THE WORD
Gal 3,1-5 / Lk 11,5-13
Jesus said to [his disciples], “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?
IN OTHER WORDS
There is a curious sentence in this Gospel, “…How much more will the Father…give the Holy Spirit…?” The following is my personal reflection
1. When a person “pesters” God for something, without knowing it, that person communicate and exposes himself to God’s presence.
2. Exposing oneself to God, one is granted a portion of his Spirit.
3. Once the Spirit is shared to the one who prays, understanding, realization and wisdom
follow. In prayer the person is led to patience and resignation to God’s disposition.
4. The person who wearies God with prayers gradually experiences peace, contentment
and joy, as he graciously awaits God’s response.
Many times we pray without understanding the foreign words we use. Words like “trespasses”, “hallowed”, “purchased the reward of eternal life” “consubstantial”, “paschal mysteries”, “restored glory of adoption,” etc. bring into our minds hardly any meaning and yet, in praying them, we put ourselves in God’s presence, and the rest will be taken care of by God who longs for our presence.
- Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD | DWST, Tagaytay City
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
