Oct 10 2024

First reading Galatians 3:1-5

You received the Spirit because you believed what was preached

Are you people in Galatia mad? Has someone put a spell on you, in spite of the plain explanation you have had of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ? Let me ask you one question: was it because you practised the Law that you received the Spirit, or because you believed what was preached to you? Are you foolish enough to end in outward observances what you began in the Spirit? Have all the favours you received been wasted? And if this were so, they would most certainly have been wasted. Does God give you the Spirit so freely and work miracles among you because you practise Law, or because you believed what was preached to you?

Responsorial Psalm Luke 1:69-75

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to his people.

Gospel Luke 11:5-13

Ask, and it will be given to you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, “My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him”; and the man answers from inside the house, “Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you.” I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.

‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

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Dare to pray!

“Prayer is the breath of faith; it is its most proper expression… Let us not grow tired of knocking at God’s door” (Pope Francis). Prayer can be a petition for oneself or others, an expression of thanksgiving, or simply a conversation through which one shares thoughts and experiences with God. In the gospel, Jesus uses an example to illustrate a characteristic of prayer, specifically the act of petition. He tells the example of a man who visits his friend’s house late at night to ask for food for a traveller who arrives unexpectedly. After much insistence, the friend finally obliges.

Jesus used this illustration to show the significance of praying for what we need and approaching God with unwavering confidence, trusting that He will always take care of us. He may not provide exactly what we ask for, but He will give us what we truly need and what is best for us in that particular situation and moment of our lives. Let us not grow weary of calling on our Father God, for He knows our needs before we even ask.

Reflective question:
Does our relationship with God bring us to be closer to Him?

Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.