July 27, 2025.
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? (Luke 11, 9-13)
This week’s” word of life” invites us to be humble before the Lord and to go to him showing him our needs. Christ encourages us to ask and reminds us that God is love and that he always has his ears open towards our requests.
However, there are some “buts”. The first is the very essence of the request. To ask means to plead for, not to demand. And we, in general, do not know how to ask. He who asks does not become angry when his request is not granted, since he knows he is asking for something which he has no right to. Favors are entreated not claimed. We, on the other hand, although we appear to ask, what we really do is demand, as shown by our behavior when we are not given what we have asked for: anger, distancing from God, even blackmail and loss of faith. Couldn’t it be that God didn’t give it to you because you asked for more, because, perhaps without realizing it, more than ask you demanded?
The second obstacle is in that we only ask for material things. How must God feel given this behavior? ¿Wouldn’t he be more likely to help us if he saw that what really mattered to us above all was holiness? And if we were to try asking with the same insistence for love for Him and love for thy fellow man as for the rest of the favors we request from him for ourselves and our families.
Lastly, that the Lord encourages us to ask doesn’t mean we should only ask. Without gratefulness the request becomes egotistical and tires the one from whom help is being requested.
Intention: Ask with humility, telling God that if he doesn’t fulfil the request it doesn’t matter. Ask for holiness, to be in love with God. Be grateful for what we have and offer ourselves.