17th Sunday in Ordinary Time C 2022
INTRO:

There was a phrase used by both of my parents on us children. We would see our neighbor friends get this toy or that bike and we would get disinterested in our own toys and bikes and so on.

So, we would BEG our parents, incessantly asking and asking for these new things. Some might say we were brats!

Their phrase was:
“If you ask me one more time”
… followed by a threat to be grounded or go to our rooms, etc.

These were good things done by my parents. I may not have appreciated it then, but I know better now. They each
KNEW WHAT WAS GOOD FOR US!!

AS GOD DOES AS WELL!
GOD KNOWS WHAT IS GOOD FOR US, ALL THE TIME.

I have been told that parents who give their children everything they ask for end up spoiling them.

But on the other hand, parents who always say “NO” often cause their children to become estranged from them!

GOD is a good parent; however, he is neither a DADDY WARBUCKS nor a SCROOGE, but a Father who encourages us to make our needs and desires known always TRUSTING IN HIS GOODNESS and providence TO PROVIDE THE CORRECT ANSWERS TO OUR NEEDS AND REQUESTS!

That is what this weekend Mass is about; for all of us to be persistent in prayer, understanding that GOD IS GOD, just and merciful to us, and of course remembering HE is GENEROUS to us in His own right. God KNOWS what is BEST FOR US and when to comply or not.

Saint James encourages us not to waste prayers on material acquisitions for the sake of our pleasure, instead let us focus our prayers on a greater reception of the HOLY SPIRIT, the best gift God can give us! This prayer, asking for the HOLY SPIRIT, makes us humble, holy, and balanced.

CONCLUSION

You have arrived here at MASS with great persistence in wanting something …….

and that IS JESUS CHRIST in His REAL PRESENCE at HOLY COMMUNION. How mysterious and great is our Catholic Church and this sacrament to keep forming us in His image and likeness.