Homily for Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent

For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/021408.shtml

+JMJ
Cyril and Methodius, pray for us

I really dislike popular music. About the only thing I will listen to is 95.7 the vibe - I know the lyrics are awful to those songs, but sometimes I just want to feel a strong dance beat as I'm driving down the road, and that is the surest place to find it. I have always preferred classical music and chant, and rarely do I listen to country. In fact, at my little brother's wedding dance Jan 5th, 90% of the music was country and I was the biggest complainer - I don't see how you can dance to that stuff. But there are at least a few corny country songs that I like - and one is Garth Brooks' 'Unanswered Prayers.' Sometimes God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

Jesus assures his followers in today's Gospels that all of their prayers are heard, and answered. In Luke's version of this teaching of Jesus, every prayer is answered with the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew's version which we just heard, every prayer is answered with 'good things.' If one doesn't read this Gospel passage exactly, one can come away thinking that this teaching of Jesus guarantees that we receive everything for which we ask. But of course we know this is not true, and this is not what the scripture says. The Gospel says we will receive 'the Holy Spirit' or 'good things' from our Father whenever we ask Him.

The answer to our deepest desires, and to our deepest prayers, is the gift of Jesus himself, and the eternal life that comes through our relationship with him. We may ask for many other things, and we often do. Oftentimes, we spend a good amount of time asking for a cup of suffering to pass us by or to pass by one of our loved ones for whom we have promised to pray. But our own tendency to sin teaches us that we do not always know what is best for us -we do not always choose the greatest good with our freedom. And so sometimes God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers - he gives us the good things we really need by allowing suffering as a means of attaching our hearts more closely to Jesus, who is all good and the final answer to every prayer.

Jesus speaks to us from the cross, and says that He has given us 'everything' that He has received from His heavenly Father. Unanswered prayers are never God's holding out on us - the cross says that He has given us everything. Sometimes unanswered prayers are an invitation to us to conform our lives more fully to the mystery of the cross, and to find the everlasting good gifts of faith, hope and love waiting for us there.

+m