Seventeenth Ordinary

Luke 11: 9

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

In this Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. Not just what to say – but how to be in prayer. He gives them the Lord’s Prayer, yes, but he also gives them something more powerful: permission to approach God with boldness, persistence, and trust.

For those of us working in Catholic education, those words hit home.

Teaching is a vocation that demands a lot of us – time, energy, compassion, patience (and let’s be honest, sometimes just the ability to make it through that last period on a Friday!). In the midst of lesson planning, marking, pastoral care, meetings, and mentoring, we can forget to stop, breathe, and ask God for what we really need.

This passage reminds us: God is not distant. God is not waiting for perfect words of polished prayers. God is a loving parent, ready to listen – even to the half-formed thoughts we whisper under our breath during playground duty.

When Jesus says, “ask, seek, knock,” he’s not giving us a transactional formula – he’s offering an invitation into relationship. It’s a call to bring our whole selves – our dreams, our doubts, our tiredness, our joy – into the presence of God.

In our schools, we model this kind of openness when we sit with a student who is struggling, or when we choose kindness in a tough conversation. We live it when we pray with our class, or show students that prayer isn’t just about words, but about trust, persistence, and showing up with a heart that’s open.

This Gospel also holds a challenge: are we making space to ask God for the Holy Spirit – the true source of wisdom, strength, and courage for our work? Jesus promises the Spirit will be given to those who ask. So maybe our prayer today is as simple as: “God, I need you in my classroom today. Be with me in the mess and the magic of it all.”

As educators in Catholic schools, we are more than transmitters of knowledge. We are cultivators of faith, hope, and love. Let’s keep knocking. Keep Seeking, Keep asking. And trust that God – our ever-patient, ever-generous Creator – is with us every step of the way.