Today’s Gospel points to a paradox in the Bible that I don’t see addressed often enough. On the one hand, Jesus tells us things like, “ask and you will receive” in Matthew 7. He also tells us in today’s Gospel that not everyone in need will get a miracle. How are we to reconcile these seeming contradictions?
I suppose the simplest, most complete answer is that it is a mystery that we will not understand completely in this life. “We know,” Paul says in Romans 8, “that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
However noble our petitions are, God may have a bigger plan that we simply cannot see. Like Christ on the eve of His passion, we can pray for our suffering to be taken away, but also pray for God’s will to be done first and foremost.
Let us pray today for all those who are struggling to understand why the God they love did not grant them the miracle they longed for. May God give us all the humility to accept His will even when we don’t understand it.
Daily Reading
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:“”Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god,or worship the golden statue that I set up?Be ready…
Saint of the Day
Saint Ludovico of Casoria
The first part of Saint Ludovico of Casoria’s life was somewhat “ordinary,” but not the second. Having had what he called a mystical experience, he began establishing institutions for all kinds of people in need. He even founded two religious communities.