Connections
THE WORD:
The focus of today’s Gospel parable is not the evil judge
but the persistent widow. The judge here is not one of the Jewish elders
but a paid magistrate appointed by the Roman governors. These magistrates
were notoriously corrupt, extorting money from plaintiffs to secure favorable
verdicts. The widow, typically defenseless in such dealings, persists
until the judge just wants to be rid of her.
Jesus does not liken God to the unfeeling, insensitive judge
but contrasts God to him: If such persistence will finally move such an
unfeeling and corrupt figure will not the God of mercy and love be moved by the
cries of his own beloved people? The parable of the widow and the unjust
judge (found only in Luke’s Gospel) calls us to perseverance in prayer -- prayer
that seeks not to force God’s hand but prayer that opens our hearts and minds
to his always available grace.
HOMILY POINTS:
The “persistence” of God’s love for us transcends our own
doubts, our distractions, our hurts and disappointments. We are always
embraced in the heart of God, an embrace we experience in the love of others;
we are always held in God’s memory, remembered in every moment of forgiveness
and healing.
In the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus assures us
that when we are persistent for what is right and just, for what is good and
healing, our resolve will one day be rewarded.
Sometimes we are the persistent widow of today’s parable,
persevering in seeking what is right and just, trusting in God’s grace in
response to our prayer – and sometimes we find ourselves in the role of the
judge, who can be the answer to another’s prayer if we stop, listen, and realize
that God has given us the means to respond.
The great Jewish theologian Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
said that “to pray is to bring God back into the world . . . to expand his
presence.” Prayer does not seek to move God’s heart for what we want;
prayer is the opening up of our own heart and spirit to what God wants for
us.
Trappist Father Thomas Keating, the renowned spiritual
director and retreat master, explains that “prayer is the fundamental way we
relate to God. Like any relationship, it goes through stages, from
acquaintance to friendliness, then on to friendship, love and finally
union.” To become men and women of prayer is to realize God's presence in
our lives and trusting in that presence and love for us.
We possess a faith that empowers us with hope and
discernment, enabling us to persevere despite the injustices and indignities
that are so much a part of life. Jesus assures us that the integrity,
commitment to justice and humility we maintain in the face of skepticism,
rationalizations and the amoral “conventional wisdom” will one day be exalted
by God.
1. From
Andrew Greeley:
Once upon a time an anthropologist, one of Margaret Mead’s
many husbands, noted that the natives on his little South Pacific Island prayed
fervently over their yam gardens after they had planted them. Very interesting,
he thought. Poor superstitious people. They think that prayer can actually
improve the fruitfulness of their gardens. So he chuckled to himself about
their naiveté and credulity. Then he remembered that he was a scientist and
that in principle he ought to attempt some kind of controlled experiment before
he dismissed the natives as ignorant savages.
So he decided that he
would plant his own yam gardens in two spots that seemed exactly similar in
style and sunlight. He also resolved to tend each of the gardens with equal
care. Then he would pray over one and not the other. Unfortunately he didn’t
know any prayers. But he did have a Hebrew bible with him. He didn’t understand
Hebrew, but he could pronounce the words from after-school class of his youth.
So he read a couple of passages each day from the bible over one of the
gardens.
He later admitted
that he probably cultivated the garden over which he did not pray with more
care, because he really did not want the prayer to work. But it did. He had no
idea what to make of the outcome of his experiment and repeated it several
times. Each time prayer worked. What does one make of the story?
Maybe that God is a
comedian!
2. "Things
I Really Don't Understand."
Recently I received an e-mail message that was entitled
"Things I Really Don't Understand." It had a list of questions for
which there seems to be no clear-cut answer. Here are a few of them:
· Why do doctors and
lawyers call what they do practice?
· Why is abbreviation such a long word?
· Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio?
· Why is a boxing ring square?
· What was the best thing before sliced bread?
· How do they get the deer to cross the highway at those yellow signs?
· How did a fool and his money get together in the first place?
These questions represent a lighthearted humorous reminder that there are indeed a lot of things in this life that we just really don't understand.
There are so many things in this life that we just don't understand... that we just can't comprehend. For example, we don't really understand disease. Why is a youngster perfectly healthy for 13 years of his life... and then suddenly just happens to be in a place where he suddenly encounters some germ or bacteria that invades his body and destroys it?
And we don't understand accidents. They are so random and indiscriminate. You start out a day that is like any other day... and then something happens in a matter of seconds... and life is forever different. You can never go back beyond that accident.
On and on we could go with our list... of things we don't really understand...
___________________________· Why is abbreviation such a long word?
· Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on your radio?
