A Latin spiritual journey with discerning hearts, from ashes to glory.

Day 9. Ask, seek, knock.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 7 verses 7 through 12.

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 the one who finds, and to the one who knocks,

it will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,

or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more

will your heavenly father give good things to those who ask him?

In today's gospel, Jesus reassures us of the generosity and goodness of God. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. These words invite us to approach God with trust and persistence, knowing that he desires to pour out his blessings upon us. Yet so often we hesitate to ask.

Perhaps we feel unworthy,

or we fear that our prayers won't be answered.

We may struggle with doubt,

wondering if God truly hears us.

But Jesus reminds us that God is a loving father

who gives good gifts to his children.

If even human parents know how to care for their children, how much more will God care for us?

Still, we must recognize that prayer is not about controlling God

or demanding what we want.

Sometimes, the answer is no. And sometimes the answer is no.

And when the answer is no, or when it seems like no answer is coming at all,

...