ESTHER 14: 1, 3 – 4, 11, 13 – 14

In those days: Esther the queen, seized with deathly anxiety, fled to the Lord. And she lay on the earth together with all her, maid- servants, from morning until evening, and said: “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you; help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, for my danger is in my hand. I have heard from the books of my ancestors that you liberate all those who are pleasing to you, O Lord, until the very end. And now, assist me, who am all alone, and have no one but you, O Lord, my God. Come to my aid, for I am an orphan. Put eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate the man who is fighting against us, so that there may be an end of him and those who agree with him. But save us from the hand of our enemies; turn our mourning into gladness and our affliction into well-being.”

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 138: 1 – 3, 7d – 8 (R/.) 3a

R/. 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 praise you.
I bow down toward your holy temple. R/.

I give thanks to your name
for your merciful love and your faithfulness.
You have exalted your name and your promise over all.
On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased the strength of my soul. R/.

With your right hand you save me;
the Lord will accomplish this for me.
O Lord, your merciful love is eternal;
discard not the work of your hands. R/.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
Psalm 51: 10a, 12a.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ. Create in me a clean heart, O God; restore to me the joy of your salvation. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

GOSPEL
MATTHEW 7: 7 – 12

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION: Ask, and All Good Things Will Be Given You
March 10, 2022

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you…”

“How much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:7, 11

Jesus is very clear that when we ask, we will receive, when we seek, we will find, and when we knock, the door will be opened to you. But is that your experience? Sometimes we can ask, and ask, and beg, and it appears that our prayer goes unanswered, at least in the way we want it to be answered. So what does Jesus mean when He says to “ask…seek…knock” and you will receive?

The key to understanding this exhortation from our Lord is that, as the Scripture above states, through our prayer, God will give “good things to those who ask.” He doesn’t promise us whatever we ask for; rather, He promises that which is truly good and good, in particular, for our eternal salvation.

This begs the question, “Then how do I pray and what do I pray for?” Ideally, every prayer of intercession we utter should be for the Lord’s will to be done, nothing more, and nothing less. Only His perfect will.

That can be harder to pray for than one might first expect. Too often we tend to pray that “my will be done” rather than that “Thy will be done.” But if we can trust, and trust on a profound level, that God’s will is perfect and provides us with all “good things,” then seeking His will, asking for it and knocking at the door of His heart will produce an abundance of grace as God desires to bestow it.

Reflect, today, upon the way you pray. Try to change your prayer so that it seeks the good things God wants to bestow rather than the many things you want God to bestow. It may be hard at first to detach from your own ideas and your own will, but in the end, you will be blessed with many good things from God.

PRAYER:
Lord of true goodness, I do pray that Your will be done in all things. I desire to surrender to You above all, and to trust in Your perfect plan. Help me, dear Lord, to abandon my own ideas and desires, and to seek Your will always. Jesus, I trust in You.https://masvingomirror.com