· Why is a boxing ring square?
· What was the best thing before sliced bread?
· How do they get the deer to cross the highway at those yellow signs?
· How did a fool and his money get together in the first place?
These questions represent a lighthearted humorous reminder that there are indeed a lot of things in this life that we just really don't understand.
There are so many things in this life that we just don't understand... that we just can't comprehend. For example, we don't really understand disease. Why is a youngster perfectly healthy for 13 years of his life... and then suddenly just happens to be in a place where he suddenly encounters some germ or bacteria that invades his body and destroys it?
And we don't understand accidents. They are so random and indiscriminate. You start out a day that is like any other day... and then something happens in a matter of seconds... and life is forever different. You can never go back beyond that accident.
On and on we could go with our list... of things we don't really understand...
3. The
Moth and the Fly
We all do it. The door of heaven's House of Bread, the
ultimate pastry palace, is standing open. But we keep trying to break in the
back door of the local bakery.
A parable by a well-known rabbi tells the story of a moth
and a fly. One day a moth and a fly were together near a window. The
moth sat comfortably on the side peering out, watching as the fly relentlessly
flew up and around and straight into the window. The stunned fly would
fall, then get up and try again. On and on the fly tried to find a way
through the window, and each time failed.
Finally, the moth said, "Fly, why are you doing
that? Can't you see by now that it's not working? Right over there
is another window that's open. Why don't you just go over and fly to
freedom through the open window?" "No," said the
fly. "If I just try hard enough, I'll find the way out here." So
on and on the fly persisted, circling the closed window and slamming its body
into it.
The moth became more and more certain the fly was out of its
mind when the solution was so simple. Soon nighttime came. The fly lay
exhausted on the window sill, while the moth just shook its head. Just
then, a light came on near the ceiling of the room, illuminating an open door
at the other side of the room. Without thinking, the moth flew up straight
toward the light, fizzled in the heat and fell dead to the floor.
Why do we try so hard to do the things that thwart us and
harm us, when God opens doors and windows for us if only we had the faith to
enter?
"Persistence in prayer" is not, I repeat, NOT the
message of Jesus' parable in this week's missive...
_____________________
4. Until
You Beat the Path
I believe persistent prayer is very important, even when
such prayers are not answered in the ways we think best. It is important to be
unrelenting in our prayers...not only because of the changes our prayers may
elicit in God's mind, but for the changes such prayers can work in our own
hearts and minds. As Frederick Buechner said years ago, persistence is a key,
"not because you have to beat a path to God's door before [God will] open
it, but because until you beat the path, maybe there's no way of getting to
your door."
Buechner's comment set me to thinking that maybe there's more to this parable than we have sometimes seen. What if Jesus offered this parable not only as a call to prayerful persistence but also as a reminder to the church of the importance of securing justice for the poor and the oppressed in their midst? Alan Culpepper says, "To those who have it in their power to relieve the distress of the widow, the orphan and the stranger but do not [do so], the call to pray day and night is a command to let the priorities of God's compassion reorder the priorities of their lives."
Robert Dunham, Whose Persistence?
__________________________________
5. Prayer
Does Not Need Proof
Prayer does not need proof outside itself because its proofs
are within. It is in the nature and function of man, like breathing, eating and
drinking, and he practices it as part of his very being.
Samuel Johnson
__________
6. We
Are God's Answer to Injustice
Listen to me. If you are being bullied in school, God knows
about it and God hates it. If you are being harassed in the workplace, for any
reason, God hates it. If you are being taken advantage of--or if you are taking
unfair advantage of someone else--there will be a day of reckoning. If there is
anyone anywhere praying for God to intervene and put an end to their
oppression, eventually that prayer will be heard and that which is wrong will
be set right. That's the promise of Scripture.
Now, where does that leave us? Let me tell you a story.
A young black man asked his minister why their people had to
suffer so much poverty, hardship, and oppression. "Why doesn't God do
something?" he wailed.
"He has," said that wise pastor. "He has
created you."
And so Desmond Tutu, now the archbishop of South Africa,
became the answer to his own question.
That's a good lesson for you and me. While we are waiting
for God to bring in a perfect and just society, you and I are God's answer to
the injustice in our world. That's what it means to take up a cross and follow
Jesus. It's not a comfortable position to be in. It's not popular. But it is
Christ's way.
King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
________________________
7. And
Then Some
James Byrnes, who was Secretary of State under FDR, said
that the difference between successful people and average people can be summed
up in three words. Here are the three words, "and then some." He
said, "Average people do what is expected. Successful people do what is
expected, and then some." Our widow did what was expected, and then some.
