Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, virgin
In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us a rather odd parable to illustrate the necessity that his disciples pray constantly. There are two important aspects of it, however, that perhaps we might miss on a first read—both are common features of Jesus’ parables in general and both help us to understand the story a bit better.
First, the only thing we know about this judge is that he “neither feared God nor respected any human being” (Lk 18: 2). We know from today’s psalm that “fear of the Lord,” understood as a deep respect for God’s power and laws, was highly cherished among the Jewish people of whom Jesus and his disciples were a part. Not only was it regarded as an important virtue to hold, further “fear of the Lord” was the beginning of a holy life oriented toward the well being of other people. Notice the virtues that seem just to spring out of the one who fears the Lord—endless generosity, graciousness, mercy, and justice (Ps 112:3-4). So it’s no surprise that because the judge doesn’t fear the Lord that he doesn’t display any of these virtues toward his fellow human beings. Like many of Jesus’ parables, the force of the point he wants to make rests upon the sharp contrast between this judge and God, whose figurative place he stands in. The logic goes something like this: if even this degenerate will pay attention to a persistent widow, how much more will God, who is the source of all goodness, do for those who are persistent! Persistence is important even with God, who responds “speedily” (Lk 18:8), because it also assures that we remain not too far from God’s ear and that cannot be a bad thing!
Moreover, being persistent in prayer cannot but teach us to be persistent in our Christian lives across the board. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first U.S. citizen to be canonized, was sent from Italy to minister to Italian immigrants in New York. Upon arriving on these shores, her orphanage was not to be found, so she went the archbishop and he advised her to go back to Italy. She refused, determined to open an orphanage. At the time of her death, she had founded 67 institutions dedicated to serving the poor. So much for turning back across the Atlantic! Doubtless, it was Mother Cabrini’s prayer life that prepared her for her work with the poor.
This brings me to the second aspect of the parable that may go unnoticed. The last line of the gospel reading seems to come from nowhere, to be disconnected from the entire story preceding it. I would like to suggest, however, that it is important for understanding the whole thing. By asking the question, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8) after assuring the disciples that God will respond with haste to those who are dedicated to Him, Jesus shows that he is concerned primarily about the continuing faith of the disciples when He is no longer with them. It is herein that persistent prayer has deep value: it maintains faith even in trying times.
Let us take a few minutes today to reflect on prayer. How might we make it more of a priority? How can we spend more time tugging at God’s ear so that we might be closer to Him and therefore stronger in faith?
St. Frances Cabrini pray for us!
- Tim Gabrielli