Search And Knock: Jesus Is There

And he 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; ⁶ for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ ⁷ 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.’ ⁸ 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. ⁹ “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. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹ Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? ¹² Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? ¹³ 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!”-Luke 11:5-13 NRSV

We Are On A Search

The Gospel from today’s Mass is something we can all relate to.  In today’s passage Jesus tells us about the need to persevere in prayer.  Persevering in prayer allows our will to be conformed to that of the Father.  It helps us to build a relationship with our creator and to grow in holiness.

Sometimes we may feel spiritually dry and like we are going through the motions.  When this occurs it is helpful to take a step back and evaluate our spiritual diet.  Are we going through the motions?  Perhaps we are not taking time to read scripture and to pray.  If we are truly on a search to learn more about Jesus and to learn the will of  God for us then we must be taking these things seriously.

Step Up And Knock

Jesus uses a popular phrase in today’s Gospel.  The one listed above says “search and you will find”, and other versions say “seek and you shall find”.  What are we seeking?  Are we seeking sex, status, and salary?  In the end those things will leave us unsatisfied those are our priorities.

It is Jesus that ours hearts are seeking and true happiness can only come through him.  Those other things are good if we are not making them the number one priority in our lives.

Do you want to know Jesus better?  Is your desire to know more about his church?  Knock on the door.  Let go of pride and let Jesus take you by the hand onto the ark that he established.  He is there fore us, but often times we only go to him as a last resort.  It is my prayer that we all look to him first to guide our steps.  First we have to knock on the door.  That is where the search begins.

Saint Quotes

Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you. -St. Augustine of Hippo

You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy – the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud. -St. Vincent de Paul

We are to love God for Himself, because of a twofold reason; nothing is more reasonable, nothing more profitable. -St. Bernard of Clairvaux

It is better to say one Our Father fervently and devoutly than a thousand with no devotion and full of distraction. — St. Edmund