Thursday of the First Week of Lent
Readings: Esther 14:1, 3-5, 12-14; Matthew 7:7-12
25 February
“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” (Matthew 7:7)
Reflection
In the beginning, we can imagine that the ‘door’ upon which we are knocking is the entrance to wherever it is we want to go. It is only with spiritual maturity that we realise that the door is to wherever it is God wants to take us. Are we so keen to knock on that door now?
In the beginning, we can imagine that what we are being encouraged to ask for are those things that we feel we need right now. It is only with spiritual maturity that we realise that we are to ask only for those things that God wills for us and that give him glory. Do we still want to ask?
In the beginning, we can imagine that we are to search for that which is important to us: success, long life, and happiness in this world. It is only with spiritual maturity that we learn to let all that go and trust only in the One in whose embrace we discover what real success, real life, and genuine happiness is all about. Do we keep searching?
People of faith are often wrestling with one of two questions: “What is God doing?” and, “What does God want?” God is only doing one thing and only wants one thing. God is love, and God is primarily concerned with restoring us to himself in and through his Son. Everything else God does is at the service of this love and of this plan. If we understand this, we understand that for which we are knocking, seeking and asking.
Reflection by Shane Dwyer.
Reproduced with permission from Evangelisation Brisbane, an agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane, who have kindly supplied these daily Lenten 2021 reflections from their publication Look to Jesus: 52 Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter.
