Sermon 61A

Since the Lord willed me not to depart as a debtor, I recognize the time to render what I promised. And for that reason, we also ordered today to be read the same chapter of the Gospel, which was read when I excused myself, so that what we then kept back out of necessity, we may now return out of love. And although there is neither enough time nor sufficient strength on our part to consider and treat all the words of the same chapter, we say, with the Lord granting what we can, what is most necessary to be said from it.

How is it that everyone who asks receives, when many ask and do not receive?

The Lord has encouraged us to ask, seek, and knock, saying: Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Firstly, these things bring forth the question which must be resolved to the best of our abilities. We know many who ask and do not receive, who seek and do not find, who knock and it is not opened to them. How then does everyone who asks receive? For the whole of this, although it appears to be said three times and in three words, refers to one request: Ask, seek, knock, this whole thing is ask. We recognize this from that conclusion where he says: If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? He did not say: "seek and knock," but concluded all three in one term, asking.

Paul does not accept, demons accept.

Why then do many ask and not receive, if everyone who asks receives? Are we mistaken in thinking we ask and do not receive? Besides the daily examples which we know, the Scripture itself testifies that the apostle Paul asked that the angel of Satan should depart from him, and he did not receive. And we find that the wicked asked and received, and the good asked and did not receive. For what is worse than demons? And yet they asked for the pigs and received them. And it is found that God did not fulfill the desire of the Apostles, yet He fulfilled the desire of demons. Do we doubt that these belong to God and will reign especially with Christ, but the demons will burn forever with their prince the devil? What then do we say except that: The Lord knows who are his, and of them, everyone who asks receives?

God hears all His own for eternal salvation, not for temporal desire.

But still, there remains some doubt about the Apostle. For he was not among those who belong to Him, who made this statement: "The Lord knows who are His." Therefore, all who are His ask and receive, and none of them ask and do not receive. But we seek: "What?" Indeed, those things that are sought for this temporal life sometimes benefit, sometimes harm. And when God knows they will harm, He does not give them to His desires and petitioners, just as a doctor does not give anything a patient has asked for, and by loving he denies what he would grant by not loving. Therefore, He hears all of His own for eternal salvation. Not all are heard for temporal desire. And thus He does not hear for this, so that He may hear for that. Indeed also consider even the words themselves. When he did not receive what he had asked the Lord thrice for, it said to him: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." What do you desire from me that the thorn in the flesh be taken away from you, which you received so that you would not be exalted by your revelations? Surely you are asking this because you do not know what benefits you. Trust the physician. What he imposed is bitter, but useful; it causes pain but brings forth health. See the end, and rejoice in what is denied, and understand what is given. What is the end? Power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, endure weakness if you desire health. Endure weakness if you desire perfection. Because power is made perfect in weakness. For know that you are not deserted, "my grace is sufficient for you."

He arms you for eternal life, who now denies something.

For this reason, I first advise your Charity, because I know, and we all know and cannot pretend otherwise—since the miracles of healings that occur here daily through the memory of the most blessed and glorious martyr present in this place strike the eyes even of those unwilling to see them—but without a doubt, some ask and do not receive. Let them not think themselves abandoned. Let them first question their heart, whether they ask faithfully. Whoever asks faithfully, receives usefully, and also sometimes does not receive usefully. When He does not heal the body, He wishes to heal the soul. Therefore, believe that it benefits you whatever He wills, who has called you to the eternal kingdom. For what is this that you desire greatly? He has promised you eternal life, promised you a kingdom with angels, promised you rest without end. What is it that He does not give now? Is not human health vain? Do not all who are healed undoubtedly die? When death comes, all those past things vanish like smoke. But that life which has been promised, when it comes, will indeed have no end. He who denies you something now arms you for this, prepares you for this, instructs you for this. But if you do receive healing, because you believed and asked—for it is not improperly asked for, even if it is sometimes usefully not given—receive it and use it well. For he who, healed, begins to indulge, would it not be better for him to be sick? Therefore, when you receive temporal healing, convert it to good use, so that from what is given, He who gave it may be served. And do not prefer yourself over another who perhaps asked and did not receive, and say in your heart, "I am more faithful than he." For this reason, you have heard in the Gospel: Do not judge, lest you be judged. What does it mean: Do not judge, except about what is hidden? For who is prohibited from judging what is manifest, when Scripture says elsewhere: What is manifest is for you. But what is hidden is for the Lord your God? This means: what is manifest, permit to be judged by you; what is hidden, leave to your God. For how do you know whether perhaps the reason he who asked and did not receive was denied this temporal health is because he is stronger than you? He asked and did not receive. But what did he ask for? Bodily health. Perhaps his faith is stronger than yours, and therefore you received because, if you did not receive, you would fail. Neither did I confirm this, but I said "perhaps," so that I may not do what I prohibit, to dare passing judgment on what is hidden. For sometimes he did not receive because he asked unfaithfully; sometimes he did not receive because he is stronger than you, to exercise patience in him, as we said about the Apostle. He was stronger and yet not perfect, such that he heard: Strength is perfected in weakness.