John Wayne Clarke, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (Last Third): Father, Forgive Them
_______________________________________
8. God
Knows What I Need
A little boy knelt down to say his bedtime prayers. His
parents heard him reciting the alphabet in very reverent tones. When asked what
he was doing, he replied, "I'm saying my prayers, but I cannot think of
the exact words tonight. So, I'm just saying all the letters. God knows what I
need, and he'll put all the words together for me."
Now, that is not far from a proper way to pray! In seeking prayer we are
looking for Christ's mind. We are not sure quite how to word our prayer. So we
ask God to take our words and fit them into the correct prayer. We ask him to
edit our prayers by cutting out the unnecessary, making corrections, and adding
the necessities. We ask God to take our minds and make them his. We ask the
Holy Spirit to pray through us. And when we seek in prayer like that, Jesus
assures us in the text, we shall find.
Stephen M. Crotts, Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost:
Music from another Room, CSS Publishing Company
_____________________
9. Turn
to Him in Prayer
I heard a pastor tell a story one time of something he saw back in the days of
World War II. He was somewhere over in France, and he and a buddy of his were
in a house. They happened to be cleaning that house. All of a sudden, the bombs
started to fall just as they had begun to mop the kitchen floor.
He said he had a friend with him, a G.I., who was helping him to mop the floor. The floor was just covered with soap and water. When the bombs started to fall, this man tried to run. But the floor was so slippery he couldn't run. He kept falling down. Finally, he got his footing, and when he got to take a first real step, he stepped in the pail and got it stuck on his foot. That caused him to fall again. When he stood back up, he stepped on the mop, it flew up and hit him in the face and knocked him under the stairs. All the time the bombs are falling on that house.
He said he had a friend with him, a G.I., who was helping him to mop the floor. The floor was just covered with soap and water. When the bombs started to fall, this man tried to run. But the floor was so slippery he couldn't run. He kept falling down. Finally, he got his footing, and when he got to take a first real step, he stepped in the pail and got it stuck on his foot. That caused him to fall again. When he stood back up, he stepped on the mop, it flew up and hit him in the face and knocked him under the stairs. All the time the bombs are falling on that house.
He said this man was just struggling just to get out of that house and get to safety. In all of that bombing and chaos, he prayed and said, "O God, if you will just help me get out of this mess, I will get out of the next one all by myself."
Well, that soldier was right to pray in that situation, but he was wrong to say
he wouldn't pray in the next one. You see, we are to turn every care into a
prayer, every aggravation into a supplication, and every irritation into an
invocation.
We are to pray when we are in trouble, but we are to pray when we are not in
trouble. As a matter of fact, if we would give ourselves to more prayer we
would get ourselves in less trouble.
James Merritt
James Merritt
_________________________________
10. God's
Timetable Not Ours
I heard a story which illustrates how we often confuse God's
timing with ours. A country newspaper had been running a series of articles on
the value of church attendance. One day, a letter to the editor was received in
the newspaper office. It read, "Print this if you dare. I have been trying
an experiment. I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted it on
Sunday. I did all the cultivating on Sunday. I gathered the harvest on Sunday
and hauled it to my barn on Sunday. I find that my harvest this October is just
as great as any of my neighbors' who went to church on Sunday. So where was God
all this time?" The editor printed the letter, but added his reply at the
bottom. "Your mistake was in thinking that God always settles his accounts
in October."
That's often our mistake as well, isn't it -- thinking that
God should act when and how we want him to act, according to our timetable rather
than his. The fact that our vision is limited, finite, unable to see the end
from the beginning, somehow escapes our mind. So we complain; we get
frustrated; we accuse God of being indifferent to us; we do not live by faith.
Larry R. Kalajainen, Extraordinary Faith for Ordinary Time,
CSS Publishing Company, Inc.
_____________________
11. If
You Just Hold Up Your Head
In a Peanut's cartoon Lucy encourages Charlie Brown:
"Look at it this way, Charlie Brown," she consoles. "These are
your bitter days. These are the days of your hardship and struggle ..."
The next frame goes on: "... but if you just hold your head up high and
keep on fighting, you'll triumph!" "Gee, do you really think so,
Lucy?" Charlie asks. As she walks away Lucy says: "Frankly, no!"
Hope is like that. We speak of it more often than we believe
in it. Hope is not a strong word for us. It has more to do with
"wishing" than "expecting." It has the sound of
resignation, an inability to bring about, influence, or even believe that a
desired event or goal might ever come to be.
