It Can't Hurt to Ask

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, October 26th, 2025:
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 

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Sirach
​35:15-17, 20-22
The Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. The Lord will not ignore the supplication of the orphan, or the widow when she pours out her complaint.

The person whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted, and their prayer will reach to the clouds.

The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and it will not rest until it reaches its goal; it will not desist until the Most High responds and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment. Indeed, the Lord will not delay.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I think my favourite verse of this reading is “…with Him there is no partiality.” It is very common for people, strangers even, to ask me as a Sister to pray for them. Of course, I always do and will try to ask them for a name and even the intention if it seems appropriate. I have recently begun to respond with, “I’ll pray for you, will you pray for me?” This almost always gets a response of shock then an excited yes! 

I’ve never asked anyone why they are shocked, but there are two possible answers I’ve come up with: First, they think nuns don’t need prayers; that we have it spiritually all together. I am pretty sure it is not something anyone gives great thought to, but when asked to pray for a nun, it appears to come as a surprise. I assure you, we need it! 

The second reason is that people believe their prayers are somehow less powerful or less efficacious. Today’s reading definitely proves that idea wrong. When any person humbly turns to the Lord in prayer, He hears it AND He answers it. Most of us are perhaps aware that his answer may not look anything like what we were hoping for, but we can be totally sure it is the best answer for our spiritual well-being.

The last line of this reading should give everyone great hope and deep faith. “..the Lord will not delay.” I am certain that God hears our prayers and he does not delay in answering, so the question I need to ask myself is: am I open to the answer God gives or do I simply believe He didn’t answer because it isn’t the answer I wanted? 

It has become my habit to include in every prayer some form of the following: Lord, grant me the grace to trust you beyond my own understanding. This has come about because I have very often not understood God’s answer to prayer, but I know it is never wrong. 

Finally, the most beautiful thing about this reading is the reality that when I suffer or I am in distress and struggling in life, this reminds me that my cry reaches God, and He does not ignore it!




​Sister Teresa MacDonald

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