11 October. Thursday, Week 27

1st Reading: Galatians (3:1-5)

Is the Spirit received by law-abidingness or by trusting faith?

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing?, if it really was for nothing. Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Responsorial (from Luke 1:69ff)

R.: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to save his people

The Lord has raised up for us a mighty saviour
in the house of David his servant,
as he promised by the lips of holy ones,
those who were his prophets from of old. (R./)
A saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who hate us.
So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
and his holy covenant remembered. (R./)
He swore to Abraham our father
to grant us, that free from fear,
and saved from the hands of our foes,
we might serve him in holiness and justice
all the days of our life in his presence. (R./)

Gospel: Luke (11:5-13)

Jesus teaches the value of perseverance in prayer

Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Persistence in prayer

Persistence comes from trust that we really will find what we seek. No one can keep on asking or searching if not already sustained by God’s Holy Spirit. We treasure this Holy Spirit within us, as temples of God (1 Cor 3:16). If we believe, it is under the impulse of God’s mysterious presence. Paul assures us that this Spirit “witnesses within our spirit that we are truly God’s children” (Rom 8:16).
St Luke uses the earthy term, “persistence”. While “perseverance” echoes the way to heaven, there’s a taste of stubbornness about “persistence”. Such indeed is the tone and attitude of Jesus’ short parable.
Good manners in that culture demanded that the door be opened even to someone knocking at an inconvenient time. Maybe we should not bang on our neighbour’s door at midnight in order to borrow some bread. Jesus is not saying here what is the right or wrong thing to do. The point of his parable is in its last line. The neighbour obliges, not because of friendship but because of the other’s persistence, and then gives as much as is needed. He goes further by appealing to parents’ care and attention towards their children. Does a mother give a snake when a child asks for fish? He acknowledges the basic goodness and fidelity of every human being, yet he also wants our relationships to deepen and become still more reliable:, with God’s help. If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children good things, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. God gives part of himself, his own Holy Spirit so that our own good actions manifest his divine goodness and reach beyond our dreams and expectations.

(Saint John XXIII, pope)

Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963) from the village Sotto Il Monte in Lombardy was ordained in 1904 and served in a number of posts, including papal nuncio in France, before becoming the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice. Elected pope at age 76, he surprised those who expected him to be a caretaker pope by convening the Second Vatican Council (1962 65). His strong views on equality were summed up in his statement, “We were all made in God’s image, and thus, we are all Godly alike.” Noted for his affectionate style, he intended the ecumenical Council to be one of “aggiornamento” bringing the Church into closer touch with the modern world. He did not live to see the completion of the Council, but died four years after his election and shortly after completing his encyclical, Pacem in Terris. He was canonized on 27 April 2014.

(Saint Canice, abbot, patron of Ossory)

Cainnech (Latin Canicus), was a 6th century monastic founder and missionary said to have been born in Dungiven, Derry, and to have died in Kilkenny (CillCainnech). Anything we know of him is from the few references in Adomnán’s Life of Saint Columba .