Matthew 7:7-12

Esther C:12, 14-16, 23-25

Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8

Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Ask and it will be given to you;

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.

Which one of you would hand his son a stone

when he asked for a loaf of bread,

or a snake when he asked for a fish?

If you then, who are wicked,

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your heavenly Father give good things

to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.

This is the law and the prophets.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I believe in you; help me overcome my weak faith and unbelief. Lord God, I trust in you; help me overcome my self-reliance and my lack of trust. Lord God, I love you; help me overcome my selfishness and give myself more perfectly to your service and the service of my brothers and sisters.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Faith Frees Us to Give: The Gospel is taken from the third part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The first part (Matthew 5:1-48) brought the Old Law to fulfillment in the New Law. The second part (Matthew 6:1-18) concerned worship and the three pious practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. The third part concerns “deeds of charity.” Here, “Jesus warns against stockpiling earthly treasures, exhorting his disciples to build treasure in heaven by good deeds. … This can be done, Jesus teaches next, only if we are free from anxiety through the knowledge that the Maker of all things is our provident and caring Father. Anxiety and fear imprison, whereas faith in the Father frees us to give and trust, to be satisfied with our ‘daily bread,’ allowing us to ‘seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well’ (Matthew 6:33)” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 262). 

2. Confidence in Prayer: Our faith and trust in the Father are seen especially in how we pray. Jesus invites us to be confident in prayer because our Father is good and generous. A human father, despite their defects and shortcomings, tends to give good things to their children when they ask for them. If that is the case, then how much more will our Heavenly Father, who is all good and all-knowing, give us good things? Jesus concludes this teaching by emphasizing how we need to imitate the Father and be generous toward our fellow human beings. The golden rule Jesus gives is a powerful tool to discern how we are to act generously or what we are to do for others.

3. The Prayer of Esther: Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the New Testament is complemented by the example of Queen Esther’s prayer in the Old Testament. The Book of Esther tells the story of how a Persian official named Haman tricked King Xerxes I, who ruled from 485 to 465 B.C., to exterminate the Jewish population of Persia (Esther 3:6-13). The massacre was narrowly averted by the wisdom of Mordecai and the courage of his niece Esther, who recently had become the queen (Esther 7:9-10; 8:1-8) (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 761). Esther is confident in the knowledge and power of God. She remembers the saving actions of God in the past. She humbly asks for the courage to overcome her fear and the grace of persuasive speech. The escape from the threat led to the establishment of a new Jewish feast, that of Purim, “which celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from total destruction at the hands of the Persians” (see Esther 9:1-32; Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 761). Purim is celebrated every year, about a month before Passover. This year, on this very day, it is celebrated from sundown on Thursday, March 13, to sundown on Friday, March 14.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, teach me today and every day how to pray. Inspire me to ask good things from the Father and to seek always to do his holy will.

Living the Word of God: How can I grow in confidence, trust, and faith in my prayer life? Is there anything in my life that, without God, seems impossible, but with God, is possible? How am I practicing the golden rule in my daily life?