This Week in Focus

“I’m hungry—give me something to eat” are the words of women, men, and children begging on the streets of Rome, day in and day out. Their faces come to mind with the pleading words of Scripture today: Abraham bargains with God, pleading for justice for a righteous few; the midnight visitor of today’s gospel asks for bread; we address God with petitions or demands; Jesus encourages us to “ask.”

The people of today’s gospel and of our streets reach out and touch our being, eliciting responses like compassion, criticism, or anger. The requests rarely come at an opportune moment, and we might suspect the worst motives or feel overwhelmed. Some of us have experienced what it is to be poor; many of us have not. Yet the persistence of the other might move us to act.

In the Scriptures we meet God who is generous in love, forgiveness, and compassion. In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for God’s kingdom, enough for today, forgiveness, and perseverance. In the kingdom all are welcomed; each one can live experiencing love, safety, and forgiveness; hearts and hands reach out in healing and service. It is a place of peace, safety, and abundance.

In today’s Eucharist we give thanks for this expression of “kingdom.” In praying the Lord’s Prayer we find the answer to our seeking: how to live and act in the face of today’s challenges.

Sr. Carmen Diston, IBVM