Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 27, 2025

I remember speaking to a mother who was lamenting her failure in raising her children in the Faith; that she was a poor role model when her kids were young, which resulted in their disinterest in the Faith as adults but that she still hoped for them. I responded, “Do you see how amazing a role model you are now? You worship God at Mass; you go to confession; you pray for them ceaselessly. Now, you are an amazing role model for them, and I have no doubt they notice. No matter your past, what matters is how you live now; and right now, you’re doing an excellent job.”

That mother’s desire to intercede for her children reminded me of Abraham in the first reading. Abraham was also interceding: Pleading on behalf of the people of Sodom.

And God clearly listened to Abraham: God kept widening the path to mercy, agreeing to spare the city for fewer and fewer righteous people.

…In the Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples that God blesses persistent prayer. And, isn’t that what Abraham was doing and what God was responding to? Isn’t that what that mother in my story was doing? Jesus assures us that God the Father blesses prayer like that. Even if the door seems closed, even if the timing seems late, persist because God is not ignoring you. As Jesus explains: God is Father, not a reluctant neighbor.

And just as the mother was conscious of her failings, I’m sure, Abraham was too. We know no one is perfect, and so we can question the effectiveness of our own prayers, but Abraham did not question; he didn’t let his past affect his trust in God’s goodness.


The tragedy of Sodom is that they apparently felt no need to repent from their sin. They must have not seen anything wrong with their actions. And, so, they went to judgment without repentance even though it didn’t have to end that way. 


And, even if we are conscious of very grave sins, God does not want us to lose hope in His mercy.


Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the French Carmelite, a doctor of the Church, who died at just 23 years old wrote in her autobiography: “I feel that even had I on my conscience every crime one could commit, I should lose nothing of my confidence: my heart, broken with sorrow, I would throw myself into the Arms of my Saviour. I know that He loves the Prodigal Son, I have heard His words to St. Mary Magdalen, to the woman [caught] in adultery, and to the woman of Samaria. No one could frighten me, for I know what to believe concerning His Mercy and His Love. And I know that all that multitude of sins would disappear in an instant, even as a drop of water cast into a flaming furnace.” …Saint Thérèse's confidence is inspiring, but she’s speaking the truth: God’s mercy is for those who come to Him in repentance.


The door of mercy is always open, but we must choose to walk through it. And if we find ourselves burdened by shame, or even unsure of our desire to change, then let us do what Abraham did; let us do what that mother did: Let us stand before God, not with perfection, but with persistence, and simply ask. Even the prayer to desire repentance is already a step toward God. And that kind of prayer, a heart that persistently knocks, even faintly, is never ignored. So, knock; ask; seek…Jesus has made it so clear: Our Father in Heaven delights in opening the door for us.

Scripture passages for this Mass: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072725.cfm


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