Gospel: July 27, 2025
July 27, 2025 (Sunday)
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green)
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
1st Reading: Genesis 18:20-32
2nd Reading: Colossians 2:12-14
I refer to baptism. On receiving it, you were buried with Christ; and you also rose with him, for having believed in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that, and nailed it to the cross.
Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place; and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this: Father, may your name be held holy, may your kingdom come; give us, each day, the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins; for we also forgive all who do us wrong; and do not bring us to the test.” Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is traveling has just arrived, and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend will answer from inside, ‘Don’t bother me now; the door is locked, and my children and I are in bed, so I can’t get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need. And so I say to you, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened. If your child asks for a fish, will you give him a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give him a scorpion? If your sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
Lectio Divina:
“Ask and you will receive.”
Read: Abraham is persistent in his pleas for mercy from God for the innocent few of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus teaches the disciples the pray the Lord’s prayer and to persevere in their requests. Saint Paul says that, for believing in the power of Christ, we had risen to new life through Baptism.
Reflect: Saint Bonaventure says that “perseverance will win the prize.” Today’s readings encourage us to think about the importance of persistence in making our petitions to God. Our persistence in asking is a measure of our hope in him. And so, we are not to throw in the towel only after a short while, but persevere in seeking God’s help. “Ask and you will receive,” says Jesus, but God also tests our resolve and our trust in him. The Lord’s prayer includes a petition that God will sustain us and give us what we need this very day. This is one reason why the Lord’s prayer is a daily prayer. We persist in asking for God’s help each day, that he will grant us what we need today.
Pray: Meditate slowly on the Lord’s prayer. Ask the Lord for your greatest need.
Act: Take on a commitment to pray each day for peace, for the spread of the Gospel or for another intention.
