13th week in ordinary time 02/07/2025 Wednesday

 “Prayer is an act of love.” – Saint Teresa of Avila

Dear brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

Today’s readings reveal a profound truth about prayer ; God hears every cry, especially from those who feel forsaken rejected, or cast aside. In our first reading, we witness Hagar and Ishmael exiled to the wilderness, while in the Gospel, we encounter two men possessed by demons, living among tombs—all outcasts from society.

Hagar’s story teaches us that prayer often emerges from our deepest desperation. When she could no longer bear to watch her child die, she moved “a bowshot away” close enough to care, far enough to avoid unbearable pain. Yet Scripture tells us: “God heard the boy weeping.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that “prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God”(CCC 2559), and sometimes this happens not through outspoken words, but through tears, lamentations, and wordless anguish.

Even the demons in the Gospel recognize Jesus as the Son of God, showing that all creation, no matter how fallen, cannot help but acknowledge divine authority. As Saint Augustine taught, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” The townspeople’s reaction asking Jesus to leave reveals how we sometimes prefer our familiar problems to divine solutions.

The Catechism teaches us that “prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part” (CCC 2725). Like Hagar, we sometimes journey into unknown places where God meets us with unexpected grace—prayer becomes less about our requests and more about opening our hearts to His faithful presence.

Saint Teresa of Avila reminds us: “Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.” This friendship doesn't shield us from wilderness experiences but sustains us through them.

For those preparing for priesthood, today’s readings offer crucial insights. Seminary formation is itself a wilderness experience—a time of separation from the familiar to discover God's call more deeply. Like Hagar, seminarians must learn to trust that God provides water in the desert of formation.

The Catechism emphasizes that “the priest continues the prayer of Christ”(CCC 1563). This means learning to pray not only for ourselves but for the abandoned, the possessed, the outcasts of society. Our prayer life must be wide enough to embrace Hagar's tears and deep enough to cast out demons.

First: In our spiritual wilderness, we might feel alone like Hagar did, but God’s ear is always turned toward us.

Second: We need to see Christ clearly, especially in moments when the world turns Him away.

Third: Our prayers should lift up those who cannot speak for themselves—the spiritually trapped, the broken hearted, and the outcasts.

God’s heart beats for the forgotten—when Hagar wanders lost, when Ishmael’s tears fall silent, when the tormented cry out from dark places, His answer never wavers: He listens, He arrives, He rescues.

In our faith journey, let prayer flow from the heart, not polished words—God revealed the well Hagar couldn’t see and opens our eyes to His gifts hidden in our hardest seasons, giving us strength to remain when others turn away.

The wilderness becomes sacred ground where we meet the God who never leaves us, transforming our loneliest moments into encounters with His unfailing presence.

Amen.