First Week of Lent
In this first week of Lent, the Church places before us the words of Jesus that are simple, direct, and deeply comforting: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” These are not complicated instructions but invitations to trust, to pray, to believe that our Father in heaven truly cares.
During Lent, we are reminded again of the three pillars of our observance: prayer, fasting, and alms giving. If we are to do our prayer first we may experience that prayer is not one pillar among three equal activities but the foundation. It is prayer that purifies our fasting and gives birth to true alms giving.
Without prayer our fasting may feel like we are just dieting. Without prayer, alms giving can become philanthropy done for recognition though with prayer, fasting becomes surrender, and alms giving becomes love.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus insists on persistence telling us to Ask, Seek and Knock. The verbs are active and continuous, Jesus is not speaking of a single request offered half heartedly. He is describing a relationship. A child who knows his Father will not hesitate to ask and a child who trusts will continue knocking.
The First Reading (Esther 14: 1, 3 -4, 11, 13 – 14) from Esther, speaks so beautifully into our Lenten journey.
Queen Esther was in a position of comfort and protection, She lived in the palace and had influence. She could have chosen silence, yet when her people faced destruction, she did not rely on status or strategy alone. She entered into fasting, She entered into deep, serious prayer acknowledging that only God could save.
That is humility and faith.
Esther did not fast for appearances, She fasted because she knew she was powerless without God. She did not pray for herself alone, She prayed for her people. Her prayer was selfless and Her fasting had purpose. Her trust was placed not in her royal position but in the Lord.
This is exactly what Jesus is teaching in the Gospel.
When He says, “Ask, and it will be given,” He is not promoting a prosperity message but revealing the heart of our heavenly Father. If our earthly fathers know how to give good gifts, imagine how much more will our heavenly Father give what is truly good? We should also remember not always what we want is given and not always what is easy but God gives us what is actually good for us at his own best time. God timing is always the best.
Lent helps us to rediscover what is truly good.
Sometimes we ask God for comfort and He gives us growth.
Sometimes we ask for quick solutions and He gives us patience.
Sometimes we ask to avoid the cross and He gives us strength to carry it.
The promise of Jesus is not that every desire will be fulfilled exactly as we imagine but the promise is that the Father responds with love and wisdom.
The connection between prayer and the Golden Rule at the end of this passage is not accidental. Jesus concludes, “Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” Prayer draws us upward to God, but it must also turn us outward toward others. If we truly ask God for mercy, we must be ready to give mercy and if we seek His forgiveness, we must forgive. If we knock at the door of His compassion, we must open our own doors to those in need.
This is where alms giving flows naturally from prayer.
Esther prayed not only for her safety, but for her people. True prayer always widens the heart and when we kneel sincerely before God, our self centeredness begins to soften. We begin to see the suffering around us and give more freely. We begin to fast not simply from food, but from selfishness.
In this first week of Lent, the Church gently asks us: How is your prayer?
Are we truly asking?
Are we sincerely seeking?
Are we persevering in knocking?
Or have we grown casual in our relationship with God?
The world encourages self reliance but Lent calls us back to dependence on God. Esther understood that only the Lord could rescue her people hence we must come to that same realization. God alone is our Savior, not our achievements, not our positions and not our resources once we realize this, prayer becomes less of a routine and more of a lifeline.
This week, perhaps the most important step is to renew our confidence in God as our Father, approach Him simply, speak honestly, bring Him our fears, our temptations, our weaknesses and also remember to bring Him the needs of others. Let us Pray for our families, pray for the Church and pray for the world.
Ask. Seek. Knock.
And trust that the Father who did not withhold His own Son will not withhold the grace we need to become holy.
That is the heart of Lent. A return to the Father, a trust that deepens and love that grows outward.
Everyone who asks receives not always what they expect, but always what they truly need for salvation.
Let us Pray
Heavenly Father,
In this holy season of Lent, teach us to ask with humility, to seek You with all our hearts, and to knock with perseverance and faith.
Purify our prayer, that it may not be selfish, but trusting.
Sanctify our fasting, that it may draw us closer to You.
Bless our alms giving, that it may reflect Your mercy to those in need.
Like Queen Esther, give us courage to intercede for others.
Like true children, help us trust that You always give what is good.
Create in us clean hearts, O Lord, and renew a steadfast spirit within us.
May this Lenten journey lead us closer to Your Son, and prepare us to rejoice in the glory of His Resurrection.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.