Pray, persist, and believe
October 19, 2025 – Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading: Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121, R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2; Gospel – Luke 18:1-8
We live in very volatile times. With the corruption issues confronting us, today’s Gospel on the Parable of the Dishonest Judge and Persistent Widow gives some relevant points to reflect on to guide us through the challenges we face.
The first point to highlight is what occasioned the telling of the parable. Second is the possibility of repentance and conversion. Third is the last line of the Gospel, “Will he find faith on earth?”
To pray without becoming weary
The Gospel opened with this line: “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (cf. Luke 18: 1-8) This was what led to the telling of the parable. Praying always with resolve not to give up.
When the odds are in one’s favor, it is easy to move forward. But when we encounter challenges, this is when we need the grace to pray without becoming weary. This is the call to many of us now amid many challenges. We are confronted with seemingly insurmountable challenges, both in our private lives and in the greater society around us.
This calls us to sustained prayer combined with action. In the parable, the widow kept on going to the judge and lobbied with him with a very specific request for a favorable judgment.
For example, many would say now: Keep the heat on, exert pressure, and make noise regarding the corruption issue. At the same time, more substantive work needs to be done to keep the chance for meaningful reforms to happen.
Even as this effort is pursued, it is part of our moral arch to open the possibility of conversion, repentance, and retribution in dealing with the offenders.
The dishonest judge eventually gave in to the pressure of the persistent widow. The action might not have been a genuine conversion, but it is a good start.
Persistence is key
St. Ignatius of Loyola said that if a person is not ready to do away with sinful ways out of love of God, then use the fear of hell to do so. This is what we saw in the change of stand of the dishonest judge. I purposely used “change of stand” rather than a “change of heart.” We pray it is the beginning of conversion and will lead to repentance and retribution.
This second point of conversion was still made possible because of the continued effort of the persistent widow. She did not relent. She did not grow weary in her effort. This won the day for her.
We come to the last point. Will God “find faith on earth” when Jesus comes?
To do justice to this powerful statement, let us turn to St. Paul (cf. 2 Timothy 4: 7-8): “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
This is the faith we pray Jesus will find in us when he comes to visit us, not necessarily in death, in our sharing in his mission to bring the good news to the poor. It is a faith with energy and constancy, and thus with prudence brings the mission he has entrusted to us to completion.
