Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 6, 2022
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?”
During my 20s, I felt very confident that my vocation was marriage. As I inched closer and closer to my 30s, I was confused why my spouse hadn’t shown up yet.
Jesus characterizes God in today’s gospel as a good father who wants to pour out abundant gifts on his children. Younger me wondered: why would a good father not give me what I was reasonably confident he wanted for me anyway? I spent those single years praying, discerning, seeking, wondering, fasting, crying, hoping, asking, (and repeatedly knocking) well past midnight.
Now, married with a young child, it could be tempting to view those years as time wasted—that God is vindictive or maybe just forgetful. But here is the truth so often missed: This gospel offers no exact timeline. It doesn’t say, “ask and you will receive it in about 20 minutes.”
Yes, receiving my vocation has been beautiful and grace-filled, but the asking was beautiful and grace-filled in its way too. It can be exhausting, feeling like God is not listening or doesn’t care for us like we believe a good father should. I was tempted to give up, to stop asking, and force my own will on my life. Now I can see God was with me in both the asking and the receiving.
The endeavor of seeking made me the person who was ready to find.
May we all have the grace to keep asking, keep seeking, trusting that we will find God, the good Father, ready to love us in this time and season, whatever it may look like.
Prayer
Father, sometimes we get discouraged and cynical. Deep down we know that despite our expectations, somehow and some way you must be answering our prayers. May the Spirit help us to look more closely at the Gospel and see how you really answer prayer. Amen.
Saint of the Day
When she saw the great lack of education on the North American frontier as a sickly young girl, Blessed Marie Rose Durocher had no way of knowing that the Spirit would use her life as an important response to that need.
She was born in Quebec in 1811 and given the name Eulalie Melanie. Her parents were prosperous farmers; Eulalie was the tenth of 11 children. Three of her brothers became priests and a sister joined a community of sisters.
Eulalie intended to follow her sister into religious life, but her health was poor and she was sent home from the convent with regrets. The community noted her humility, gentleness, and courtesy, and saw that she was attentive to the voice of God.
Her mother died in 1830, and Eulalie assumed the duties of a homemaker for the family. Later, as secretary and housekeeper, she helped one of her brothers who had become a priest. In that role, she learned how few schools and teachers there were in their frontier province, and began organizing young women in the parish to meet the need.
Her interest and work was noted, and was asked by the bishop to found a new religious community of sisters to provide Christian education in the region. In 1844, Eulalie and two others professed their vows as sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary; Eulalie adopted the name Marie Rose.
The need was extraordinary, and so was the response of young women willing to meet it. Over the course of five years, the order added five convents for 30 sisters who taught nearly 450 children in both English and French. Her work was not without challenges, though—Marie Rose faced slander and lack of resources, but persevered with a strong will and courage.
Always in poor health and worn out from her many labors, Marie Rose died at the age of 38. On her deathbed, she told a sister who was watching with her, “Your prayers are keeping me here—let me go.”
She was beatified in 1982 after the healing of a Detroit man. He was crushed against the wall by a truck and pronounced dead. He recovered after people asked Marie Rose for help.
There were other stories of Marie Rose helping in the case of wildfire threatening people and property in the state of Washington. Sisters from her order who lived in a community in Spokane prayed for her help when a fire threatened their convent. They placed images of Marie Rose in trees around the convent, and the fire changed direction after coming within 15 feet of the chapel.
Blessed Marie Rose Durocher is patron of those who are sick. Today, some 1,000 Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary educate children in Canada, the United States, Africa, and South America.
Blessed Marie Rose Durocher, you were the Canadian nun who brought Christian education to the frontier—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Marie Rose Durocher is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed September 27, 2024.