The Catholic Calendar for Thursday, October 12, 2006
Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Galatians 3:1-5
Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
Luke 11:5-13

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Periodically we hear from readings and homilies about the gentleness of Christ, of His interest in the very details of our lives. This is so evident in the gospel of today which describes a person attempting to get some bread in the middle of the night for his company. Christ reassures the disciples that the man would probably get the bread due to his persistence, if not from the fact that they were friends.

There are several lessons here that we might consider, the first being the reminder that Christ does care about our everyday situations. By His example of bread, He advises His disciples to approach Him with their every need and concern, not just for the big things in life. We must never think that our concerns are too insignificant to turn into a prayer of petition. We do not need to wait until Sunday at church as God always is hearing us.

Sometimes people complain because they think they practice good Catholic Christian lives, but they still have problems. We were never promised that life would be “a rose garden,” but perhaps part of the problem is that we think we can solve our own problems. Perhaps God has other plans for us if we just ask Him. It is worth a try!

- Joan of Jesus, OCDS
(jmurphy at utica dot edu)