Lest she finally come and strike me

ù12 NOVEMBER (Lk 18,1-8)
The Apostle James teaches us that prayer is the way through which the whole of heaven pours on the earth. Nothing is impossible to him who prays. But what prayer are we talking of? Of the prayer raised fervently by the righteous. Prayer, justice, fervour!

Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. Elijah was a human being like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land. Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit (Jm 5,13-18).

St. Paul says to the Philippians that through prayer you get the gift of peace of heart. When the heart is in peace, it needs nothing. It needs all when it is not in peace. Everything is manifested to God, all must be made present to Him with the prayer.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you (Phil 4,4-9).

To the Romans instead he manifests that our heart is incapable of true prayer because it does not know what to ask. The Father sends the Holy Spirit in our help. He knows what the Father wants from us and he asks for it with inexpressible sighs. Everything else is already ours.

In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will (Rm 8,26-27).

Jesus wants that who asks the Father, asks tirelessly, asks until the hearing of his prayer. Faith is not enough to pray, not even justice is enough, not even the fervour and not even the Holy Ghost. To all these things insistence must be added. Morning, noon, afternoon, evening, you have always to ask what has already been asked. You have to stop only when grace is obtained.

Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'” The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

For no one to stop in his request, Jesus offers us the example of a widow. The widow is nothing of nothing. She is the non strength, non defence and non justice. However, the judge is the absolute despot. He is the one without opposition, without rules, without piety and without mercy. Might ever a widow bend one omnipotence of injustice? She can with her insistence. Who are we that pray? We are the children of the Father. Who is the God we turn to? Mercy, piety, compassion and eternal love. It is the God who can test our faith in prayer.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints, give us a true faith in Jesus.