Persistent Widow

29th Sunday-Persistent Widow 

Good morning/evening every one, I am so happy to welcome you all for today's Holy Mass. Our special welcome to all our parishioners, visitors and every one here today. Let's thank God almighty for bringing us all here to this beautiful Church of St. Paul the Apostles. Let's thank Him for sending His only Son our Lord Jesus Christ to be with us for ever and let's us thank Him for showering upon us His countless blessings each and every day. 

Now let us take a moment to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ, calling to mind our sins, weakness, failure, pain and sufferings, asking divine assistance and Christ our Lord's mercy, compassion and forgiveness. 

Once a little boy asked his mother, "Mom, where did people come from?"  

Mom said, "God created Adam and Eve and they had children and thus mankind was made". 

Few days later, the boy asked the same question to his dad. 

The dad said, "You know what many years ago, there were monkeys and which human race evolved from". 

The boy was so confused and said to the mother, "Mom, you said...God created us and dad says that we came from monkeys". 

The mom said, "It is very simple son, I told you about my side of the family and he told you about his". 

In today's gospel, we come to know three important characters that help us to be with God and receive His countless blessings namely patience, persistence and perseverance in prayer. 

1. Like the old poor widow who had so much patience, going to the unjust judge and looking for justice. Though he did not recognize her in the beginning she was so patient and was keep going to Him. 

There an old Jewish traditional story that goes like this. One day as Abraham was sitting outside of his tent, he saw an old man coming toward him tired and hungry and was shivering in the cold. Abraham right away invited him into his tent and washed his feet and served his delicious food. As the man was eating, he noticed that he did not say his prayer of blessing to God and even while eating, he began to curse and blame God. Abraham the father of faith who immediately obeyed the will of God, got so mad and threw him out in the cold dark night. That night God appeared to Abraham and said, "Abraham...Abraham...where is the old man came to your house? Where is the old man who did not any place to go and was hungry? Abraham said, "God...he talked against you and I threw him out". Then God looked at him and said, "Son, I put up with him, I accepted his curse and blames for eighty-five years and how come you could not accept him for a night and how come you did not be patient with him?" 

And unless a person has so much patient, they say that he can not be a bamboo tree grower. After sowing the bamboo seeds, a person has to wait and wait for not one or two but four to five years and on the fifth year, it begin to grow so fast. Even in a day...it will grow one foot tall. But to see the gigantic growth, the farmers have to wait patiently for many years. 

Yes, as we pray to God and we have to be patient and wait. God knows how to give good things to us. Great things will happen to those who patiently wait. 

1. In today's gospel we see how the poor old lady kept going to the judge. She was so persistent and never gave up. At one point, the judge himself began to say, "I neither fear God or people and yet this old lady keep bothering me and I will grant her justice so that she will not wear me out by continuously coming". 

There is a story about King Robert the Bruce of Scotland. After he was badly defeated in battle, was hiding in a cave thinking of give up. That time he noticed a spider how it was carefully and painfully making its way up a slender thread to its web. The king watched as it made several unsuccessful attempt and how it finally made its way to the web. That inspired him so much and got courage and persistent and he finally won the battle.  when everything else tells you to quit and if you still keep going that is called persistence. 

It is easy to give up. We should know that our ways and doings are not His. God does everything in His own time. All we have to do praying. As St. Paul says, we have to pray without ceasing. 

3. Perseverance: 

Theologically perseverance means continuance in a state of grace to the end. 

I remember an elementary school story of the crow and the pitcher. The crow that was dying of thirst and it finally saw a pitcher with water at the bottom. In order to get that water, with perseverance, the crow took a pebble and dropped into the pitcher. One after another, it dropped  so many pebbles into the pitcher and finally the water mounted up near him and the rest of history. 

Conclusion: 

Every time we talk about persistence, patience and perseverance in prayer, we right away think about the mother of St. Augustine, St. Monica or St. Mother Teresa and so many saints. When we pray without ceasing like St. Paul or St. Jean de Brebeuf we too like receive the highest gifts of all. Yes, God himself will come to us. Amen.