PRAYER AND CHANGE

20170309 PRAYER AND CHANGE

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Violet.

First reading

Esther 4:17 ©

Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words:

‘My Lord, our King, the only one,

come to my help, for I am alone

and have no helper but you

and am about to take my life in my hands.

‘I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family,

that you, Lord, chose

Israel out of all the nations

and our ancestors out of all the people of old times

to be your heritage for ever;

and that you have treated them as you promised.

‘Remember, Lord; reveal yourself

in the time of our distress.

‘As for me, give me courage,

King of gods and master of all power.

Put persuasive words into my mouth

when I face the lion;

change his feeling into hatred for our enemy,

that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.

‘As for ourselves, save us by your hand,

and come to my help, for I am alone

and have no one but you, Lord.’

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 137(138):1-3,7-8 ©

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:

  you have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I will bless you.

  I will adore before your holy temple.

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love,

  which excel all we ever knew of you.

On the day I called, you answered;

  you increased the strength of my soul.

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

You stretch out your hand and save me,

  your hand will do all things for me.

Your love, O Lord, is eternal,

  discard not the work of your hands.

On the day I called, you answered me, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Joel2:12-13

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks –

come back to me with all your heart,

for I am all tenderness and compassion.

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Or	Ps50:12,14

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

A pure heart create for me, O God,

and give me again the joy of your help.

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Gospel

Matthew 7:7-12 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘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. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

  ‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’

PRAYER AND CHANGE

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ EST 4:17; PS 137:1-3,7-8; MT 7:7-12 ]

The exhortation during the season of Lent is the call to repentance.  This is necessary for us to receive the New Life at Easter.  Deep in our hearts, we all want to change, but change is difficult.  No matter how much we try, we fall again and again into sin.  We experience this deep battle in our hearts, wanting to do good but always ending up doing the wrong things. This was the same experience of St Paul when he wrote, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.”  (Rom 5:15f)

Clearly, if we depend on our own strength and will, we will not be able to overcome sin in our lives.   Only the grace of God can change our hearts and our mind.  For this reason, one of the pillars of the Lenten exercises is prayer.  Prayer is transforming and changing.  This is the power of prayer.  The psalmist testifies to the power of prayer when he prayed, “On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.”

Prayers, first and foremost, change our hearts.  This is what the Lord is teaching us in the gospel.  He said, “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.”

We must begin by asking.  Our prayers must be specific.  Indeed, that was the way Queen Esther prayed.  She expressed her heartfelt fears, anxieties and needs to the Lord.  When prayers are too generalized, it does not come from our heart.  There is a lack of desire to receive the gift of God.  The greater the desire, the greater is our capacity to receive God’s gift.  Otherwise, when given, we will not appreciate His love for us.  Indeed, when people give us gifts that we do not desire, we do not feel the great joy of receiving.  Most likely, since we do not need the gift, we will put them aside and store them somewhere else, and perhaps finding another occasion to give them away.

Secondly, we must search.  Why is it necessary to search ourselves?  The truth is, as Jesus said, “If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”  Very often, our motives and desires could be founded on ignorance.  We think something is good for us and we desire it but in fact, it can be contrary to our well-being.  That is why the Lord said, “Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish?”  The reality is that often, we are asking for idols to worship, things that are illusive and do not bring real happiness.  We are often mistaken in what we think is best for us.

So we need to search the depths of our heart, the motive that drives us to God to answer our prayers.  Through searching, we come to know the mind of God and purify our desire for Him.  The purity and sincerity of our prayers will be heard by the Lord, just as He heard Queen Esther who prayed for her nation.  She did not pray for herself but for the good of her people; and for justice.  Her motives were not selfish. She was simply asking for divine protection and blessing upon her as she spoke to the king for the sake of His people and for the glory of His name since the Lord had promised Israel that she would be His heritage forever.  In this way, the name of God would be kept holy.  With the psalmist we pray, “I thank you for your faithfulness and love, which excel all we ever knew of you.”

Finally, we must knock so that we can find a solution to our daily problems.  God will give us the wisdom, the discernment and the fortitude to carry out what we have prayed for. God will, in His grace, open the door for us to handle the issues challenging us.  We might feel that the door is closed and we are hopeless.  But if we persevere, we will be surprised that the Lord is opening new doors for us, giving us new opportunities.  When we continue to cling to our fixed mindsets or what we want without knocking, then God will not be able to give us what is truly good.  He does not give us anything that is less than good for us.  At times, He wants us to change our mind, think out of the box, seek new ways and find other ways to achieve greater things for ourselves and for the Church.  Indeed, Jesus assures us, “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.”

But not only can prayers can change us.  It can also change others, including our most feared enemies, the lion that Esther asked the Lord to help her face.  “As for me, give me courage, King of Gods and master of all power. Put persuasive words into my mouth when I face the lion.”  She prayed to the Lord, “Change his feeling into hatred for our enemy that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.”  And truly, the Lord changed the heart of the King towards Queen Esther who appeared before him without his calling. She warranted death for being so audacious to come into the king’s presence without permission.  And instead of punishing her, the king took pity on her weakness and his heart turned against her enemies instead.  We must never doubt the power of God to change lives no matter how hopeless the situation might be.  Just when we think it is impossible to change the immoral and bad behavior of our spouse or children or in-laws or our superiors, God shows His might and power to give them the grace to change their hearts.  Indeed, as the psalmist says, “You stretch out your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me.  Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands.”

However, prayer can change our lives and the lives of our enemies only if our prayer is prayed with sincerity, humility and fervor.  God wants us to be clear of what we want.  If we pray with a devout and loving heart, the Lord will hear us because our minds are one with Him.  Jesus gives us a golden principle for all prayers, namely, “So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.”  To be efficacious, our prayers must not be selfish but always for the good of our neighbours, for justice and for love. Queen Esther prayed not for herself but for her countrymen and, most of all, for the justice of God to prevail.  And God showed her His love and mercy.  Her prayer was one that was filled with humility and fervor.  She said,  “My Lord, our King, the only one, come to my help, for I am alone and have no helper but you and am about to take my life in my hands.  As for ourselves, save us by your hand, and come to my help, for I am alone and have no one but you, Lord.”

Most of all, we must also pray in faith, claiming the promise of God to us in the Covenant He established with us.  Esther said, “I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family, that you, Lord, chose Israel out of all the nations and our ancestors out of all the people of old times to be your heritage forever; and that you have treated them as you promised.  Remember, Lord; reveal yourself in the time of our distress.”  We must therefore keep on asking, searching and knocking, for the fruit of perseverance in prayer is a greater faith to see the amazing power of God’s grace in making the impossible possible.  With God, Jesus told us, all things are possible.  Through sincere prayer, God will change our lives and enable us truly to do His holy will in all things so that we can find peace and joy in our hearts.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved