Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
(Romans 8:26-30; Luke 13:22-30)
If asked what they would like to have, the young are likely
to respond with something material like a sports car or a new telephone. These are the things they might also pray for
if told that God would grant all their desires.
For this reason, St. Paul tells the Romans in the first reading, “…we do
not know how to pray as we ought.”
Paul goes on to say that the Spirit takes over one’s
prayer. The Spirit will not pray for
luxuries but for essentials. The Spirit
will pray that the person be equipped with the virtues so that she may “strive
to enter through the narrow gate” as Jesus says in the gospel. That is, the Spirit’s prayer asks for the
grace to treat all people well and to please God in everything.
Fortunately, as we mature, we lose some of the desire for
material things. Sometimes, however, we
seek what is worse – to get even with someone who offends us or to receive the
prestige given to others. Older people
need the Spirit as well or their growth in holiness will be stunted.
