Homily originally presented 07/28/2019

Be persistent in prayer!

When you work for a big company, there are 2 words that can make you shudder when you hear them ... the 2 words ... “Performance Appraisal”

During each of the many years I worked for Eastman Kodak Company, I was given a Performance Appraisal by my immediate boss at the start of every year.

Perhaps many of you undergo a similar annual evaluation of your work by your supervisors where they review how well you performed your job in the past year and then decide whether or not you would continue working in that same job ...

or even at the same company in the year ahead.

A key characteristic that companies are looking for is “sustained performance”.

They want to know,

“Is this employee demonstrating commitment to and productivity in their job...  

day after day throughout the past year or not?”

Evaluating sustained performance is the company’s way of assessing

if the employee is persistently devoted to doing their job well.

Persistence is a great quality. What does persistent mean?

Persistent means continuing in a determined way in spite of problems or difficulties.

It means continuing incessantly or unrelentingly for a long time.

Persistence is an important trait to have in one’s business life.

Persistence is also an important trait to have in one’s spiritual life.

Let me ask you, “When do most people turn to God in prayer?”

When they need something right?

You know ... when disaster hits … when their life is unraveling … when they or someone they love goes in the hospital … when they’re in a life or death situation …  that’s when most people finally turn to God in prayer and ask for His help.

I remember having about 15 people at 6:30 morning Mass on Sept. 11^th, 2001, and I remember how packed the Church was the next day at Morning Mass!

People were shaken by the Terrorist attack on our land ...

and so they came to pray and ask God for His help.

But sadly, many of those who came that 2^nd day never came back again.

You know, God isn’t just listening in emergencies … He’s listening all the time!

And He wants us to call out to Him all the time … in good times and in bad.

Just like big companies, God is looking for sustained performance, not occasional!

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells the parable of the man needing food in the middle of the night to feed his hungry guests. Jesus describes how he calls out to his friend for 3 loaves of bread, but the friend was already in bed.

And Jesus points out that even if the man already in bed doesn’t get up

to provide the bread out of friendship,

    “he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of persistence.”

Persistence works with God too! Jesus wants us to be persistent in our prayers.

He wants us to be unrelenting in the way we call out to the Father for everything.

And The Father, who is the Good Giver, will satisfy our longings.

As a loving Father it gives Him great joy to fulfill the needs of His children.

Knowing that God is Good and that He is a Giver, why would we not go to Him for everything?     Why would we go anywhere else to ask for what we need?

The goodness of God comes through in Jesus’ teaching today when He asks,

“What father would hand his son a snake when he ask for a fish?”

“Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?”

Any father who would do such things would not be very good at all.

Snakes and scorpions are quite the opposite of the food requested;

they are things that bring fear and harm.

If we humans know how to give good things, God knows this infinitely more,

 for  God is the Good Giver.

He wants only what is best for us. He knows what is best for us even before we ask.

And in addition to the many physical gifts he gives us,

he offers us the greatest spiritual gift, which is the gift of Himself.

Jesus says, “How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit

to those who ask him?”

The Holy Spirit is at work in all of the Seven Sacraments …

He’s there for the asking.

This reminds me of one of the simplest prayers in the world,

“Come Holy Spirit, Come!”

Now that’s one prayer that Jesus promises will be answered by the Father!

How many people there are who throw up a few prayers to God, asking for something, and when they don’t get what they want, they simply stop asking.

So much for sustained performance!

This shows just how bad they really wanted what it was they asked for.

They call out to God, but they don’t persist.

They give up and cease to call upon Him for help.

They haven’t learned from the little children how to be persistent in asking!

Surely you’ve noticed what happens when Mothers take their little kids shopping.

Once those kids see something they want, they’ll ask for it over and over again!

Whether it’s a certain cereal or cookie or toy or candy, they ask, “Mom can I have this?” Mom is it ok, just this one, just this one time? Please mom, I really would like to have this thing.” C’mon Mom … is it ok? Can I have I get it … pleaaaase?”

In spite of hearing the Mom say, “No, put it back!” many times, they keep asking!

Little kids are persistent in asking for what they want!

Oh that we would have this same persistence in the Spiritual life!

We see a great model today in Abraham. In our First Reading,

God is set on destroying the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

But Abraham intercedes for the good people that may be living in those cities.

Look at how many times Abraham asked God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Scripture says Abraham beseeched God no fewer than 6 times, asking for mercy if there be 50 good people or 45 or 40 or 30 or 20 and finally even 10!

Yet, God did not grow angry with Abraham’s persistence.

Rather He promised to grant each request!

Let’s be renewed in our determination to call upon God regularly and often for our many wants and needs, especially asking God for the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Persistence is key. Persistence is at the foundation of a successful prayer life.

Ask yourself, “Am I persistent in attending Mass … that greatest of all prayers?”

“Am I persistent in saying my daily prayers?”

Today Jesus calls us to ask, to seek and to knock. How often?

Well, when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray,

Jesus told them to pray for their daily bread.

Do we offer up daily prayers for our daily bread?

Are we persistent in prayer?

God hears our every prayer, yet He calls us to be persistent in prayer.

It’s to our advantage to do this. Why?

Because the promise proclaimed in Psalm 138 moved us to respond 5 times:

 “Lord, on the day I called for help,  you answered me.”

You know, on the way out of Mass last night some people told me what they were thinking when I mentioned ... “two words” in business that make you shudder:

I learned there are words other than “Performance Appraisal” that make you shudder.

One said “Down Sizing”

Another said: “Lay Offs”

Another said: “Pink Slips”

A Physician said, “Chart Review”

An Accountant said, “Internal Audit”!

Wow, that has a spiritual connotation to it too!

It makes you think of the Examination of Conscience we need to identify our sins.

It would apply to both Confession and to The Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ.

Like a good boss, God is looking for sustained performance ...

in our prayers and in doing good.

Let’s acknowledge this by persistently calling upon Him in prayer.

It’s to our great advantage ... for as Jesus promises:

it’s then that we will receive,

it’s then that we will find

it’s then that doors will be opened.