A Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 10:00 and 12:00 Masses
Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13
Audio Recording
Today’s Gospel begins with a humble and beautiful request by one of the disciples: “Lord, teach us to pray.” His disciples had watched Jesus pray. They saw how often He went off to be alone with His Father. There was something deeply peaceful and powerful about the way He prayed. So they asked Him to teach them how to pray as He did.
Jesus responded with the most well-known prayer in the world — the Lord’s Prayer. We’ve all prayed it thousands of times — at Mass, before meals, before bed, or in times of trouble. But today we’re invited to stop and really think about it.
Saint Augustine said that all the prayers in Scripture are summed up in the Lord’s Prayer. Saint Thomas Aquinas called it “the most perfect of prayers,” because it teaches us what we should desire — and in the proper order.
Let’s reflect today how Jesus is not just giving us words to say, but a pattern for living. Notice that the prayer doesn’t start with our wants or needs. It begins with God: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done…”
Jesus teaches us that prayer should begin with praise, not petitions. We honor God, and we ask that His will be done — not ours. This shapes our hearts to trust that God knows best. Only then do we bring our needs before Him: “Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses. Lead us not into temptation.”
These are simple, daily needs. Bread for today. Mercy for our sins. Strength for our trials. Prayer isn’t about asking for everything to go our way — it’s about depending on God, one day at a time.
Then Jesus shares a parable: a man knocks on his neighbor’s door late at night, asking for bread. At first, the neighbor refuses. But the man keeps knocking. Eventually, the door opens — not necessarily out of friendship, but because of his persistence.
Jesus tells us, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
We need to be careful here about how we understand this promise. Jesus isn’t saying that if we just keep praying long enough, we’ll get whatever we want. He’s not giving us a blank check. What He’s saying is that we must persist in prayer — not to change God’s mind, but to let God change our hearts.
So often, we pray for things we truly care about: healing for someone we love, help in a difficult time, peace in the world. And it’s good to bring these things to God. He wants to hear from us. He wants us to share our concerns and our needs with Him. But sometimes we are discouraged when the answers don’t come in the way we hoped.
Many of us have prayed for something for a long time — healing, help, peace — and felt disappointed. But persistent prayer isn’t about convincing God to do what we want Him to do. It’s about allowing Him to change us. It’s how we learn patience, surrender, and trust.
And let’s not forget another essential part of prayer: giving thanks. Today’s Psalm says: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart… When I called, you answered me.”
Even when we’re struggling, there’s always something to thank God for — a kind word, a helping hand, strength for another day. Gratitude helps us see more clearly the quiet ways God is already at work in our lives.
When we make praise and thanksgiving part of our daily prayer, we grow in peace. We stop focusing only on what’s missing and start seeing what’s already been given to us.
Jesus also reminds us that God is a loving Father. He says, “What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?”
And then: “How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” God sends us this amazing gift of His divine love: His own Spirit! The Holy Spirit gives us peace, courage, understanding, and love. The Spirit helps us through our difficulties and shapes our hearts to be more like Christ’s.
So we must keep asking — not just for solutions to our problems, but for openness to the Holy Spirit. Because when we really listen to God’s Spirit speaking to us, we receive far more than we could ever imagine.
In the first reading, Abraham shows us another kind of prayer we should be practicing — intercessory prayer. He speaks with God about the city of Sodom. He pleads not for himself, but for others: “What if there are fifty innocent people? Forty-five? Thirty? Ten? ”He keeps going, respectfully but boldly.
Abraham knows God is just — but he also trusts in God’s mercy. Our first reading teaches us the importance of praying for others and Abraham’s persistence teaches us to pray with hope, humility, and courage.
You see, Abraham’s prayer for the people of Sodom didn’t change God’s heart. God was already merciful. But Abraham grew in faith through that conversation. When we pray for others — especially those far from God — we are participating in God’s mercy and OUR hearts are changed.
I myself keep a prayer list of people I’ve known over the years on my phone and I bring these people before the Lord when I make my Holy Hour on Wednesdays. Often I’ll send a text message to some of them letting them know I’m praying for them. I find this to be a great way to encourage them and to stay connected, especially with those I haven’t seen in years. Try it yourself!
So dear friends in Christ, if you’ve ever felt discouraged in prayer, you’re not alone. We all carry burdens and unanswered questions. We’ve all wondered why God isn’t answering some of our prayers. But let today be a reminder to return again and again to the Lord’s Prayer as the perfect model for our prayer. Prayer is not about earning God’s favor or negotiating a deal — it’s about deepening our relationship with the One who already loves us.
So let us persist in prayer — prayers of thanksgiving for what we already have and prayer that seeks God’s will as we present him with our needs. Let us also pray with hearts like Abraham’s — bold but humble, interceding for others.
When we use the Lord’s Prayer as the model for our prayer, God will give us the grace we need to carry our crosses and the faith we need to know with certainty that He loves us, He wants what’s best for us, and that He is working through our crosses to draw us closer to Himself. Then we will understand that this is TRULY ENOUGH, even if he doesn’t answer our specific intentions the way we think He should.
God bless you.