Our Lady Of Good Counsel

Persevere in prayer. As believers and followers of Jesus, today’s readings remind us of the importance of prayer. It’s important for us to know that while Jesus was here on earth, He taught and asked the disciples to pray. Jesus performed many things such as healing, feeding the multitude, preaching and bringing the dead to life. Jesus taught the disciples methods and techniques, or trained them on other activities, but one thing for certain, He taught them to pray. Jesus
Himself showed the importance of prayer by His own examples. He set out to the mountains, deserted place or wilderness to pray, and He demanded the same from His disciples. Jesus continued to pray even after His passion, death and resurrection. He, sitting at the right of the Father, now intercedes for us to the Father. We, therefore, are one with Him when we pray. To be a believer and follower of Jesus is to pray. Prayer is lifting our hearts and minds to God and should be the source and center of our life. It’s the core of our relational existence
with God. Like in any relationship we need to listen, persevere and never lose heart, but remain confident in God’s ability and power to answer our prayers, thus leading us to eternal life.

Jesus reminds us that in order to receive grace, the medium is prayer. We need to persevere like the widow in today’s Gospel to receive grace. It is through prayer that we intensify our intimacy with God. Often times, we have a target and a timeline when we come to God in prayer. It should not be this way but instead, seek His will and surrender our hearts and minds to Him in humility, trust and
love. May Our Lady of Good Counsel help us to persevere in prayer and increase our faith in her son Jesus. ╬