Today's Gospel Reflection

Jesus' invitation in the Gospel is clear: do not tire of praying, pray insistently. Jesus can say this because he knows the heart of the Father. From Him we can only receive good things, and not only good things, but also the best: the Spirit Himself, God Himself.

So many circumstances of life make us believe that God does not listen, or that He is absent. We do not always perceive the fruits of prayer, or we have the erroneous idea that God, magically, will respond to our requests automatically.

In its missionary work, the Church knows that everything must be fruitful through prayer. Proclaiming the Gospel in other cultures is no simple matter. Many missionaries develop their vocation in the midst of peoples where Christians are a minority or where living conditions are very difficult, even for living the faith. Or in secularized contexts that were once religious and now sink into indifference and materialism. The fruits, ordinarily, are not seen. After many years of missionary work, in some places there seems to be no change or progress for the Christian community. What, then, nourishes perseverance in mission and commitment to these peoples? Prayer, confident and insistent prayer. The prayer of disciples who know that only the best can come from the Father for these peoples. It is an act of faith. Immediate fruits are not seen, the times are of God. The missionary knows this and that is why he prays.