The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to embrace patience as we trust our prayers will resolve our needs in accord with God’s desire for our best life.
The Reading from the Book of Esther 14.1, 3-5, 12-14 Prayer of Esther.
The Greek version of the book dates from ca. 116 to 48 B.C. (see note on F:11). In the present translation, the Greek additions are indicated by the letters A through F. The regular chapter numbers apply to the Hebrew text.
The book may be divided as follows:
The order of the Vulgate text in relation to the order of the Greek text is as follows:
Psalm 138 is a Thanksgiving to God, who came to the rescue of the psalmist.
Esther* [Psalm 138] A thanksgiving to God, who came to the rescue of the psalmist. Divine rescue was not the result of the psalmist’s virtues but of God’s loving fidelity (Ps 138:1–3). The act is not a private transaction but a public act that stirs the surrounding nations to praise God’s greatness and care for the people (Ps 138:4–6). The psalmist, having experienced salvation, trusts that God will always be there in moments of danger (Ps 138:7–8). (Psalms, PSALM 138 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew proclaims The Answer to Prayers.
* [7:9–10] There is a resemblance between a stone and a round loaf of bread and between a serpent and the scaleless fish called barbut.
* [7:12] See Lk 6:31. This saying, known since the eighteenth century as the “Golden Rule,” is found i n both positive and negative form in pagan and Jewish sources, both earlier and later than the gospel. This is the law and the prophets is an addition probably due to the evangelist. (Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)
Nancy Shirley shares a focus on our relationship with God and the trust in that relationship.
Our prayers of hope, thanksgiving, desperation, and forgiveness are built upon that trust. It was 20 years ago this summer when I shared my aha moment in looking at the word trust. It was then that I realized the word itself was the key to understanding. It begins and ends with the cross (trust) and U is in the middle or US. Our relationship of trust is steeped in our Savior and His cross. We pray believing that our prayers will be answered, and at times lament that they are not. The truth is that they are always answered, we just don’t always like the answer…
Blessings – Laura Story
Perhaps this song conveys better, in less than five minutes, what I was trying to say in paragraphs!! (Shirley, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The gift of being good,” by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"He who has given us the gift of being gives us also the gift of being good. He gives to those who have turned back to Him. He even sought them out before they were converted and when they were far from his ways!" (Commentary on Psalm 103, 2) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes Esther is a queen of Persia and is also Jewish. She is afraid to reach out to the king. She finally realizes that she has to pray to God for strength and the courage of a lion. God could work through her. In Matthew, we are encouraged to knock and ask to receive from our loving parent, God, who will give us the most loving thing possible. It is what we need and the love of God is to be seen in whatever we experience. Friar Jude comments on the widespread proclamation of the Golden Rule to treat others as ourselves with respect and fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 7:7-12 comments that Everyone receives. Maybe in ways we don’t expect. Maybe in ways we cannot perceive. Maybe in ways we will experience only in heaven. But our heavenly Father hears every prayer we offer. He hears the cries of our hearts. And he gives us the grace we need, the wisdom we need, or the courage or hope or correction or refocus that we need. Sometimes, he even gives us the silence that we need so that we will continue to grapple with our feelings and come to a better grasp of his calling and direction for us.
Jesus promises that God will “give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11). He is faithful. He is loving. He is just. He is kind and merciful. Hold onto those truths, no matter what you are dealing with. Grasp them tightly. Inscribe them in your memory. Write them on a piece of paper, and keep it in your pocket as a reminder. Give yourself the gift of time, and ask the Lord to give you the gift of patience. He won’t fail you. Make this your prayer, day and night:
“The Lord will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands” (Psalm 138:8). (Meditation on Matthew 7:7-12, n.d.)
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the concept of “nepantla” comes from the indigenous Nahuatl people of central Mexico and nearby regions. It captures a sense of being transformed in and by the wilderness. Spiritual teacher Liza Rankow finds encouragement in the wisdom it offers.
Gloria Anzaldúa wrote about the richly nuanced Nahuatl concept of napantla. She referred to it as a state of in-between-ness, a liminal space where multiple realities simultaneously exist, and transformation can occur. Napantla relates to both our individual journeys and our collective ones….
Nepantla encourages us to embrace the in-between for all we can learn and become in the process:
Wilderness times, like those of napantla, are painful and difficult, and most of us want to get out of them as quickly as we can. Yet to shortchange the process is to pry open a cocoon prematurely because we want the butterfly. All we’re going to find in there is goop, or a half-formed bug body with tiny useless wings. The question is not what we need in order to get out of this wilderness, but rather, what do we need to inhabit the wilderness—for as long as it takes to complete our transition, our metamorphosis. You see, the wilderness is a season not a location. And like the healing of wounds, or the becoming of a butterfly, the wilderness journey is a process, not an event.
In the culture of “life hacks” and instant gratification, the idea of tarrying in the arduous in-between of spiritual wrestling may seem entirely unappealing. It’s so tempting to want to bypass the wilderness and hurry on to the promised land. However, these experiences of formation and transformation are essential, lest we try to enter the new world with the same consciousness that created the old one.
Wildernesses are crucibles where we become the people who can live into new lands of promise and liberation. (Rohr, n.d.)
We petition God for many needs for ourselves and others and we seek the inspiration to trust that the response of Providence to our Prayer is what we need at the time.
References
Esther, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/esther/4
Esther, THE BOOK OF ESTHER. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/esther/0
Matthew, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/7?7
Meditation on Matthew 7:7-12. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/02/26/1509007/
Psalms, PSALM 138 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/138?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-time-for-growth/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Ask and You Will Receive from Your Father in Heaven. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
Shirley, N. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-february-26-2026
No comments:
Post a Comment