?Ask, and it will be given to you.? ? Matthew 7:7

Do you want french fries with that?
      Pretty simple question.
      But because of that one single line, a burger chain adds $20 million to its annual profits each year. From one tiny question!
      And if you order a Coke, the girl behind the counter has been trained to ask, ?Large??
      Again, that second question adds millions and millions to their bottom line.
      Don?t be afraid to ask.
      Unless you learn to ask, you will never be successful in life.
      Ask for advice. Ask for a date. Ask for a referral. Ask for a sale.
      Salesmen know that if they ask 100 people to buy their product, only 10 say yes. Others get discouraged and look for another job. Top salesmen are energized and ask 1000 people?so 100 people will buy.
      Because I run non-profit organizations that spend millions for the poor and the work of evangelization, I?ve learned to ask. That?s why the Kerygma Family which supports our work has expanded all over the world. (If you haven?t joined, please do so: Log onto www.kerygmafamily.com. See, I?m asking again!)
      Don?t be afraid to ask. Bo S.

REFLECTION:
Make a list of what you want in life. Start asking!

Lord, You?ve never stopped asking me to change my life. Thank You that You never give up on asking!

P S A L M

Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 7-8

R: Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

1 I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; 2 I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. (R) Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. 3 When I called, you answered me; you built up strength within me. (R) 7 Your right hand saves me. 8 The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. (R)

G O S P E L

Matthew 7:7-12

Jesus encourages us to intercede for our needs persistently and with courage. I am sure that we have all experienced giving in to someone even against our will because they have displayed persistence and conviction in what they want. We can be sure that God will never give us anything that is sinful; it is important that we demonstrate to Him that we want the gifts that He gives so that He will have some sort of assurance they will not go to waste.
  
7 ?Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, 10 or a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. 12 Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.?

my reflections
think: Jesus encourages us to intercede for our needs persistently and with courage.

________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

_________________________________________________________

T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

_______________________________________________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judges 1-4

Jonathan is a poor boy from a baranggay at the outskirts of a highly industrialized city. Their barrio is a haven for all of the city?s crooks and it has earned for itself a moniker?Pulong Diablo. Jonathan has gotten used to regular police raids in their area. Whenever a crime of any sort is committed in the city, police would always do the rounds in their baranggay to ferret out the culprits. Apart from street corners bustling with gossiping middle-aged women, brawls are daily fare in that place. The surroundings are just ghastly.
      Needless to say, he dreads that place and wants very much to get out. So he prays real hard. But God just refuses to listen to him. I am sure many of us can identify with Jonathan. There are so many of us who find ourselves in very difficult situations that we just wish we could get out of. So we pray real hard, only to be ?denied? what we ardently desire for ourselves?even if we think that what we pray for ourselves is, unquestionably, what is best for us.
     William Barclay says this: The Greeks had their stories about the gods who answered men?s prayers, but the answer was an answer with a barb in it, a double-edged gift. Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, fell in love with Tithonus a mortal youth, so the Greek story ran. Zeus, the king of the gods, offered her any gift that she might choose for her mortal lover. Aurora very naturally chose that Tithonus might live for ever; but she had forgotten to ask that Tithonus might remain for ever young; and so Tithonus grew older and older and older, and could never die, and the gift became a curse.
     God answers our prayers always, but not in our terms, for He alone possesses a wisdom that is beyond this world. We have to realize that there are times that we ask for things that can only lead to our ruin. Hence, in order not to turn into curse the gift that we ask from God, we need to trust more in Him whose real desire is to make us better.
     So, ask and it will be given to you?a real gift coming from a God who really knows what is best for you. Fr. Sandy V. E.

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you believe that when you ask and it will be given to you?a real gift coming from a God who really knows what is best for you?

For the gifts that You give, thank You.

St. Albinus, bishop, pray for us.