Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 11:1-13 Collossians 2:12-14 Genesis 18:20-32
Today’s Gospel recounts one of the most revered messages of Jesus to His disciples: how to pray! Responding to their request, He empowers them to address God as Father and to seek His response to their needs and His forgiveness of their misdeeds.
And Jesus strengthens their trust with the assurance: Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Those who approach God are guaranteed His presence and His response. This strong commitment confers a new dimension to human life as well as a growing appreciation for how God’s responses are experienced and how His continuing Presence to those who approach Him impacts their lives.
The reading from the Book of Genesis provides insight into God’s response to the prayers of Abraham at a time when evil was greatly engaging the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. As our world moves into new times and new challenges, our awareness of God our Father’s Presence in and to our world is a threshold to be chosen and embraced.
Dearest God and Father,
Open our minds and hearts to Your Presence as we seek to love and engage our sisters and brothers in our efforts to address the challenges of our time.
Sr. Kathleen Sullivan, OP