Homily for Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent

Jesus encourages us to be seekers: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” So, what are we to seek, and what should we ask for? The simple answer is that we should seek the Lord and His will for our lives. Many seekers are mentioned in the Gospels, and Zacchaeus is one notable example. His story reminds us that the Lord we seek is always seeking us as well. While dining with Zacchaeus, Jesus described Himself as the Son of Man, who came to seek out and save the lost.

Because we can never fully find the Lord in this life, we will always be seeking Him for as long as we are on this earth. Our journey toward the Lord is ongoing, and we never completely arrive at our destination. Like Abraham, we are continually embarking on a journey in response to the Lord’s call. As Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, we must strain “forward to what lies ahead” and press on toward our ultimate goal: the Lord.

Jesus assures us in the Gospel that if we remain faithful in our search for the Lord and the journey it entails, we will receive good things from God. By seeking the Lord, we open ourselves to His many gifts and graces.