October 8, 2026 // Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Luke 11:5-13  

Reflect on the Word // I would lie in bed at night, agonizing, just begging the Lord to “fix it.” In my very brief first marriage, there were serious problems right from the start. I longed for the Lord to open the door of my husband’s heart to me. I pleaded, fasted, prayed endlessly, and sought counsel. Things only got worse. The pain was almost unbearable; at times I thought it would stop my heart.

In the end, my husband’s heart remained closed to me. I’m certain this was at least, in part, out of his control. We divorced just one year after we were married. (Years later we were granted a declaration of nullity.)

Then comes this challenging Gospel from Luke. The Lord is so clear when he says, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10, emphasis added). He says so confidently that the Father is the giver of good gifts.

How can I possibly reconcile this with my experience? What are we to make of it when a door does not open? Is God’s Word false?

Maybe, some of the answer is found later in the passage. Jesus concludes this teaching by saying, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13, emphasis added) That is, the Father will always give us grace when we need it. Grace in the Sacraments, like Confession and the Holy Eucharist. Grace in prayer and friendship. The grace to weather the great strains of a broken heart and to wish my ex-husband well—even to pray for him. 

I begged for a specific resolution but what the Father sent was infinitely more powerful: He sent the Holy Spirit to walk me through the darkest pain of my life. He gave the good gift of grace. And, when you need it most, He will do the same for you, sister.

Relate to the Lord // Pray today with Luke 11:13–challenge the doubts about your unanswered prayers and ask for deeper trust in the Holy Spirit given to you.