St. Pius X Roman Catholic Parish

Throughout Scripture, we are reminded to pray constantly, always asking the Lord for what we need or what my brother or sister needs. We are reminded in Tradition of the Church to ask each other to pray on our behalf, including the Saints and angels for their intercession. Through our lived experience, we know that very often we must pray more than once, sometimes over and over again, to receive an answer or guidance. Today’s Gospel, as it is written, was told to remind us to “pray always and not to lose heart.” So do it….boom, end of homily.

But there is a deeper context to the reminder Christ is giving us today. We often hear about our free will. In our society, we often find ourselves fighting for freedoms, feeling entitled when we feel our freedom is somehow restricted. Many of us know someone who has come to this country to find freedom here that we all enjoy that they did not have in their home country.

But when most of us think about free will, we know that free will first of all means that we have the freedom to take God or the freedom to ignore God. This choice, the freedom to say yes or no to God, is at the heart of our relationship with Him. It is a gift that comes with responsibility, calling us to make decisions that reflect our faith and values. In choosing to turn toward God, we open ourselves to His grace and guidance, even when answers seem slow in coming. Our persistence in prayer is not just about asking repeatedly, but about deepening our trust and surrender, knowing that God honors our freedom and patiently awaits our response.

Maybe that’s why God makes us wait longer for answers to our prayers sometimes. Perhaps in these moments of waiting, God is inviting us to grow—not just in patience, but in faith and awareness of His presence in our daily lives. It is in waiting that we discover that God’s timing is perfect, and His answers, when they do come, often reveal a wisdom far greater than our own.

The widow in today’s Gospel doesn’t wait passively for the judge to change his mind; she actively and relentlessly petitions for her rights. Similarly, true freedom in God is not a state of quiet resignation, but an active reliance on God’s character. She could have accepted that she, on her own, was powerless before the judge, giving up the first or second time she demanded justice from him. But she was quite clever- she knew the judge is unjust, but she relentlessly acts as if justice is possible, thereby forcing the issue. Our true freedom in God means our prayers are fueled, not by our strength, but by our certainty about who God is—specifically, that God is just and good.

What makes prayer most effective is when we approach God not as if He was a stranger or a powerful overlord, but as we truly are: free children of God, and as children, heirs. As heirs, our inheritance is made up of justice (the righting of wrongs, both personal and of society), provision (the fulfillment of our needs), and freedom (from oppression, sickness, sin, and fear).

Our relationship with God is supposed to be built on trust, hope, and an unwavering belief in His goodness. That is the childishness we are supposed to be before God- relying solely on Him like a child relies on his parents for justice, provision, and freedom. In living out this trust and dependence, we are free to approach God with the confidence that our prayers matter and that our voices are heard. The persistent faith of the widow reminds us that, even when faced with obstacles or silence, we continue to bring our petitions before God, believing that He desires to respond out of His love for us. In this ongoing dialogue, we grow not only in patience, but also in a deeper understanding of God’s character and the freedom He invites us to embrace. That freedom comes through a life grounded in prayer and relationship with Him.

When we think about the power of prayer and our freedom to choose God, we are reminded that persistence in faith transforms us from the inside out. Each time we return to God in prayer, especially in moments of uncertainty or delay, we are shaped by His grace, becoming more attuned to His will and more compassionate toward others. This continual relationship is not just about receiving answers, but about becoming participants in God’s ongoing work of justice, provision, and freedom in the world. Our willingness to persevere, trust, and hope—just as the widow did—opens our hearts to the fullness of life God has promised, allowing us to share that hope and freedom with those around us.

But we also have the freedom to ignore God. Yet, when we choose to ignore God, we gradually close ourselves off to the transformative possibilities that come from a relationship with Him. Our hearts can become hardened, and the gentle invitations to grace and growth may go unnoticed. But even when we are not faithful to Him, God stays close to us, always ready to welcome us back when we turn to Him with even the smallest movement of faith. This freedom to choose, and to return, is a testament to God’s enduring patience and love, continually offering us the opportunity to rediscover the joy and peace found only in Him.

Because ultimately, we are most free when we surrender our will to God, trusting that His plan is greater than anything we could imagine on our own. In allowing God to guide our choices, we discover a freedom that is rooted not in independence, but in the security of being loved and known by Him. This surrender is not weakness, but our greatest strength—a willingness to be led, to be changed, and to become instruments of His justice, provision, and mercy in the world. In this way, our persistent prayers and faith-filled actions become a living testament to the freedom that comes from walking alongside God, allowing Him to transform us and those we encounter, day by day.

Let us pray (constantly) for the desire to trust God deeper and to surrender more of our will to Him. Maybe St Ignatius of Loyola can help us; may this be our constant prayer:

“Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. You have given all to me. To You, O lord, I return it. All is Yours, dispose of it wholly according to Your will. Give me Your love and Your grace, for this is sufficient for me.” Amen.