Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Insistent Prayer
Liturgical Cycle: C | Lectionary Cycle: I
Introduction
Their salvation through the Red Sea and their journey through the desert were like a new creation for the Hebrew people. God protected them and led them to freedom. This reminds us how our passing through the saving waters of baptism has recreated us as the People of God.
Luke must have had in mind those who pray and think that God does not act when they beg him. There is also an eschatological tone in the words of Jesus, that the delay in the coming of the kingdom should not discourage us. In any case, our prayer should be trustful and insistent.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
we know that you are our loving Father,
that you wait for us
and that you are attentive to us
every moment of our lives.
Let then our prayer come to you
as a breath of hope and a cry of trust
coming from the poverty of our hearts.
If you have to turn us down
when we ask for harmful or useless things,
give us what we really need
and keep our trust alive
that you are good and loving
for you love us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then he struck every firstborn throughout their land,
the first fruits of all their manhood.
And he led them forth laden with silver and gold,
with not a weakling among their tribes.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done!
or:
R. Alleluia.
For he remembered his holy word
to his servant Abraham.
And he led forth his people with joy;
with shouts of joy, his chosen ones.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God has called us through the Gospel,
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus told them a parable to illustrate that they should pray constantly and not lose heart.
He said:
“In a certain town, there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about people.
In the same town, there was a widow who kept coming to him, saying, ‘Defend my rights against my adversary!’
For a while, he refused, but finally he thought, ‘Even though I neither fear God nor care about people,
this widow damages my reputation, so I will see that she gets justice; then she will stop coming and wear me out.”
And Jesus said:
“Listen to what the evil judge says.
Will God not do justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night, even if he delays in answering?
I tell you, he will quickly do justice for them. But, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Prayers of the Faithful
– For ministers in the Church, that they may be men and women of prayer mindful of the Lord’s words, “Without me you can do nothing,” we pray:
– For all who seek God, that they may enter into a dialogue with God by praying from the heart how they can live their Christian life, we pray:
– For all Christians, that our prayers for the poor and the suffering may commit them more to bringing them justice, lightening their burdens and restoring their dignity, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
you cannot resist our prayer
if we have full trust in you.
Let the Holy Spirit here among us
prompt us to pray trustingly and insistently.
Let him cry out in our hearts
and call you our Father.
through him who offers himself and us to you,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
with Jesus we have raised our hands
in prayer to you, our living God.
With Jesus we keep trusting in you.
Hear us, then, even in our pains and struggles,
when we are disappointed and grope in the dark.
For we believe that you love us
and want us to find happiness
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We should keep in mind that prayer is not just asking for favors for each of us personally but, aside from praise and thanks to God, an intercession for the good of others, of the community. The more reason why it should be insistent! May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
15 November 2025
Luke 18:1-8
Jesus tells us the parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow. At first glance, the widow’s situation seems hopeless. She has no money, no influence, and no power to demand justice. Yet she has one weapon: persistence. Day after day she pleads her case until even the corrupt judge, weary of her constant appeal, gives her what she asks.
But Jesus does not compare God to this judge; he contrasts them. If a selfish, unjust man can finally give in to persistence, how much more will God, who is a loving Father, hear the cries of his children? Prayer is not about wearing God down; it is about growing in trust and confidence that he knows and gives what is best for us.
Yet here is the challenge: God’s answers do not always come in the way or at the time we expect. Like children, we sometimes ask for things that would harm us, though we cannot see it. Only God sees the whole picture—past, present, and future—and so only he knows what is truly good for us. That is why prayer must always end with the words of Jesus: “Thy will be done.”
Persistence in prayer is not stubbornness; it is faith. It means trusting that God hears us, even in silence. It means refusing to give up, even when delays seem endless. Jesus ends with a haunting question: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” Our task is to keep the lamp of faith burning, to pray without ceasing, and to surrender all into God’s loving hands.
So let us pray with persistence, but also with humility, asking not only for what we want, but for what God knows we truly need. In this lies the heart of faith.
Converse with the One who walks with us
The gospel promises that "God will grant justice to those who cry to him day and night" (cf. Luke 18:7). This is the mystery of prayer: to keep on crying out, not to lose heart, and to keep our hands raised in prayer to God. This is the model of prayer that Jesus gives us in the Gospels. To pray is to struggle.
Prayer is an indispensable condition to live one’s mission in full. It is the primary source of power for the proclamation of the Gospel. Followers of Jesus are called to be men and women of prayer who nourish faith in an enduring bond with the Lord.
A widow’s insistent pleading with a dishonest judge succeeds in obtainingjustice from him. In Jesus' words, if the widow was able to convince the judge, how much more will God listen to us when we make our requests with persistence?
“Crying day and night” to God! This image of prayer is so striking, but we ask ourselves: Why does God want this? Doesn’t he already know what we need? What does it mean to “insist” with God?
God invites us to pray insistently, not because he is unaware of our needs. On the contrary, our constant prayer keeps us aware of a God who walks with us and never leaves us alone. Good friends who walk together do not remain silent; rather, they talk. Our prayer is our conversation with the One who walks with us. Therefore, pray always, but not in order toconvince the Lord of our desires! He knows our needs better than we do! Indeed, persevering prayer is the expression of faith in God, who calls us to fight with him to conquer evil with good.
Pope Francis thus explains the Gospel: “Let us learn from the widow of the Gospel to pray always without growing weary. This widow was very good! Think of the many women who fight for their families, who pray and never grow weary. Today, remember these women who, by their attitude, provide us with a true witness of faith, courage, and a model of prayer.”