Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Saturday Mass of our Lady)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day the Sacred Scriptures gave us a clear reminder of what we need to do in this life, that is to seek the Lord, with all of our strength, with all of our heart, and with all of our attention and effort. The story of the woman who constantly sought an evil judge without ceasing and eventually gained his attention and help is a model for us all to follow.

The evil judge represents someone with power and authority who has the ability to give what the woman wanted, that is justice and righteousness, but he was unwilling to do so, because he felt that he was above the law and not subject to any other authority or demands, and thus, he felt not obliged to listen to the woman or to any of her pleas.

And yet, the woman, who in fact represents all of us, the faithful people of God, kept without cease, asking and asking, begging and begging all day long, and seeking the judge all the time without end, pursuing him to give her justice against her enemies. Regardless of whatever situation, the woman did not stop persevering, and she kept on trying again and again.

Eventually the evil and wicked judge relented, not so much because he wanted to help her, but rather because her constant nagging and chasing after his justice has become a great nuisance to him, and he wanted to get rid of that nuisance by simply granting the woman her wish. He hoped that by granting her wish, she would stop coming at him and therefore stop disturbing him.

And this is to bring contrast between what the evil judge had done and what our Lord, God our Father will do to us, if we ask Him for a favour or for something. If the evil judge was willing to help the woman after incessant begging and pleas, then so much more will our Lord help us, when we ask for Him and for His favour and help. God will definitely help us if we ask Him.

The problem lies in the fact that many of us were unable to ask Him because of one reason or another. Many of us were not aware that God is able to help us and assist us, and many of us do not even know that God exists around us and that His sight is always upon us at all times. We often think that God is a fearsome and scary God Who is not approachable and Who will punish all those who break His laws.

Remember what Jesus said to His disciples? He said that if we need something, we should just ask, and it will be given to us, as long as it is within the will and the grace of God. And if we knock the door, the door and the way shall be opened to us, and we shall be able to find what we need. It is very important that all of us seek the Lord and beseech Him for help, not just for material goods, but more importantly, for the sake of our salvation.

Many of us remember the Lord only in bad and difficult times, asking or rather demanding Him to help us, as if He is like a wonder and miracle worker. But whenever we have good times, we often do not remember Him as we are often too busy with ourselves, and we are unable to shake ourselves free from those temptations of joy and pleasures of this world.

And whenever we do not get what we wanted when we ask it of the Lord, then we often become angry and disgusted. And many of us are angry at the Lord or no longer putting our trust in Him. But this is not the right attitude, since in the first place, we have no right to demand Him for anything. The story of the evil judge and the woman reminds us that what we can do is to ask the Lord and pray to Him, hoping that He will listen to us and fulfil our wishes.

And if the evil judge gave in to the woman’s wishes because of her incessant nuisance and insistence, God Who loves us all will surely listen to us if we ask. This is why our prayers must be genuine and constant, and not just a litany of requests and demands as what many of us often do. Rather, our prayers must be genuine and true, a real conversation with our God.

Let us all therefore from now on enhance our prayer and spiritual life, filling up our lives with genuine spirituality and focus on the Lord. Let us all renew our commitment to the Lord and devote ourselves ever more to God’s ways, and in all of our actions let us all bring glory to God and declare His love to all mankind. May God be with us all. Amen.