Theodore F. Schneider, Until the King Comes, CSS Publishing
Company
______________________
12. Parable
of the Crazy Old Lady
Frankly, don't we wish that Jesus had told this parable in a
little different way. Couldn't he have gotten the same point across if He had
told it something like this:
Verily, verily I tell you that once upon a time there was a
good lady who lived next door to an atheist. Every day, when the lady prayed,
the atheist guy could hear her. He thought to himself, "She sure is crazy,
praying all the time like that. Doesn't she know there is no GOD!" Many
times while she was praying, he would go to her house and harass her, saying,
"Lady, why do you pray all the time? Don't you know there is no GOD!"
But she kept on praying.
One day, she ran out of groceries. As usual, she was praying
to the Lord explaining her situation and thanking Him for what He was going to
do. As usual, the atheist heard her praying and thought to himself,
"Humph...I'll fix her."
He went to the grocery store, bought a whole bunch of
groceries, took them to her house, dropped them off on the front porch, rang
the doorbell and then hid in the bushes to see what she would do. When she opened the door and saw the groceries, she begin to praise the Lord with all her heart, jumping, singing, and shouting everywhere! The atheist then jumped out of the bushes and told her, "You crazy old lady. God didn’t buy you those groceries, I bought those groceries!’ Well, she broke out and started running down the street, shouting and praising the Lord. When he finally caught her, he asked what her problem was... She said "I knew the Lord would provide me with some groceries, but I didn’t know he was going to make the devil pay for them!"
*********
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
*********
From Fr. Tony Kadavil's Collection:
1: Never give up!
Years ago there
was a young man in Illinois with only six months of formal school education.
His mother home-schooled him and taught him to have a dream and to keep trying
to realize that dream, relying on the power of persistent prayer. First he ran
for an office in the legislature and was beaten. Next, he entered business but
failed at that, too, and spent the next 17 years paying the debts of his
worthless partner. He fell in love with a charming lady and became engaged. But
she had a premature death which led the young man to a short-term nervous
breakdown. Next, he ran for Congress and was defeated. He then tried to obtain
an appointment to the U.S. Land Office, but didn’t succeed. With strong belief
in the power of prayer, he ran for U. S. Vice-Presidency and lost. Two years
later he was defeated again for the office of Senator. He ran for office once
more and was elected the 13th president of the United States, thus realizing
his dream by the power of persistent prayer. He was Abraham Lincoln. It took
Winston Churchill three years to get through the eighth grade, because he
couldn’t pass English – of all things! Ironically, he was asked many years
later to give the commencement address at Oxford University. His now famous
speech consisted of only three words: “Never give up!” And that is the message
of today’s Gospel parable of the poor widow and the corrupt judge. (Harold
Buetow in God Still Speaks! Listen).
2: Gideon’s experiment with prayer:
Many years ago a
man named Dalton suggested that the prayer of petition should be put to the
test. One-half of England, he said, should pray for rain and then compare the
rainfall with the other half who did not pray for rain. He was not, in fact,
the first believer with a flair for experimentation. In the Book of Judges, Gideon
said to God, "If you really mean to deliver Israel by my hand, as you have
declared, see now, I spread out a fleece. If there is dew only on the fleece
and all the ground is left dry, then I shall know." Gideon had the mind of
a true experimenter. The following night he reversed his experiment to
test God a second time. He prayed, "Do not be angry with me if I speak
once again…. Let the fleece alone be dry, and let there be dew on the ground
all around it" (Jgs 6:36-40). Prayer isn't just a way of getting what we
want, but some people go to the opposite extreme of never asking God for
anything (while having no problem with the prayer of praise, thanks, and so
on). If it makes sense to thank God for something, it must make sense to ask
God for it and to persevere in that prayer as Jesus proposes in today’s Gospel
(Bible Diary 2004).
3: "So where was God all this time?”
There is a story
which illustrates how we often confuse God's timing with our own. A rural
newspaper had been running a series of articles on the value of church
attendance in its Sunday Religion column. One day, the editor received a
letter which read: "Print this if you dare. I am trying an
experiment. I have a field of corn which I plowed on Sunday. I planted
it on Sunday. I did all the cultivating on Sunday. I gathered the harvest on
Sunday and hauled it to my barn on Sunday. I find that my harvest this
October is just as great as any of my neighbors who went to church on Sunday.
So where was God all this time?" The editor printed the letter, but
added his reply at the bottom: "Your mistake lies in thinking that
God always settles his accounts in October." We who believe in the
power of prayer often wrongly think that our persevering prayers will force God
to act when and how we want Him to act, according to our timetable and
according to our desire. (Rev. R. J. Fairchild)
