Feast of Saint Denis (9 Oct 2008)

Today we come at Mass to that parable that Our Lord told which was probably funny to some of his hearers, and a little shocking to others.He is talking about how we should pray, how we should relate to God. And he says that we should be like the man who has unexpected guests in the middle of the night. The laws of hospitality required that he give them something to eat, but he doesn’t have any food in his house. So he goes to his neighbor’s house and knocks on the door. From inside, he hears: “Who is it, and what do you want?” He explains the situation. But the neighbor is in bed along with his wife and children. In the very small houses of that period, he would have had to get up, get his whole family up, give the neighbor the bread he is asking for, and then get the whole family settled down again for the night. And if there is a colicky or teething baby among them, that might be impossible. So he refuses to get up.

However, the man outside the door won’t take “No” for an answer. He continues to knock, to call, to ask for bread. Finally, in exasperation, the man in bed realizes that unless he gets up and gives the persistent neighbor the bread he needs, no one will get any sleep, so he reluctantly, and probably angrily, gets up and gives the bread to the neighbor. The neighbor gets the bread he needs because he has made a nuisance of himself, because he has bothered his neighbor.

And Our Lord says to us: “Be like that. Be persistent in your prayers. Make a nuisance of yourself before God. Bother the Lord! He wants to be bothered by your prayers!”

So, my dear friends, let us have the faith to be persistent in our prayers, to bother the Lord, to be repetitious. Ordinarily, we might not want to do that because it would be counterproductive. But Our Lord tells us to do just that. And he, after all, is the Lord to whom our prayers are directed, and he knows what he is talking about. Thank you for seeking God’s truth. God bless you. Father Victor Brown, O.P.