Other examples of Paul not obtaining what he prayed for.

We know them - their letters proclaim - to have healed the sick with a word. The apostle Paul himself said to a certain man: Aeneas, rise, make your bed for yourself. The very old sick man immediately rose healed and made his bed for himself. And yet the same apostle says about a certain disciple of his: But Trophimus I have left sick at Miletus. You heal the unknown where you arrive, and leave your own disciple sick where you depart? What does he say about Epaphroditus? He says, He was distressed because you heard that he was sick; for indeed he was sick near unto death. What great thing was it for the apostle Paul to heal him also with a word, and not permit him to reach the point of near death? But God, says Paul, had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. It seems that he wanted him to become healthy. If he wanted, surely he also prayed, and yet praying did not obtain it. Hardly, however, when he obtained it, he gave thanks because he had at least obtained it. To blessed Timothy he gives medical advice. He raised a long-time paralytic with a word, but he could not heal the stomach of his beloved and like-minded and, as he himself calls him, the most genuine disciple with the same word. And yet he says: Do not still drink water, but use a little wine for your stomach and your frequent infirmities. Let this suffice concerning this matter which I wanted to admonish your Charity, lest you either mock them and think ill of those who perhaps have asked and not received, or become discouraged when you have perhaps asked and not received, or proudly prefer yourselves who ask and receive over those who do not receive.

We are the bad children of a good Father.

What is that, which all who are of Him ask and receive, seek and find, knock and it will be opened to them? For if it were not something of this kind, Truth would not say: For everyone who asks receives. What is this? Where is it found? Let us seek in the very chapter, in case there we find what we seek. There you have it, indeed there you have it. Let us acknowledge ourselves when we hear that we are evil. For He says: You, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him? And He called our Father good, and us evil. What then? Is that most high good God the Father of the evil? We cannot deny this, although it seems absurd. Truth speaks: If you, being evil - what do we contradict in Truth? - know how to give good gifts to your children. We give those good things to our children, which however do not make them good. If therefore we can give good things, which do not make [us] good, but they are good, what else remains that we might ask from God, except the good things by which we might be made good? For we have been reproved when it was said: being evil. And yet our highest good Father has been shown to us, who is in heaven. Do we not blush to be evil under such a Father? Or would that Father of evils wish to leave us alone, if He wished us to remain evil forever? If therefore we are evil, and have a good Father, let us ask this, let us seek this, let us knock for this, that He may make us good, so that He may not have evil children. And how is anyone made good now? To what extent? However much he progresses, he will contend against desires, he will contend against lusts. However much he progresses, and even if he has peace from those things which are inside or outside, he will have a battle within himself, he will engage in a struggle within himself, nor will he cease to engage in the struggle, with He who watches ready to help the struggling and to crown the victor. But when every dissension and every quarrel which we are passes; for our complaint and our quarrel is not another nature contrary to us, but somehow our ingrained nature is our complaint. We were not thus in paradise; nothing within us resisted us. We deserted Him with whom we had peace, and war began for us with ourselves. And this is our misery. And it is a great thing in this life not to be defeated in this war. For we cannot be without an enemy in this life. But there will be a last life, when we will have no enemy either outside or within: for the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Then we will happily dwell in the house of God, and praise Him forever and ever. Amen.